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rory_o_rama's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
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
5/5 🌟 purely because I was indulging my inner child.
It was a fun change of pace, an adventurous of a hyper-independent kid learning to accept help and form unbreakable bonds.
I may have shed some tears in the train while reading this, from the line “To fight is all I want. Come little dæmon”
It was a fun change of pace, an adventurous of a hyper-independent kid learning to accept help and form unbreakable bonds.
I may have shed some tears in the train while reading this, from the line “To fight is all I want. Come little dæmon”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse and Death
hedsek's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Absolutely love the worldbuilding and the lore and most things about the story. The ways in which relationships between characters and dialogue are written is not great tbh, but the story more than makes up for it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Kidnapping
Minor: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Death of parent
theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Welp, don't expect me to spell a single name correctly in this review because I listened to the audiobook (which was phenomenal, by the way. I'll get to that). If anything, I may just avoid using character names altogether so I can skirt around inevitable embarrassment.
This story was truly a masterpiece! It has been recommended to me countless times, but I never picked it up because of the age range that it's geared towards. I'm not typically a fan of middle-grade books. However, if that's been holding you back from reading this, let me assure you that you have nothing to be concerned about. It's an ageless book (reminiscent of The Chronicles of Narnia) and if no one had told me that it was MG, I would have never known.
Our protagonist is such an interesting character. She's bold and fearless and a little bit brash - as children can be. There's something so incredibly lovable about her from the minute she first walks onto the page. In fact, that's really how I felt about most all of the characters (of whom you're supposed to like, of course). They're a mismatched pack of cast-outs, orphans, daemons, warriors, and then some. It's impossible not to root for them as they go on their adventure.
The book felt as though it had 3 books in one - and it sort of did. It had a few parts to it, but each part read like a separate installation into the story. This was really interesting to me. It could've been broken up into multiple books and I wouldn't have felt like I was missing something. However, though the book was quite long, it was never dull. The action kept it going and even during the slower moments, I didn't feel myself losing interest, which is an impressive feat on the book's part.
If you have the opportunity to, I do strongly recommend the audiobook. It has a full cast and is narrated almost like a group of people sitting around and just gabbing their story. It's very easy to forget that you're "reading" and become almost overly involved in the plot. I'm really glad that I used this format because it really was an incredible experience!
I can't wait to read the sequel to find out what happens next.
This story was truly a masterpiece! It has been recommended to me countless times, but I never picked it up because of the age range that it's geared towards. I'm not typically a fan of middle-grade books. However, if that's been holding you back from reading this, let me assure you that you have nothing to be concerned about. It's an ageless book (reminiscent of The Chronicles of Narnia) and if no one had told me that it was MG, I would have never known.
Our protagonist is such an interesting character. She's bold and fearless and a little bit brash - as children can be. There's something so incredibly lovable about her from the minute she first walks onto the page. In fact, that's really how I felt about most all of the characters (of whom you're supposed to like, of course). They're a mismatched pack of cast-outs, orphans, daemons, warriors, and then some. It's impossible not to root for them as they go on their adventure.
The book felt as though it had 3 books in one - and it sort of did. It had a few parts to it, but each part read like a separate installation into the story. This was really interesting to me. It could've been broken up into multiple books and I wouldn't have felt like I was missing something. However, though the book was quite long, it was never dull. The action kept it going and even during the slower moments, I didn't feel myself losing interest, which is an impressive feat on the book's part.
If you have the opportunity to, I do strongly recommend the audiobook. It has a full cast and is narrated almost like a group of people sitting around and just gabbing their story. It's very easy to forget that you're "reading" and become almost overly involved in the plot. I'm really glad that I used this format because it really was an incredible experience!
I can't wait to read the sequel to find out what happens next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Kidnapping, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, and Death
alicew's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Religious bigotry
1moodreader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
A genuinely engaging first novel in the series. The characters and the world are so new, fresh, and captivating. Pullman expects a lot from his reader but also lays the foundation of the world so clearly for new fantasy readers to grasp - ahem me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Violence
Minor: Abandonment
whitehotheadedme's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Philip Pullman’s world building in Northern Lights is laced with half truths and feasibility. Making it very whole and digestible. I read The Subtle Knife (the second book in the His Dark Materials trilogy) first and many years ago, but now having read Northern Lights, I’d recommend starting with the second book as the change in perspective forms this book into a well rounded prequel. One aspect I wasn’t expecting from this book was the character depth, and how that plays out from the view of a child, Lyra the main character. I found myself realising no one character is good or bad, a hero or a villain, often times just before or alongside Lyra herself. Overall, I found the book to be medium paced. Information rich, but not ever reaching chunky and hard going. If you’re looking for a dark adventure, you’ll likely enjoy this one.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Violence, and Kidnapping
marianneiriss's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
sophie_theresia_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
cemeterygay's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
It's a pretty good middle grade fantasy book. The world is incredibly rich and it's cool to explore it. There is a ton of implicit anti-native sentiment in this book, including a slur for the Inuit, some of which I know is challenged in later books but there is a lot more that is just not challenged.
I think the initial pacing is a little bit too slow but quickly improves. There also is a surprising amount of gore in this book specifically related to animals that I did not expect.
While not mind blowing, I think this book is a great set up for future books and handles discussion about religion well and in a way that is definitely understandable to its target audience while not being condescending in how its explained. It's definitely a good challenging fantasy book for a middle grade audience.
I think the initial pacing is a little bit too slow but quickly improves. There also is a surprising amount of gore in this book specifically related to animals that I did not expect.
While not mind blowing, I think this book is a great set up for future books and handles discussion about religion well and in a way that is definitely understandable to its target audience while not being condescending in how its explained. It's definitely a good challenging fantasy book for a middle grade audience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
CW: Absent parentswhirl's review
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Murder