Mister Monday by Garth Nix (0807216569) Listening Library Cassette Version
I just finished listening to this one in my car and towards the end I would slow down just to keep listening a little longer and I would take an enormous amount of time tidying the dash so I could just hear a tiny bit more.
Set in England, Arthur is a boy who has just started a new school. On the first day he has to run around a park in gym class and collapses due to his asthma. Two other students come to his aid, but he still starts to die. As he is dying, he sees the strange site of a man in an antique wheelchair and his butler appear beside him. The man, Mister Monday, gives Arthur a key. And so starts this immense adventure through a vibrantly imagined and rendered realm.
Recommend this to Harry Potter fans. It offers a great sense of humor, a British setting, magic, destiny, and the necessary battle between good and evil. A wonderful ride that will keep you looking for the second in the series.