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valorelei's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Alcohol
celeste329's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Lyra was also a great headstrong protagonist for this story and I loved all her interactions with Pantalaimon. I also liked how she showed her loyalties and had great flexibility in her thinking, which made her an interesting figure to watch.
I also kind of had a feeling that
The pacing was overall medium, I never felt too much of a lull or too much action, so I think this was done very well. The prose was also quite well done and immersive, and I don't think there was a moment where the book did not have my full attention.
Moderate: Violence and Kidnapping
Minor: Gore and Abandonment
glennjiles1's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Blood
jolineliest's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Murder, and War
Minor: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
noxwitchbooklife's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death
librarymouse's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
I love the characters of the witches, especially in how they (to an extent) are similar to Milton's angels.
It's very easy to get immersed in this world.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Confinement, Vomit, and War
Minor: Toxic relationship
merrynthomas's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Violence
Minor: Gore
fjerda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
abby_can_read's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
This was an enjoyable book. I think the characters are well-developed. The story started off strong and the ending was weak. I do plan to read the other books in the series.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Blood, Trafficking, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, and Alcohol
bexi's review against another edition
- 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 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.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Excrement, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism