The language used is suitable for readers who have a good reading level, as the dialogue used ‘discourse’ (Angel, 2016) in order to deliver information which worked wonderfully, regarding informing the reader about the background of the plot and the history of the Abhorsen. The nuances in the description of emotions, the environment and even the language used was familiar to me, reminding me of why I loved Nix’s previous works.

I wasn’t disappointed as while reading Clariel, the charm of the Old Kingdom came flooding back after years of having read Abhorsen. Having previously read the Abhorsen Trilogy when it originally came out, I knew that Clariel was an extension to the series, and I was thoroughly looking forward to reading the book.

The quality of description regarding how the town was laid out was fantastic, and the amount of world building that Nix incorporates with his work gives the books he writes a sense of realism – that this could be real! It paints a beautiful image in the readers mind about how the world interacts with the characters, how it impacts the main character without losing the impact of an “…immersive sensory experience…” (Pereira, 2019). The background of the family is intriguing, we discover that they moved from an external town to Belisaere, much to Clariel’s disapproval and later on in the story we find out why, this foreshadowing was effective in keeping my attention. A nice touch to the opening of the book is a map from a birds-eye view of Belisaere and The Old Kingdom, to help readers imagine the location in their mind as well as beautiful artwork on the front cover. It is clear from the onset, that Clariel has one main ambition in life: to become a Borderer and live in the Great Forest, not having to interact with people and living life the way she wants to. She is the daughter of a highly respected Goldsmith family in the city Belisaere, which is situated north east of the Old Kingdom surrounded by the Sea of Saere. It surrounds the world of the Old Kingdom, focusing on a young girl who is coming of age: Clariel. ‘Clariel’ is written by Garth Nix and was published in 2014, being number 4 in the bestselling Old Kingdom Series.

Clariel book