The Left Handed Booksellers of London is a young adult fantasy by author Garth Nix. This is the first book I have read from Garth but it will not be my last because The Left Handed Booksellers of London was so much fun. I am really hoping that this is going to turn into a series because I loved the characters, I loved the magic and I really loved the world and all of the creatures that Garth Nix has crafted.


In this novel, we meet our three main characters, Susan who is thrust into this new world of secret agent booksellers fighting mythical creatures. Merlin- who is a left-handed bookseller, which means he is a fighter in the battle against these creatures, and finally his sister Vivian who is a right-handed bookseller, which means she is the intellectual brains behind the plotting and plans against all of the creatures. Susan is trying to find her father and instead stumbles upon Merlin and his sister.Together our characters set off on an adventure to save the world. I really enjoyed this fun adventure.

I did find it a little unbelievable that Susan witnessed this foreign magical world and just accepted it all at face value. That is a bit of a book pet peeve of mine, but once I got past that I was easily swept up in the fun adventure. There are plenty of secrets to uncover as we are kicking butt along side our main characters. I was a little lost while reading a few times because this is very much a book that reveals tidbits of information as we go, so you don't have a full picture until you are pretty far into the story, but it is all really well done. Garth Nix does a great job at giving you enough information to keep the reader entertained, but withholding some secrets to keep everything interesting.


Bottom line: I think it is perfect for fantasy readers of all ages because there story is mostly lighthearted and it doesn't venture into anything too, too dark. I would love to journey back to this London and have more adventures with Merlin, Susan and Vivian.