The Rithmatist

I had my doubts about this book. Chalk figures that come to life? Descriptions of battle strategy that look like a geometry lesson? Seemed like it might appeal to a limited audience to me. But in Sanderson's capable hands the characters and setting are real, the plot is interesting, and the chalkling battles are suspenseful and begging to be turned into a game we can play in the real world. This is a great first outing into teen fiction from the author who continued Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.