12.11/22/09 The Magicians by Lev Grossman (402 pages)

I loved this book. It was sad, and dark, and it bitchslapped Narnia. Finally real, unhappy people ended up as the heroes in a fantasy story. None of their problems were solved by magic. College had drinking and sex and foolishness. There were lots of hurt feelings, and death came without any sense of fairness. Nothing was resolved neatly. All questions were answered, but there wasn't really any closure. And the climax of the story was chilling and a half. I made lots of gasping and squeaking noises while I was reading the last few chapters, and Sadie got to have a good laugh at my expense. But seriousy? HE BIT OFF SOMEONE'S HANDS!! And you probably won't be able to figure out who he is. I couldn't.