Book of the Week - Sabriel

Sabriel by Garth Nix

Prologue: Sabriel is born to a mother who just stumbled into the middle of a camp of traders. Baby Sabriel dies. Just as the traders are about to say the final rights, a necromancer arrives and proceeds to walk into the land of the dead and bring back the baby--alive. Sabriel is revived, marked with magic, and she and her father join the group of traders.

If that doesn't suck you into a story then I don't know what would. This book promises from the beginning to be full of death, magic, and adventure, and it fulfills all of those promised to the letter. Sabriel doesn't give up, lighten, or slow down from beginning to end. It also pushes the boundaries on what would be considered a children's book. Esteemed editor Virginia Buckley said she would never sign a young adult book with an eighteen-year-old protagonist, yet Sabriel is just that and it is very much for the adolescent audience. Sabriel is a dark adventure, but perfect for anyone needing a good fantasy.