Retro Friday Review: Sabriel by Garth Nix

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! Angie includes roundups from participating bloggers in her post every week.

To be honest, I don't know how to introduce SABRIEL.  I decided to feature it this week since I reviewed A CONFUSION OF PRINCES yesterday.  But if you're reading In Bed With Books then you're probably a fan of young adult literature.  And to YA fans, the first novel in Garth Nix's Abhorsen Trilogy is not obscure.  ACROSS THE WALL, an anthology set in the Abhorsen world, is slightly obscure.  But SABRIEL?  Well known, and for a good reason.

I remember reading it for the first time during a baseball game and being utterly enthralled.  (My family enjoyed going to baseball games.  Me, less so.  Thus I always went equipped with a purse full of books.)  Almost the next day, I went out and bought LIRAEL.  Unfortunately, ABHORSEN wasn't out yet.  When it came out I bought it in hardcover, which I almost never do.  That's how good the trilogy is.

Sabriel is a necromancer, using her bells to prevent the Dead who won't stay dead from running amok in the Old Kingdom or, worse, escaping the Old Kingdom.  She's been living as a normal college student in neighboring Ancelstierre, but there's far more to her than that.  When her father, the current Abhorsen, becomes trapped in Death, it is up to Sabriel to rescue him.  Along the way she also rescues Mogget (a cat who is not a cat) and Touchstone (a ship's figurehead that is not a ship's figurehead).

SABRIEL is lush.  There's the struggle of good against evil and that of order against chaos.  There's romance, betrayal, death, humor.  This dark fantasy contains not only a richly realized world, but characters that linger in your mind long after you finish reading.

Luckily, the sequels LIRAEL and ABHORSEN live up to SABRIEL's promise.  You don't have to say good-bye to the fabulous cast when the book ends.  (You do, reluctantly, have to say good-bye after ACROSS THE WALL.  But there's always re-reading.)

If you haven't read SABRIEL, make a trip to your local bookstore or library.  You won't regret spending time with this amazing woman.  (And Touchstone ain't half bad himself.)  (Mogget is more than half bad, but he's got the humor to make up for it.)

Retro Friday Review: Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! Angie includes roundups from participating bloggers in her post every week.

Sadly, I've only participated in Retro Friday once.  But that doesn't mean I don't have older books to talk about!  People talk like we're living in an unprecedented age of vampire novels.  But really, the vampire novel never went out of style after it was invented.  The vampire young adult novel, however, is more popular than ever.  Back when I was in junior high those of us who liked vampires had fewer options.   And one of the most popular options was COMPANIONS OF THE NIGHT by Vivian Vande Velde.

I was already familiar with Velde when someone recommended COMPANIONS OF THE NIGHT to me.  I liked her books, ever since I read A WELL-TIMED ENCHANTMENT, since she wrote comedic and clever novels about teens and children in extraordinary situations.   There was also a nice thread of feminism running through her works.  As for COMPANIONS OF THE NIGHT, I know of know better way to sell it than to tell the premise:

COMPANIONS OF THE NIGHT begins with Kerry's late-night quest to retrieve her much younger brother's stuffed bear.  (Anyone who has spent much time with a little kid knows that favored stuffed animals are necessary to get the kid to sleep.)  Thus, Kerry drives herself down to the laundromat, pretty sure it will be closed, but willing to try anyway.  Strangely, it is open but no one is there.

Then the owner and two of his friends return with a bound young man.  They claim that Ethan is a vampire.  Kerry, thoroughly assured that the local laundromat owner is out of his mind, helps Ethan escape.

The next day someone kidnaps Kerry's father and brother, causing her to go to Ethan for help.  Ethan is, of course, a vampire.  And Kerry's about to have the adventure of a lifetime.

Kerry is a terrific heroine.  She's resourceful and brave, and she doesn't put up with vampires mocking her dad's old car.  Ethan is charming bad news and secretive motives.  (Together, they fight crime!  Not really.  But close.)  COMPANIONS OF THE NIGHT is structured like an action movie.  Two very different characters meet, then have to work together for one crazy night.  There's suspense, romance, comedy, and piano.

COMPANIONS OF THE NIGHT is not a complex book and there is no deep mythology.  That might put some vampire fans off.  But it's a shame to miss out on this one.  If only because it's about a girl who repeatedly rescues dudes in distress.

Retro Friday Review: The Tricksters by Margaret Mahy

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! Angie includes roundups from participating bloggers in her post every week.

I first became aware of Retro Fridays almost a month ago. Several of the participants were reviewing THE CHANGEOVER by Margaret Mahy. The recent popularity of THE CHANGEOVER can probably be linked to Sarah Rees Brennan's wicked funny review and Justine Larbalestier's equally enthusiastic review. I'm pleased as punched that people are reading about Laura Chant and Sonny Carlisle, because they are an amazing couple. But Margaret Mahy has written tons of books. While some of them don't work for me, THE TRICKSTERS may be even better than THE CHANGEOVER.

That's right.  I like THE TRICKSTERS better.

How much do I like THE TRICKSTERS?

• I once owned four copies.  One for me, three to constantly loan out.  I think I'm down to one loaner copy.
• Before I owned these copies, I lent mine to a friend who lived five hours away because it was that important that other people read it.
• I wrote an essay on it.  This essay was for admission to the academic program I'm now in.  The subject can be whittled down to "Why Reading THE TRICKSTERS Is Just as Important as Reading Plato."
• No, really.

Harry, real name Ariadne, is the seventeen-year-old bookish, quiet daughter lost in a large family.  Most of her excitement comes from secretly writing a torrid romance.  One day on holiday, she jokingly marries the sea to entertain herself and her brother.  The next day, three mysterious brothers show up at the house, using names that clearly came from the bookshelf (Ovid, Hadfield, and Felix).  Notably, they all look like characters from her story.  Also, the three men may all be the ghost of the same person, Teddy Carnival - the mysteriously dead son of the original owner of the vacation home.

As Harry and Felix fall in love, Harry begins to realize her own power.  "I can seem beautiful," she tells someone who dares to threaten her.  Felix gains power from their love as well - and neither of his brothers want that to happen.

THE TRICKSTERS is sexy.  Harry and Felix only have implied sex, but a book doesn't need an explicit scene to be sexy.  Margaret Mahy knows that, and this coming-of-age tale is all about human sexuality without ever being crass.

Mahy also pulls off a Megan Whalen Turner worthy twist when it comes to the family saga side of things.  She hides secrets so well that you don't even know you should be looking for them until they're revealed.  This makes subsequent readings richer, as you realize how Mahy shaped the novel, dropping numerous hints while using Harry's narration to direct your attention elsewhere.

Best of all, Mahy trusts her reader's intelligence.  THE TRICKSTERS is sometimes confusing, as Mahy rarely explains exactly what's going on.  You have to put it together yourself.  Often, you have to make your own decision about what happened.  Her writing is heavy on character and atmosphere, which keeps things moving smoothly even at the parts when you know you don't understand everything yet.  Mahy's best works are rich and decadent feasts.  The themes and action of THE TRICKSTERS demand your attention, and if you give it you will be rewarded.

If you're looking for a sexy and intelligent coming-of-age story cum family saga, look no farther than THE TRICKSTERS.  If that's not what you're looking for, you should read it anyway.