LIRAEL
Garth Nix
Eos/HarperCollins
Young Adult
ISBN: 0060005424
496 pages

First a little background: the Old Kingdom is a mysterious land located to the far north of modern day England. Charter magic (made into a wall) is the only thing that keeps the Old Kingdom contained, and most of our world is totally unaware of the crazy world beyond the wall. Nix created the Old Kingdom in his book SABRIEL, and now with LIRAEL, he has returned to this enthralling, mystical land. Many years have passed between the stories of the two books, and the Old Kingdom is once again threatened by a great evil force. Nix's prose is skillful; readers are immediately pulled back into the world of mages, seers, and royal warriors. Nix also doesn't skimp on descriptions of the coolest elements of the Old Kingdom: necromancy, seers, dangerous monsters, and talking animals --- the cat Mogget returns!

That said, the real story in LIRAEL is one familiar to readers of Young Adult novels: the traumas of alienation, growing up, and how turning 14 can really suck. Lirael (the title character, natch) is orphaned --- although not really. She never knew who her father was, and her mother abandoned her when Lirael was just a little kid. Lirael lives with her cousins, the Clayr, a magical clan of women. She is ostracized and can't feel comfortable or fit in with the hundreds of other kids who live in the huge Clayr castle. Physically very different from the rest of her family, Lirael also can't cut it in the magic department --- they all possess "Sight," the ability to see the future. Gaining the gift of "Sight" is the Clayr equivalent of a Bat Mitzvah, marking a girl's transition into adulthood. The gift can come at any time; some of the cousins are no more than five or six but they are already seers. Lirael think she will never have "Sight," never become an adult, and never be accepted by her family.

However, a dangerous act committed just after her birthday leads Lirael to a meeting with a wise woman and eventually to the magical, smart-mouth "Disreputable Dog." Readers will be totally caught up in Lirael's life as she learns to use her magic. Along with the Disreputable Dog, Lirael ventures on a quest foreseen hundreds of years before. She also meets up with handsome Prince Sameth, Sabriel's son. I don't want to give away too much, so I will just say that Lirael finds that her life and fate are linked to that of the Old Kingdom. Sparks fly when she and Sameth get together --- and adventures ensue!  

LIRAEL is full of twists and turns, subplots abound, and readers will be turning pages madly. The book ends on a total cliffhanger, and all the questions raised in the book are left unanswered. As in the earlier book, Nix's characters are well drawn and real, and the book is paced like a roller coaster ride. Readers jonesing for some resolution to Lirael's destiny will have to wait for the third book, tentatively scheduled for fall 2002. For now, LIRAEL is a highly recommended thrill a minute book with a tender teen story at its heart.

   --- Reviewed by Serena Burns

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