Sabriel by Garth Nix -> Starting April 4th, 2024

[Aly]

Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him.

With Sabriel, the first installment in the Abhorsen series, Garth Nix exploded onto the fantasy scene as a rising star, in a novel that takes readers to a world where the line between the living and the dead isn't always clear—and sometimes disappears altogether.

[Sibil]

prologue - chapter 5 (20%)
(view spoiler)[ I read this book something like 20 years ago. But I never finished the series, and lately, I have been thinking about going back to it and do things properly. I was a tad scared because I loved it then but my tastes changed with time and so... what if I didn't like it anymore? But, so far, I am really enjoying it!
I think that in the Prologue we have one of the most beautiful scenes of fatherhood! I loved it! And there is a sense of wonder in everything here!
But I think that so far we are seeing an amazing literary example of "growing up". It is depicted beautifully, but I feel a bit melancholic too. (hide spoiler)]

[Sibil]

chapters 6-13 (40%)
(view spoiler)[It is peculiar that she is alone. Usually, we have a group of characters in this kind of story/book, especially at this point in the story, and yet Sabriel is alone. It is different, in a good way! Now we have Mogget who starts to travel with her, sure, but it is not the same thing. But he is cool!
And Aborsehn home is a cool place! I don't really mind the sending, but the home sounds like an amazing place to be in! (hide spoiler)]

[Sibil]

chapters 7-18 (60%)
(view spoiler)[And now we have another companion, yay! They are pretty unique, and I am intrigued by this new character, even if I am not enjoying the book as much as I was hoping. I am fascinated by the world and the magic, and I like Sabriel and her companions, but I am not really invested in them. I am not so hooked by the reading in general, even if I don't know what went wrong for me. I will finish the book, but I think that I will stop with this first one. (hide spoiler)]

[Sibil]

chapters 19-25 (84%)
(view spoiler)[I hoped that Sabriel's father was really alive and just trapped. I am so sorry to see that he truly is dead and that he can only come back to save the day once. And the Old Kingdom is really a bad place to be at the moment, the scavengers use children as baits! That's awful! (hide spoiler)]

[Sibil]

Finished
(view spoiler)[I am a tad curious about the two cats, because cats are always cool! But that's not enough to make me want to continue the series. I am glad to have re-read it, but I think that this author is not really for me, at least not anymore. (hide spoiler)]

[Saige]

Prologue - Chapter 5:

(view spoiler)[I'm really liking Sabriel as a main character so far, though I wish we got a few more world building details. If there are literally necromancers that can raise the dead, then it seems strange to me that the government in the south just like, doesn't believe them? Even though there's straight up proof of magic walking around near the Wall all the time? I hope we get to learn more about how everything works (hide spoiler)]

[Sibil]

Saige wrote: "Prologue - Chapter 5:

[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[It is strange that in the North there is magic, and magical being and all that, and the South simply does not believe it! (hide spoiler)]

[Saige]

Chapter 6-13: (view spoiler)[Sibil, I absolutely agree with you that Abhorsen's house is a super cool setting. I loved the river defense system! Mogget is a little frustrating to me though. He seems reluctant to be helpful, but when given the chance not to be helpful he chooses to do it anyway? Dude, make up your mind. We all know he's gonna befriend Sabriel and probably sacrifice himself/his power for her at some point, so all the wishy-washy lead-up is a little frustrating. I love the bell magic system though, really interesting! (hide spoiler)]

[Saige]

Chapter 13-19: (view spoiler)[Sometimes reading female characters written by men can be really annoying, but I like that Sabriel is feminine without being your typical "strong female character." There are all these little details, like her freaking out when she got her period, or thinking immediately of contraception when she thinks about sleeping with Touchstone. Little stuff that real women would think about. I appreciate that about this book a lot. The whole "we can't talk about the Big Problem because of a Mysterious Curse" thing is so contrived and annoying though. Like, they can talk about it after sailing and the two characters who know everything just...don't bring it up until the last minute? When that information is deeply important? SOOOOOO contrived. Garth Nix, baby, you're better than this. (hide spoiler)]

[Sibil]

Saige wrote: "Chapter 6-13: [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Yes, Mogget is frustrating. I think that he could have been developed a tad differently because it is a bad mix of different things: the mysterious characters/the grumpy old one/a tad of the Cheshire cat, but mixed poorly! (hide spoiler)]

[Sibil]

Saige wrote: "Chapter 13-19: [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[Sabriel is really well done, all around, as a character. With her the author did an amazing job for sure, you are so right!! (hide spoiler)]

[Saige]

Finished: (view spoiler)[This was fun! The romance between Touchstone and Sabriel was definitely too instant for my tastes, but they were cute together. I wish the ending was a little less slapstick. All the joking about/with the soldiers made the abrupt shift into seriousness feel a little less intense. I liked the use of the ring though - and I knew Mogget would step in at the end! Overall a really entertaining book, I think I'll read the rest of the series (hide spoiler)]