Review #322: The Rithmatist- Brandon Sanderson

Title: The Rithmatist
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Series: Rithmatist #1
Pages: 378
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Summary: More than anything, Joel wants to be a Rithmatist. Rithmatists have the power to infuse life into two-dimensional figures known as Chalklings. Rithmatists are humanity’s only defense against the Wild Chalklings. Having nearly overrun the territory of Nebrask, the Wild Chalklings now threaten all of the American Isles.
As the son of a lowly chalkmaker at Armedius Academy, Joel can only watch as Rithmatist students learn the magical art that he would do anything to practice. Then students start disappearing—kidnapped from their rooms at night, leaving trails of blood. Assigned to help the professor who is investigating the crimes, Joel and his friend Melody find themselves on the trail of an unexpected discovery—one that will change Rithmatics—and their world—forever.
Review: I actually bought this book because Regan from PeruseProject loved it and I wanted to give it a go. Also I found out that Brandon Sanderson was going to an event near me and I figured I should read one of his books before I meet him lol. I found The Rithmatist to be incredibly imaginative and a pleasant read. I liked that there were drawings to go along with the descriptions, but sometimes they were a bit confusing to me. I really liked the story but some areas were a bit slow, but the ending did pick up and was action packed. I'm looking forward to a second novel.
I really loved Joel's character, he was so determined. I just really want to find out the mystery behind him not becoming a Rithmatist. Melody was another character that I really enjoyed, she was a bit hot/ cold but also showed potential once prompted. Plus I want to know how professor jerk face is involved in everything and what the end goal is going to be. 
I would recommend this novel to readers looking for something outside the box and that is filled with imagination. I am really excited to read the next in the series, which Brandon Sanderson said won't be coming out for awhile. 

About this author

Words of Radiance is out now!
Steelheart is out now!
Brandon Sanderson was born in 1975 in Lincoln, Nebraska. As a child Brandon enjoyed reading, but he lost interest in the types of titles often suggested to him, and by junior high he never cracked a book if he could help it. This changed when an eighth grade teacher gave him Dragonsbane by Barbara Hambly.
Brandon was working on his thirteenth novel when Moshe Feder at Tor Books bought the sixth he had written. Tor has published Elantris , the Mistborn trilogy and its followup The Alloy of Law , Warbreaker , and The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance , the first two in the planned ten-volume series The Stormlight Archive. He was chosen to complete Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series; 2009’s The Gathering Storm and 2010’sTowers of Midnight were followed by the final book in the series, A Memory of Light , in January 2013. Four books in his middle-grade Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians series were released by Scholastic, and his novella Infinity Blade Awakening was an ebook bestseller for Epic Games accompanying their acclaimedInfinity Blade iOS video game series. Two more novellas, Legion and The Emperor s Soul , were released by Subterranean Press and Tachyon Publications in 2012, and 2013 brings two young adult novels, The Rithmatistfrom Tor and Steelheart from Delacorte.
The only author to make the short list for the David Gemmell Legend Award six times in four years, Brandon won that award in 2011 for The Way of Kings. The Emperor’s Soul won the 2013 Hugo Award for Best Novella. He has hit the New York Times Hardcover Fiction Best-Seller List seven times, with all three Wheel of Time books hitting the #1 spot.
Currently living in Utah with his wife.