Lirael

by Garth Nix
New York : PerfectBound, 2001.

If you haven't read Sabriel, better get to that one before reading the review below. :)

Fourteen some-odd years after Touchstone and Sabriel defeat Kerrigor, all is still not well in the Old Kingdom. Lirael, a daughter of the Clayr, chafes that she cannot See into the future like all her relatives; Prince Sameth, going to school in Ancelstierre, has such a terrible encounter in Death that he fears going back, though he is the Abhorsen-in-waiting.

The third-person narrative moves back and forth between Lirael and Sam's points of view, giving readers a more complete but not whole picture of events going on. An unnamed enemy seems to be doing something that is still breaking Charter stones and blocking the Clayr's sight. Neither Lirael nor Sameth are particularly happy with their lot, since they don't seem to fit in with other people's expectations. This was a little annoying at times, but completely understandable (especially as they're teenagers...). In truth, however, they both have important roles to play. Mogget returns, and another talking animal/magical being is introduced - the Disreputable Dog, a character which made me laugh many times by its very doglike behavior.