The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Genre: Young Adult

Sub Genre: Fantasy; Magic, Paralell Reality, His Dark Materials

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe. He leaves Lyra in the care of Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her. In this multilayered narrative, however, nothing is as it seems. Lyra sets out for the top of the world in search of her kidnapped playmate, Roger, bearing a rare truth-telling instrument, the compass of the title. All around her children are disappearing—victims of so-called "Gobblers"—and being used as subjects in terrible experiments that separate humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person's inner being. And somehow, both Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are involved.

This is the first book in His Dark Materials series. Lyra is a very smart mouthed character that does what she wants when she wants to. I love characters like her. This story is set in an alternative universe. I love the talking animal and not just the souls, but the ice bears as well. They did make this book into a movie. Only it wasn’t nearly as good as this is. There were a lot of scenes that were left out. I love this book as it is a great adventure. As Lyra is going along she is learning more about herself and who she really is. This was a great twist for the story to take. I can't wait to read the next book in the series, The Subtle Knife.

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

ISBN: 0375838309

Pages: 432

Series: His Dark Materials

Volume: 1