Opening this book is not like opening an ordinary novel. It's heavy, glossy, and full of weird and extraordinary paintings that illustrate the strange world of Abarat. There are twenty-five islands in the Abarat archipelago, each one stuckat a single hour of the day and inhabited by magical creatures both friendly and monstrous. Meet the motley, knobbly, leathery Malingo, who is helpful andbrave. Or, Christopher Carrion, who rules over the island of Midnight and lives with a portable aquarium filled with nightmares that attack on his command.

But first, meet Candy Quackenbush, who lives in Chickentown, Minnesota. She isabsolutely sure that she lives in the most boring place in the world. Then, oneday, she meets a man with eight heads and watches a sea roll out of nowhere.The water sweeps her away and takes her to Abarat, where things are notordinary, or safe, but always exciting.

I read this book when it first came out, and I read it in a few greedy sprints. It was wild, a little scary, and very different from anything I had ever readbefore. It's also the first part in an ongoing series, Book One of a probable five.

Reviewed by Megan

Abarat (Paperback)

By Clive Barker, Clive Barker (Illustrator)

$14.99

ISBN-13: 9780064407335
Availability: Special Order - Subject to Availability
Published: HarperCollins, 10/01/2003

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