Seen at Bookish Antics! 
 I've wanted to read Sabriel for ages, it's one of those books that every fan of YA fantasy except me has seemed to read. When I heard that there would be a prequel to the Old Kingdom series called Clariel, I was so excited because I would now have an excuse to binge all 4 books. Clariel is an extremely exciting, magical novel that's extremely accessible even to those who have yet to read Sabriel. I was extremely impressed with the in-depth character development in Clariel and I have a feeling this is merely the first of many Garth Nix novels that I'm going to love! 
 Clariel doesn't want to move to the city to become a member of the upper class, she just wants to live in the forest and live out a peaceful existence with nature. Moving to the city is much more dangerous than Clariel ever expected because there's a free-magic creature on the loose and she's going to have to learn etiquette at a finishing school. To make matters even worse, Clariel is betrothed to a psychotic murderer and she is thrust into the middle of a rebellion. 
 I truly love Clariel because she's such a clever, fierce individual who refuses to be the pawn of anyone. No matter what situation Clariel is thrown into, she manages to find an ingenious way out and still be true to herself. I really empathized with Clariel because she's an introvert like myself and she feels at peace when she's all alone. Clariel doesn't want to be in the spotlight, surrounded by people; all Clariel wants is to live in the forest and that's it. It's rare to find introverted characters in novels and this is a shame because so much of the world's population is introverted. 
 I expected there to be a romance in Clariel because so many YA books feature romantic sub-plots. There isn't a romance in Clariel and I was shocked to find out that Clariel was asexual. This is probably the 1st book I've ever heard where the main character wasn't interested in romance. Though one of Clariel's friends has a crush on her, I loved how Nix properly displayed their friendship as a platonic one. So many people seem to believe that men and women can't just be friends and enjoy a platonic relationship, but this novel perfectfully conveys the contrary. 
 Garth Nix really builds an imaginative world with such a clever magic system; I truly loved reading about the differences between free magic and charter magic. The magic in this world is structured really cleverly and I loved how it isn't a whisk of the wand -- this magic is powerful, dangerous and all-consuming. You can't just use magic because there are dire effects that go hand in hand with this ability. If the idea of terrific world-building and magic doesn't appeal to you, this novel is worth reading just to get meet Mogget (a free-magic creature). Of all the fantasy worlds I've ever read about, The Old Kingdom is one of my favorites and I look forward to visiting this world once again. 
 Clariel is an extremely excellent fantasy novel and I can easily see why Sabriel has resonated with countless readers. This is definitely one of my favorites of the year and I'll be pushing this book on friends, family and others bloggers without a doubt. I loved Clariel and this book has convinced me to check out the rest of Nix's backlist; I really hope to get to the other books in this series ASAP. If you're tired of romance-centered YA fiction and are looking to read a novel with action and excellent world-building, check out Clariel!