Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

15 reviews

cecilielaugesen's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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? No

5.0

This is one of those books you can read at any age, and you will most likely get something different from it each time.
Both the story line, the characters and the world are so complex and well build.
While it is entertaining it is also quite dark - all in all I loved it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gaslighting, and Grief

Moderate: Kidnapping, Abandonment, Child abuse, Murder, Torture, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol and Confinement

jolineliest's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Deportation, Child death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Grief, Confinement, Emotional abuse, War, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Slavery, Trafficking, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Death of parent, Body horror, Gun violence, Gore, Abandonment, Blood, and Forced institutionalization

rhiannon814r's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Kidnapping, and Child death

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, Classism, Medical content, Misogyny, and Forced institutionalization

thehobbitbarbie's review against another edition

adventurous reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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: Kidnapping, Colonisation, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Trafficking, Animal death, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Violence

alicelalicon's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Child death, Confinement, Gaslighting, Grief, War, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, and Death

mirandyli's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

This was a delightful read. I read this book after watching the HBO series, which was great as well. The premise is adorable. I wish I read this series as a child.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Forced institutionalization, and Toxic relationship

plume_de_renarde's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Child death, and Animal death

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Misogyny

Minor: Abandonment, Racism, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

bexi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I thought the first part was confusing and a little boring, but it picks up later on. I'd recommend sticking with it until at least part two if you're feeling the same way, because it does get better.

I often struggled to connect with the characters and found many of them unlikable, including the main character Lyra (she grew on me, but I'm still not sure I like her).

I believe this book is supposed to be a critique of Christianity, or maybe more specifically the Church. I occasionally felt I lacked the knowledge to understand all of the critiques because although my parents were raised Baptist & Catholic respectively, I was not raised as such. For context, I'm not a religious person and identify as agnostic. I found the commentary interesting, but if you're a Christian you might get upset by some of it.

This book is marked as middle grade and young adult. I'd say it leans more YA. I found this incredibly dark for MG and would not recommend it to the average middle grader. If said child is emotionally & intellectually mature for their age then okay, but otherwise I'd say it's best for ages 14+. I don't have kids, so take that with a grain of salt. I personally would not have been mature/smart enough to get much out this book had I read it in middle school. 😅

I thought the story was unique and liked it overall, but I'm not sure if I'll pick up the next book in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Murder, Violence, and Xenophobia

Minor: Racism, Alcohol, Classism, Gaslighting, Excrement, and Infidelity

orchidlilly's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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? No

4.0

An immersive world of steampunk-Esque magic combined with the beginnings of a portal fantasy! The worldbuilding comes naturally, and Pullman brilliantly captures the thought process and mental state of a preteen girl left to her own devices. The side characters are well developed and often ride the fine moral grey line.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Medical content, Violence, Animal death, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, and Child death

Minor: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Colonisation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Blood, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Racial slurs, and Drug use

anni_swanilda's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Death, Forced institutionalization, Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content

Minor: Alcohol