Every other chapter he finds a way to reference her gender in a glaring, unnatural way, two or three of those times of which are referencing her physical gender, which I found creepy and unnecessary. Sabriel seems to me a very flat, one-dimensional character. Comparably, Lirael is much more convincing. Coincidentally (or not, is what I'm saying), the fact that Lirael is female isn't constantly, constantly driven down our throats in the second two books; what's focused on, especially in the second book, is her social withdrawl and awkwardness. Likely, Garth Nix never got within ten feet of a teenage girl back in his day, but intimately knows what it's like to be socially inept, wishing for friends and for joy at company but only ever reviling at human contact. And don't get me started on th