Sabriel by Garth Nix

    The book, Clariel, has been on my TBR list for a while.  This book is actually the first one in the Abhorsen series.  I came across this on Book Riot's list of books that remind us of Harry Potter.   I guess I should have known..... I rarely agree with Book Riot's lists and once you compare ANYTHING to Harry Potter, you are on dangerous ground.

Sabriel is the book about a young girl who, like her father is a necromancer.  However, unlike most necromancers they don't bring things back from the dead ( although they can),  instead, it is there job to bind the dead from rising.  Sabriel is at school, which teaches magic ( perhaps the only similarity with Harry Potter - well that and the great big villian)   when her father fails to appear for a promised visit.  Instead she receives an undead visitor who brings her the sword of her father and his bells.  The bells are used for various tasks associated with binding the dead.

Sabriel leaves school and heads off - alone - to the Old Kingdom - to find her father.  Sabriel is very brave, but often fool-hardy in her plans.   Like many teenagers, I guess.  Although the book is full of action, Sabriel is alone for the first third of the book.  Then, her main companion is Moggett, a free magical entity that has been entrapped by her father and forced into servitude.

The book came across as somewhat flat to me.  The action was happening but I didn't feel as if I was part of it.  Although I admired things about Sabriel - her courage, for one - I couldn't really relate to her and because of that, I didn't really feel invested in her story.  Bummed because I was really looking forward to this one but felt it was only eh.   Well written but lacking.