Quest; Young Adult Literature; Fantasy
This book has quest written all over it. Not only is our main character, Will, on a quest for pretty much the entire story, he is even told outright that he's going on a quest by Merriman:
"It is your quest to find and to guard the six great Signs of the Light, made over the centuries by the Old Ones, to be joined in power only when the circle is complete. The first Sign hangs on your belt already, but to find the rest will not be easy. You are the Sign-Seeker, Will Stanton. That is your destiny, your first quest." (3.59)
In literature, a quest is what happens when a character travels to a far-off destination with the sole purpose of achieving some goal. Will's not just learning about his life as an Old One in The Dark is Rising; he has to fulfill a specific mission in order to help his pals out, traveling through space and time to get the job done. If that's not a quest then our name's not Shmoop. And if all that hurtling through time and space doesn't mean this book's also in the fantasy genre then, well, we'll also surrender our diplomas.
As for the YA component, we have an eleven-year-old as our main character, which is a good clue that the book is oriented toward younger readers. That said, it isn't written for children—the plot is too complicated for anyone not in the young adult reader category to really follow along with.