You may have heard of a necromancer. In the magical realm connected to the modern world known as the Old Kingdom, they are fairly common. A special variety of sorcerers that can bring back the dead or banish any trouble making undead. Most people of the Old Kingdom fear them, but one necromancer has always been on their side. Abhorsen is his name. It's his and his family's duty to banish the undead or send any lost souls to where they belong. The story is about Abhorsen's daughter, Sabriel and her quest to save the Old Kingdom and the modern world. When Sabriel is eighteen, her father fails to visit her at her boarding school and later sends her the message that he's in trouble along with his set of magic bells (the main tool of the necromancer, used to enter death) and his sword. She crosses the border to the Old Kingdom and begins her quest. Eventually, she picks up her family's "pet", a spirit named Mogget who takes the form of a cat and Touchstone, an ex-prince who also happens to know some magic. I would recommend this book. It's very interesting and creative. The characters are also very real in how the act and think.

-Andrea