Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

29 reviews

cecilielaugesen's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This book was really great!
While all the information was incorporated beautifully into the story, it still felt a little more like an information dump than the first one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Bullying, and Death

Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, Mental illness, and Torture

Minor: Abandonment

freedo8quigly's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

I ended up finishing this as an audiobook which was very enjoyable as it's a full cast with Pullman narrating. It still amazes me that this is a youth book. These are some heavy concepts, but I love that the author isn't talking down to his audience. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Violence, and Animal death

aseel_reads's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Would have preferred this as a physical read and when I was younger. I liked specific plot points but the writing was a bit jarring 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Religious bigotry, Death, and Death of parent

cassie7e's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Wow, this one really tugs the heart. Was not expecting such an end! Pullman does not pull his punches, so the stakes feel high and real, and wounded characters properly suffer their wounds. 

Faves:
- Love the dark matter element making this 2% sci fi
- CATS! Will's affinity for them means we get to see them a couple times
- I still do not know who to trust, or if any side besides the children's is good


Critiques:
- Pacing was slow so it took forever for anything to happen
- Lyra's deference to Will felt jarring after the strong personality established in book one
- The world seems to be congealing around one real God figure and only considers judeochristian mythology in the formation of theology and universe, which is just not that interesting to me
- VERY dark for a children's book; then again I read a lot of dark things as a kid and they went over my head way more than they do for me now as an adult who knows what to feel about dark events

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Animal death, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Blood

Moderate: Suicide and Torture

Minor: Murder and Kidnapping

ladythana's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Gun violence and Mental illness

Minor: Death of parent

thehobbitbarbie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Blood, Child death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Gun violence, Mental illness, War, Bullying, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Classism, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Death, Sexual content, and Violence

deliriah's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Blood, Gun violence, Death, Torture, Suicide, Death of parent, and Mental illness

atalea's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, Suicide, Torture, Animal cruelty, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: War

charliewarliee's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The Subtle Knife is the second novel in the His Dark Materials trilogy, and I definitely enjoyed the first novel more. I started reading this just after finishing the first one in June, and got 75% of the way through before I lost track of it and put it down, not picking it back up again until November. I had forgotten quite a bit but remembered the basics, although it was still difficult to get through. I didn't want to re-read everything else so I just read from where I was, and ended up having to use an audiobook for most of Chapter 14. I am glad to have finished it and will probably read the third novel but will need to watch a recap for the series beforehand.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Death of parent

gentle_garbage_baby's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I love this series. Will is a fantastic addition to the cast of characters and the universe is greatly expanded upon throughout the book. I'm very excited to read the third instalment in the trilogy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Violence, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent and Mental illness