#ryiah

I picked up First Year for kindle on a $.99 deal. Amazon lists the publish date as January 2017, but reviews on Amazon suggest these were originally published in a slightly different format with different titles in 2015.

 The cover artwork immediately caught my attention, and I was excited to see the entire series was already released so I could binge read them if I got caught up in the first book. After finishing the first book within a few days, I’m excited to pick up the next. 

Summary (potential for mild spoilers)

First Year kicks off with fifteen-year-old Ryiah and her twin brother Alex setting off for the Academy, one of the kingdom of Jerar’s war schools. All young people in the kingdom--even lowborns like Ryiah and Alex--may enroll for their first year of instruction for free. The first year is their chance to train, learn, and eventually put their magical abilities against others’ for the chance at an apprenticeship in one of the three magical disciplines. Out of over 120 students at the beginning of their year, only fifteen apprenticeships will be awarded. 

The bulk of the book focuses on Ryiah’s work throughout her first year. However, the Academy is hardly Hogwarts. The coursework and physical training are incredibly brutal, and students start dropping out left and right. In the middle of it all, Ryiah is dealing with friends, enemies, her own lack of education as a lowborn, and her powerful but temperamental magic. 

By the end of the book, the apprenticeships have been awarded, but Ryiah and her friends’ fates are far from certain. Though not a cliffhanger, the final competition and its outcome will leave readers dying to pick up the next book and see where the students we’ve come to love and loathe will go next. 

Thoughts on the First Year

“Talented student attends magical school to hone their abilities” is not a particularly new concept in fantasy, especially in the YA universe. However, Carter manages to avoid making First Year feel like a rehashing of tired old tropes. 

Ryiah, Alex, and their classmates and teachers jump off the page. No character feels strictly one-note, and each is filled with the self-contradictions that make characters feel real. All of the characters--including Ryiah--made me want to laugh, cry, cheer, or smack them in the face. Sometimes all at once. 

It’s hard to judge the world-building at this point. Because so much of the book takes place at the Academy, we see very little of the kingdom of Jerar. And it’s clear that Carter is no fan of intentional exposition. While this makes for a tighter story--no three-page break-ins just to explain a concept or history to the reader--it does mean readers are left piecing hints together about what the rest of the kingdom is like and what the next three books will hold. 

Carter’s writing is tight. She doesn’t mince words, and it means that even scenes that could drag the writing down (like long study sessions or physical drills) don’t interrupt the pacing. I’m excited to see how she further fleshes out the world and characters she’s created. Ryiah’s friends, foes, family, and will-they-won’t-they romantic interest will hopefully continue to grow and add nuance to the world Carter has created.