The Bronze Key: Magisterium, Book 3

Parents need to know that The Bronze Key is the third book in the Magisterium series by accomplished fantasy writers Holly Black (Doll Bones) and Cassandra Clare (City of Bones). Both often write for a teen audience, but this series about a magic school is aimed at tweens. After the main character delivered a severed head to the mages at his magic school in Book 2, readers may be expecting more jarring violence. They get it here with -- spoiler alert -- an unexpected death. Also, the students reanimate a corpse enough to talk to it after it shows up floating in water with a dagger in its back. A chandelier nearly crushes students, an air elemental with teeth attacks, a student falls and breaks a leg, crazed animals attack -- including bears that maul and get sliced with a dagger -- and people are knocked out magically with a "soul touch." While Callum and friends work to find out who's trying to hurt Callum, they put themselves in danger repeatedly, usually against the wishes of their teachers, and pay a serious price for it in the end.