Well, Tania, I am so glad you asked!!
The Rithmatist is a book by Brandon Sanderson about Joel, a very smart kid who is obsessed with rithmatics and wants to be a Rithmatist. Rithmatists are people who have special abilities to bring certain lines and shapes that they draw with chalk to life—and they use these powers to duel each other and keep wild Chalklings (Very Dangerous Creatures) at bay. It takes place at an academy in an alternate universe of earth where the United States are actually a bunch of isles, and some history has been switched around. It’s also steampunk-esque, with clockwork animals and other mechanisms like spring-rail lines rather than trains, etc.
It’s basically like a mystery book—it starts out slow, introducing Joel and how he wants to be a Rithmatist but can’t be. But once the disappearences of Rithmatic students from the aforementioned academy start coming to light, and the police believe that the disappearences are actually kidnappings, the plot really kicks off. Joel has to team up with this girl name Melody—a Rithmatist and very fiesty and strong-minded—to figure out what’s going on, who’s kidnapping Rithmatists, and how.
I LOVE THIS BOOK!! I love Joel (I think he’s a great example of accidental autistic/adhd representation), I love Melody and her attitude, I love them both together—two kids from different backgrounds learning to get along…their dynamic is just perfect, even as just friends! The worldbuilding is interesting, the mystery is intriguing, and there’s even a plot twist at the end!! It’s kind of crazy, lol. There’s supposed to be a sequel at some point, but Brandon Sanderson is busy with other projects at the moment and probably won’t get around to it for a while. But that won’t stop me from desperately wanting it every day until it comes out…
Long story short, The Rithmatist is a very good book, and one of my favorites! Here’s a blurb from Goodreads in case I missed anything in my explanation above:
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.
