Sabriel
by: Garth Nix

Challenges: First in a Series, 2009 YA Challenge

Series: The Abhorsen Trilogy

Published: 1995

# of pages: 491


My sister-in-law loaned me this series and I'm so glad she did! It was refreshing to read such a great young adult fantasy. After seeing the cover and glancing at the print inside, I expected it to be a little too young adult, but no worries, this is a book adults can enjoy just as much. I don't know why I expected it to be too juevenile. I suppose the print is a little larger than in some books, but the writing style and vocabulary were advanced.

Sabriel is a young woman who is about to graduate from her boarding school when she receives a disturbing message from her father, Abhorsen. She believes his spirit is trapped in Death, but his body is still alive and trapped in the Old Kingdom, the land beside the one in which she resides. She immediately starts off on a journey to rescue him...and rescue the Old Kingdom in the process. On the way, she meets many interesting people (and things). She learns about the Old Kingdom's history and magic and more about her father.

The worlds Nix created are fascinating and unique. I like that the world Sabriel was raised in is more like our modern world in the early 1900s. They have cars, airplanes, electricity, and guns. Magic is not officially recognized or well known, except near the border of the Old Kingdom. The Old Kingdom is a land of magic that is the typical fantasy world. There aren't any modern conveniences, only magical inventions. I thought this was original on Nix's part and helps the reader relate to Sabriel's confusion at entering a magical kingdom, but still gives us what we typically expect from a fantasy novel.

I also loved the characters. I don't see how anyone can dislike Sabriel. She's brave, but not unnaturally so. She's compassionate and strong, but still shows annoyance, fear, and weakness. The "cat," Mogget, was one of my favorite characters, if not my favorite. Although he's a spirit in a cat's body, he still has feline qualities. I love cat characters in fantasy books that can speak. I find it interesting that in many books they are guiding and wise characters, while being aloof and distant, of course! And Touchstone is a mysterious character that I still want to know more about. I hope he is explained a little more in the next book of the series, Lirael.

Overall, I recommend this book to young adults and adults who enjoy fantasy. The beginning of the book took me a little while to get into. The whole Death and Charter magic and necromancy were a little confusing and topics I didn't expect to read about in this unique book. However, I'm glad that this book is different from other fantasy novels and so try to give it a chance even if you don't enjoy the first few chapters.

Hood
by: Stephen R. Lawhead

Challenge: First in a Series

Series: King Raven Trilogy, Book 1

Published: 2006

# of pages: 496


Hood is a retelling of Robin Hood, a legend that typically takes place in Sherwood Forest in England. Lawhead changes the story in several ways, but without taking away from the quality and excitement of the typical tale. Lawhead has a talent for retelling famous legends, such as the story of King Arthur in his Pendragon Cycle. He changes the stories to make them unique, but keeps the core values and overall feeling so that we still love them just as much.

Bran is a prince whose father is killed by Norman invaders. His land, located in Wales, is also taken and his people are forced into slavery. Bran, his large friend Iwan, and a tubby friar join forces to "earn" the money to buy back Bran's inheritated land. They find that the only way to acquire the money is to take it from the very Normans who are ruining the kingdom. Sound familiar?

I thought this book was well written and enjoyed the historical contexts (I found the author's defense of placing "Robin Hood" in Wales fascinating!). I still can't figure out if it's technically a Christian novel or not, because while there is mention of God (mainly by the clergy that are in the story), there are other parts that aren't your typical Christian novel material. I was glad to see that there isn't a preachy tone and that the religious parts are short, to the point, and fit in naturally with the story. The main characters aren't goody goody or even very religious. I can hear sermons at church on Sunday, I don't need to read them in books too! So I think this novel is appropriate for Christians and people who aren't religious. The book is violent, but clean, making this appropriate for older teens and adults alike.

The book seemed a little slow in some parts. I think that since Lawhead knew he would turn this into a series, he took his time drawing the story out. It wasn't slow enough to bore me, but I think it could have been improved with a faster pace. However, this was worth reading and I'm already looking forward to reading the next in the series, Scarlet.

I entered a giveaway at Literary Menagerie to win a copy of The Time Traveler's Wife, one of my favorite books! It's so easy to enter, click on the link above and then just post about your favorite book.

First in a Series Challenge









*Read 12 books that are the first in any series. You may read & list your chosen books any time during the year.
*Challenge begins January thru December, 2009.
*You can join anytime between now and December 31, 2009.

1. Hood by: Stephen R. Lawhead (King Raven Trilogy)
2. The Golden Compass by: Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials)
3. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by: Ann Brashares
4. Sabriel by: Garth Nix (The Abhorsen Trilogy)
5. The Hunger Games by: Suzanne Collins
6. Graceling by: Kristen Cashore
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?
10. ?
11. ?
12. ?

What's in a Name? Challenge






*Dates: January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009
*The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.

1. A book with a "profession" in its title: The Memory Keeper's Daughter by: Kim Edwards

2. A book with a "time of day" in its title: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by: John Berednt

3. A book with a "relative" in its title: The Daughter of Time by: Josephine Tey

4. A book with a "body part" in its title: The Bone People by: Keri Hulme

5. A book with a "building" in its title: The Shack by: William P. Young

6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title: The Blind Assassin by: Margaret Atwood

*You may overlap books with other challenges, but please don't use the same book for more than one category.

2009 TBR Challenge

2009:













1. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by: John Boyne
2. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by: Ann Brashares
3. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by: E. Lockhart
4. The Truth-Teller's Tale by: Sharon Shinn
5. Enna Burning by: Shannon Hale
6. Princess Academy by: Shannon Hale
7. The Golden Compass by: Philip Pullman
8. The Subtle Knife by: Philip Pullman
9. The Amber Spyglass by: Philip Pullman
10. Sabriel by: Garth Nix
11. Lirael by: Garth Nix
12. Abhorsen by: Garth Nix











1. A book with a "profession" in its title: The Memory Keeper's Daughter by: Kim Edwards
2. A book with a "time of day" in its title: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by: John Berednt
3. A book with a "relative" in its title: The Daughter of Time by: Josephine Tey
4. A book with a "body part" in its title: The Bone People by: Keri Hulme
5. A book with a "building" in its title: The Shack by: William P. Young
6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title: The Blind Assassin by: Margaret Atwood













1. Hood by: Stephen R. Lawhead (King Raven Trilogy)
2. The Golden Compass by: Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials)
3. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by: Ann Brashares
4. Sabriel by: Garth Nix (The Abhorsen Trilogy)
5. The Hunger Games by: Suzanne Collins
6. Graceling by: Kristen Cashore
7. ?
8. ?
9. ?
10. ?
11. ?
12. ?

Today is my 1 year blogiversary! This year has flown by! I don't know what I would do without the book blogging world. How did I ever find good books before? This year my goal is to become more involved in the blogging world and to READ MORE! This past year I didn't read nearly as many books as I normally do.

I hope you all had a happy New Year and I look forward to seeing what you are all doing for 2009!