Sabriel

It's interesting to wonder how this book would be received if it had been published in today's YA market instead of 25 years ago. (25 years!!) Some clues lie in the reprint covers with the large charter symbols that give it a more Hunger Games or Divergent feel to it. Would it get an updated title like “A Path of Bells and Spirits” or I even wonder if it would be a multiple POV book split between Sabriel and Touchstone? I even wonder if an editor today would encourage Nix to put more emphasis on the alternate history facet of the books.

I loved these books as a tween/teen and still do. I think they hold up well despite being a bit of a hard sell for kids. The old covers - though I love them and think they are beautiful - are VERY different from the kind of YA covers you see today and the new ones look like generic fantasy.

Anyway, it's fun to think about. I still feel strong emotions towards these books. I think I still want to be Sabriel and Lirael when I grow up. (I wrote about them a few years ago for WWAC if you want more emotions: https://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/2015/09/books-shaped-sabriel/)

I reread this now because I wanted something comforting and I wanted someone saying to me, “This is all hard and I'm scared and unprepared. But you can do it.” Sabriel does that for me.

Finally, if you haven't listened to the audiobook versions, I HIGHLY recommend them. They're read by Tim Curry and you haven't lived until you've heard him voice Mogget, an extremely bitchy cat.