Skip to main content

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers)
Lyra Belacqua, like all humans, has a shape-shifting animal companion called a daemon always by her side. Her uncle, Lord Asriel, and a mysterious woman named Mrs. Coulter are at the center of a revolution involving the government, stolen children, witches and armored bears.

Category
YA Fiction

Why I chose this book
Controversy

My personal opinion (the review)
I heard a great deal about controversy when I considered reading this book, so I decided to read it for myself. A section of the Bible was changed. The Catholic church is accused of running the world. And original sin is touted as a major factor behind wars. So yeah, there's a bit of controversy. But really, let's keep our heads on tight. It's fiction
I liked the book, and I'm looking forward to more in the series. No bad language, it's well written, the story line moves well, and the characters aren't flat. I'm a fan.

Warnings
Language: none
Violence: some, but not graphic
"Adult" situations: none
Death: yes

Movie rating equivalent
PG

Protagonist description
Lyra is a child, but she's quite bright and resourceful

Point of view of story
Third, from the perspective of Lyra

Book length
Medium-long

Story flow
Excellent

Grammar and spelling issues
None

Character connection (no spoilers)
None in particular, looking forward to more from all

For series:
Independent or integral (stand-alone or back story dependent)
Unknown, so far

Series review as a whole
I've only read the first, but it was good enough to want to read more!

If you only have time for one, read: (which one)
Start at the beginning: Golden Compass

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Game by Terry Schott

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers) What if this life is just a simulation? What if our bodies are in another world, plugged into a virtual reality game, and our entire life is just one play in that game? What would our real life be like, if we could experience several full simulated lifespans, in our teen years, and then enter adulthood? That is the premise of this story. Category Sci-Fi Why I chose this book It was either free or discounted on Amazon, and sounded interesting My personal opinion (the review) Too many inconsistencies. For example: The real world is able to view the players in the game in "real time", but time in the game is sped up, so that a week in real life is worth a decade in the virtual world. How do real world people have enough time to experience the virtual world, in real time, while still being accelerated? Danielle enters the game 3 days behind Trew, but she only ends up being 1 year younger. If a week is a decade in the game, then 3 days should have be...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mark of Fire by Richard Phillips

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Two main stories: Carol, the daughter of Lord Rafel, wants to be a magic wielder. As she learns magic and grows in strength, she is unaware that she is being hunted by the greatest wielder in the world. The second story is about a ward of Rafel's, named Blade, who becomes an infamous assassin and works for the king. The king sends Blade to kill Rafel and Carol, but he warns them to flee instead. Blade wanders, to escape the king's justice, but finds himself in his own adventure. Category : Fiction, fantasy, possibly YA Why I chose this book : Kindle First My personal opinion : I really enjoyed the story line, the world the author created, and the depth of the characters. It was easy to lose myself in the story. I also really appreciate that the story is "clean" - no bad language, no sexual situations, etc. I feel comfortable recommending this to my teenage children. Warnings Language: none Violence: fairly frequent fighting "Adult...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Keeper by Suzanne Woods Fisher

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Story follows the Lapp family, an Amish family in new England, their challenges, growth, and relationships developed with the new housekeeper and beekeeper who have become part of their household, especially the relationship of Julia with Rome (the beekeeper), a traveling unattached "drifter" that resides in stony ridge part of each spring/summer. Category Christian fiction Why I chose this book It showed up on the suggestions page of my library digital borrow/lend site, and it looked like a love story. Other cultures (like Amish) interest me. I knew it would be a safe read love story. My personal opinion (the review) I really enjoyed the love story. It was also interesting to read about an Amish family. It had a lot of spiritual references in the thoughts of the characters and I liked that.  Warnings (language, violence, "adult" situations, death, etc.) No "bad" stuff, but yes death. (I was grateful for the ...
Post a Comment
Read more