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angelbabe_cj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content
cowardlyteaman's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
It's been a while since I read His Dark Materials, but I absolutely love this return of the universe. It's obvious how Malcolm Polstead influenced Lyra's subconsciousness.
However, I must admit that this book starts off so incredibly with so many amazing areas to explore, and it really raises your expectations on the story-to-come, but in the second half most of these things are pretty much just dropped? The League of St. Alexander, for example, was something I really really liked and wanted more explored in the book.
I have to leave off a note on how amazing the names in this book are, though. I will never seize to fall in love with Pullman's choices on character names. Malcolm, Asta, Asriel, Sophonax, Pantalaimon, Coram van Texel??? So sexy. Not to mention the beautiful image of the Trout you get in the first chapter—with the terrace over the water and the two peacocks.
I absolutely recommend this book.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing
moonybombadil's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence and Sexual harassment
katie_345's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
P.s this book left some stuff unresolved as it’s a first of three, also this book doesn’t really talk about Dust or get into it in nearly as much detail as it does other topics ... the title could be misleading but we might find out more about dust in the follow up novel (not that I’ll read it 😳)
“This was all very difficult “- Malcolm
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Murder
Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Vomit, Medical content, and Alcohol
erinwolf1997'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
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Stalking
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Gun violence, Self harm, and Alcohol
helen___'s review against another edition
- 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? No
3.0
Moderate: Physical abuse and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
jackie_b'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? No
4.5
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Torture, Grief, and Murder
marie_is_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
paintedthree's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault
wolfthorn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
There's also some parts which I have found to be rather unsuitable for a children's/YA book. There's two mentions of paedophilia, two different characters have a known attraction to young children, one for girls and one for boys. The main character is an eleven year old boy and there's a discussion about using him as bait in order to blackmail the relevant character! There's also a vague sex scene, although it's more along the lines of 'these two characters are having sex' rather than anything graphic. That all makes for rather uncomfortable reading. However, the attempted rape was very disconcerting. It's a kids book!
Moderate: Gun violence and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, and Violence