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shinyfox's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? No
3.75
Lyra has moments where she can be annoying as the main character, but she's also a child.... and what child isn't annoying at some point? The beginning of the book was a bit slow and you get hit with a LOT of information pretty quickly.
Loved the narration of this book, each and every character had a different person reading for them and it was amazing and really lent itself to the richness of the world and characters.
Loved the narration of this book, each and every character had a different person reading for them and it was amazing and really lent itself to the richness of the world and characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Alcohol, and War
lycaenide's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
5.0
This was dark, beautifully written, with a clever tricksy plot and boundless adventure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Trafficking
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
kelforrest's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
I personally loved it. A lot of my love comes from nostalgia, but I genuinely really love the worldbuilding, the characters, the plot, and the settings.
It definitely felt less like a middle grade at times, with some brutal themes, but when I read it as a child I was okay with it so it depends on what your kids are fine with honestly and what you think they're ready for.
The writing was nice - slightly complex at times, but pretty and made it very easy to picture what was happening in my mind.
It definitely felt less like a middle grade at times, with some brutal themes, but when I read it as a child I was okay with it so it depends on what your kids are fine with honestly and what you think they're ready for.
The writing was nice - slightly complex at times, but pretty and made it very easy to picture what was happening in my mind.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Grief, Murder, and War
kirjakimalainen's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Racism
a1exander's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Cannibalism, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
capriqueen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I read these books once as a child and remember enjoying them, but not much else. An exciting adventure, and well-written—one of the best examples of an unreliable narrator. Lyra is a great main character
But while the story is interesting, it didn’t really capture me, so I probably won’t reread the rest. But I did rekindle my love for Iorek Byrnison
But while the story is interesting, it didn’t really capture me, so I probably won’t reread the rest. But I did rekindle my love for Iorek Byrnison
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
Minor: Animal cruelty
ifistartedreadingwheniwasborn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Death
tastytakoyaki's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book and this trilogy remains one of the most important works I've ever read. It had a huge impact on me as a young person and helped transition me into more mature content and ideas. It kept me reading at a point in my life where I was beginning to lose my interest.
Though technically marketed as a story for young people, I'd say this book (and trilogy) will absolutely appeal to adults and young adults too, and I bet the adult audiences will find much more depth here than you might expect. Despite being for young audiences, this book has a lot to say.
This author is very critical of organized religion, so if that will upset you, fair warning. There is not a specific religion from our world that exists in this book, but the parallels are clear.
This is a delightful fantasy adventure in a world that is both incredibly familiar and also clearly different from our own. The characters are fantastic, the writing is great and the story is gripping and exciting.
I can't recommend this enough, and that goes for the whole series.
10/10 will read again and again.
Though technically marketed as a story for young people, I'd say this book (and trilogy) will absolutely appeal to adults and young adults too, and I bet the adult audiences will find much more depth here than you might expect. Despite being for young audiences, this book has a lot to say.
This author is very critical of organized religion, so if that will upset you, fair warning. There is not a specific religion from our world that exists in this book, but the parallels are clear.
This is a delightful fantasy adventure in a world that is both incredibly familiar and also clearly different from our own. The characters are fantastic, the writing is great and the story is gripping and exciting.
I can't recommend this enough, and that goes for the whole series.
10/10 will read again and again.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
grp101's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A really interesting book that understands kids very well! The world is creative and fun to read about. Everywhere you looked there was another new, interesting aspect of the world to examine, and all the exposition is given naturally and at times when you want it.
I do have an issue(?)/question about one aspect. Were the “Gyptians” supposed to be direct Romany rep or a Romany analog? The word “gyptian” is an old-timey word (slur? i don’t know if that’s a slur) for Roma people, and they live out of boats the way Roma people historically had to do in many cases, but I don’t know enough about Roma people to tell if other aspects of the culture were also taken from/representative of Romany culture or just stuff Pullman made up. All the “gyptian” characters we meet are portrayed as noble, honest, and kind, at least from Lyra’s POV. It does a good job of not making them thieves/career criminals (though I think it is mentioned that they smuggle goods sometimes?) or fortune tellers, but I don’t know how a Romany person would react to this “rep” (again, I’m not sure if they’re meant to simply be Romany or just be an analog). If you’re a Roma person and you see this review, what did you think of them? I’m very curious! I’ve looked online but can’t find any reviews from a Romany perspective.
TWs: child murder, child abuse, general harm to children, religious abuse, animal abuse, violence, animal death, minor sexism, racism (?)
I do have an issue(?)/question about one aspect. Were the “Gyptians” supposed to be direct Romany rep or a Romany analog? The word “gyptian” is an old-timey word (slur? i don’t know if that’s a slur) for Roma people, and they live out of boats the way Roma people historically had to do in many cases, but I don’t know enough about Roma people to tell if other aspects of the culture were also taken from/representative of Romany culture or just stuff Pullman made up. All the “gyptian” characters we meet are portrayed as noble, honest, and kind, at least from Lyra’s POV. It does a good job of not making them thieves/career criminals (though I think it is mentioned that they smuggle goods sometimes?) or fortune tellers, but I don’t know how a Romany person would react to this “rep” (again, I’m not sure if they’re meant to simply be Romany or just be an analog). If you’re a Roma person and you see this review, what did you think of them? I’m very curious! I’ve looked online but can’t find any reviews from a Romany perspective.
TWs: child murder, child abuse, general harm to children, religious abuse, animal abuse, violence, animal death, minor sexism, racism (?)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Child abuse
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gore, and War
Minor: Religious bigotry
myllo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Child death, Violence, Kidnapping, and Grief
Minor: Murder
Not be suitable for kids. Describes feelings of rape quite indepth, although within this universe the actions are not the same as in ours, feelings are the same