Wayfarer

Title : Wayfarer

Author : R. J. Anderson

Citation : Anderson, R. J. (Rebecca J.). Wayfarer. New York : HarperTeen, 2010.

The only hope for surviving the faeries of the Oak who are in danger of extinction rests in fifteen-year-old Linden. Geared with the last of her people's magic, she sets on bravely into the modern human world. Then she makes a reluctant ally with a human boy named Timothy. The danger discovered by Linden and Tim is much worse than the Oakenfolk's loss of magic which is a threat of a potential evil. Therefore, they both must risk their lives to look for an ancient power before it's too late to save everyone they love. As the situation becomes darker, the danger is more pronounced and the risks are greater than ever. Linden and Tim tell the stories in alternating narratives and their individual issues give substance and suspense to occasionally predictable story lines. The author has managed to craft an artfully stunning magic world with thrilling adventure and delicate beauty which makes the book is addicted to read. The dark plot and fast-paced will straightaway draw readers to keep reading until the end. Although this compelling story has some religious elements, most readers will appreciate the growing understanding of personal responsibility and the importance of compassion reflected from the characters.

Other book in the Faery Rebels : Spell hunter (2009), Arrow (2011), and Swift (2011).

Un lun dun

Title : Un lun dun

Author : China Mieville

Citation : Mieville, China. Un lun dun. New York : Del Rey, 2007.

A twelve-year-old heroine Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret door leading out of London and into a strange city, Un Lun Dun. It is a city awaiting its hero whose coming was predicted long time ago and happened to be set down for all time in the pages of a talking book. In the setting, the city is a place where words are alive; a jungle exists unobserved behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes walk stiffly down the streets and a dark cloud dreams about burning the world. In short, through the looking glass, Un Lun Dun is an urban Wonderland of uncanny delights where all the lost and broking thing of London end up, including Brokkenbroll, a boss of the broken umbrellas; and Obaday Fing, a tailor whose head is a gigantic pin-cushion and Curdle. The compelling style and the fantasy journey of this book are combination of unexpected opportunities for heroism and magic. The unexpected twist will make readers to keep turning the pages until they have reached the end.

Sabriel

Title : Sabriel

Author : Garth Nix

Citation : Nix, Garth. Sabriel. New York : HarperCollins, c1995.

This is an Australian fiction about Sabriel, a young girl sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre to be a necromancer, a person who fight the dead who seek to return to life.   She has little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But then when her father, Abhorsen, goes missing, she must enter the kingdom to save him. Accompanied by Mogget, a raging natural force contained in the form of a cat, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage long imprisoned by magic, every step of the way bring them closer to the battle of life and death. This first instalment of the Abhorsen trilogy incorporates the virility and compassionate love of a young girl making her a sympathetic heroine. With a rich, complex, world-building and fast-paced, the novel makes it hard to put down. Although it is bleak, readers who enjoy the intricate tales of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, will find this trilogy is also appealing.

Other book in the Abhorsen Trilogy: Lirael, daughter of the Clayr (2001); Abhorsen (2003)