The Warrior Heir

Before he knew about the Roses, 16-year-old Jack lived an unremarkable life in the small Ohio town of Trinity. Only the medicine he has to take daily and the thick scar above his heart set him apart from the other high-schoolers. Then one day Jack skips his medicine. Suddenly, he is stronger, fiercer, and more confident than ever before. And it feels great until he loses control of his own strength and nearly kills another player during soccer team tryouts. Soon, Jack learns the startling truth about himself: He is Weirlind; part of an underground society of magical people who live among us. At the head of this magical society sit the feuding houses of the Red Rose and the White Rose, whose power is determined by playing The Game a magical tournament in which each house sponsors a warrior to fight to the death. The winning house rules the Weir. As if his bizarre magical heritage isn’t enough, Jack finds out that he’s not just another member of Weirlind he’s one of the last of the warriors at a time when both houses are scouting for a player. Jack’s performance on the soccer field has alerted the entire magical community to the fact that he’s in Trinity. And until one of the houses is declared Jack’s official sponsor, they’ll stop at nothing to get Jack to fight for them.
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This was the book I read in the airport and on the plane while on my journey to Great Britain. The bad thing was that I read through this so fast that I didn't have anything else to read (besides The Necromancer) while there. I had to go buy Evil at Heart just to keep myself sane.
This novel provided a new twist on magic and such that kept me captivated until the very last page. Jack's struggles to figure who, and what, he is, and to keep that under control was absolutely a masterpiece of character development. Cinda Williams Chima worked wonders with every character in the first of the Heir Series - she gave enough information in order to make an interesting character who's intentions aren't confusing (hopefully that came out right), but Chima also left enough information out to keep us wondering about the character.
All in all, The Warrior Heir was a very good read. It's good for everyone to read. Plus, the best thing about it - there's a sequel(two, actually)!