Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Golden Compass

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.

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bexi's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

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 thought the first part was confusing and a little boring, but it picks up later on. I'd recommend sticking with it until at least part two if you're feeling the same way, because it does get better.

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.

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orchidlilly's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

An immersive world of steampunk-Esque magic combined with the beginnings of a portal fantasy! The worldbuilding comes naturally, and Pullman brilliantly captures the thought process and mental state of a preteen girl left to her own devices. The side characters are well developed and often ride the fine moral grey line.

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moonchildjuli's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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jessthanthree's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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literarypenguin's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? Yes

5.0

This book was so magical and very interesting! It almost hooks you in right away and you are invested right off the bat!

The characters are what made this book shine to me! I love Lyra she was one of the best main characters I have read and her growth throughout the book was just lovely to see. She was feisty, had her own set of morals, would do anything for those she cared about, and was a perfect liar to her own and others' benefit. She truly does the impossible, she befriends a bear, she makes friends and allies with a group of traveling people and she rescues a group of children from a fate worse than death.

The idea of spirit animals and how they are almost like another half of your soul was a very well thought out idea. It was a refreshing take on the idea of spirit animals in a modern setting. How when you are a child your animal keeps shifting into different forms and when you reach the age of adulthood your animal stays as one form. A form that best represents who you are as a person and what your personality is like.

Mrs. Coulter and Lord Asriel are perfect villains and truly scary and dangerous. I think what made them more dangerous as they were normally looked upon as normal and brilliant people and others would think of them were never able to do something like this to anyone.

I think the author did a great job of discussing spirituality and science and how those two ideologies can clash and be dangerous if in the wrong hands. Like how the world in the Golden Compass is ruled by a governing body known as the Church by some and how they control the use of science and research on certain subjects. Also, science is seen as potentially dangerous and harmful if used incorrectly or selfishly needs.

This book was a wonderful experience and left much more to be revealed in the next book of the trilogy. I may have to read the second book to know what happens next!

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f18's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

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