I loved the original Abhorsen trilogy, and this book has added to that love. 
 It was difficult to read yet I devoured it within a few sittings; it was hard to read because as a reader, I felt both frustrated and supportive of Clariel and her singleminded, yet incredibly modest, dream of returning to her forest. How could I not support that, and dislike her parents for rejecting their daughter's dream? And when it became very unhappily clear that this was not the story of a hero arising, but an anti-hero, the origin story of a villain, I felt keenly sorry for her, pulled into darkness both by her anger at not getting what she wanted, and her ignorance. It is a good story. I didn't enjoy it as much as the other three books, but I am glad I read it, and I cannot hate Clariel, as much as I was frustrated by her actions through the majority of the book.