Neverwhere

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is a wonderful book. It follows the life of Richard Mayhew, a Scot who moves to London for work. Richard has a normal, boring, safe life, until the evening he meets Door. Door is a curious girl from the world of London Below, a sprawling expanse of sewers, tunnels, and Tube stations.

Richard encounters Door en route to dinner with his girlfriend Jessica. Door was badly injured by a Mr. Croup and a Mr. Vandemar, the vilest assassains in all of London Below, and when Richard tries to take her to a hospital, she implores him not to. So Richard, being the good-hearted man he is, takes Door back to his apartment, thereby thrusting him into the world of London Below and removing him and his existence from London Above.

The book follows Richard as he joins Door on her quest to discover the truth about who killed her entire family and why. On their journey, they come across the many odd inhabitants of London Below including the incorrigible Marquis de Carabas and the infamous bodyguard Hunter, both of whom join Door on her journey.

This is a wonderful book. Gaiman even tricks the readers into thinking that Richard will fall in love with Door, and while they don't get together in the book, the ending is very ambigious. All in all, this is a wonderful tale of growing up and finding where you belong.

This book goes on the shelf.