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I think the initial pacing is a little bit too slow but quickly improves. There also is a surprising amount of gore in this book specifically related to animals that I did not expect.
While not mind blowing, I think this book is a great set up for future books and handles discussion about religion well and in a way that is definitely understandable to its target audience while not being condescending in how its explained. It's definitely a good challenging fantasy book for a middle grade audience.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Religious bigotry
Minor: Slavery, Alcohol
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death
Minor: Racism
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal death
Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse
Minor: Racism
Moderate: Child death, Kidnapping
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Torture
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death
Moderate: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Torture, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, War
Pullman's world is similar to our own, though he clearly exaggerates several aspects for the purpose of critiquing the parallel institutions in our world. Specifically, Pullman's depiction of the Church in his novel is a less than subtle critique of the way the Church in our world exerts it's power over religious cannon to claim heresy and control both everyday people, and by extent academic institutions and their research. Pullman also critiques the academic institutions themselves, particularly the amount of power that both scholars and academic institutions have, and their disinterest in matters other than their own research and professional reputation.
I appreciated how this book managed to introduce various themes, dynamic characters, and substantial world building, while maintaining an engaging plot and decent character development. Pullman strikes a perfect balance between answering enough questions by the end of the book to feel like a satisfying conclusion, while leaving some broader plot lines unanswered in preparation for a continuation of the story. Unlike many similar stories, Pullman doesn't allow Lyra to easily escape her trials for the sake of plot convenience, but rather allows her to develop as a character with each narrow escape.
Moderate: Animal death, Child death
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry