Genre: Fantasy fiction, young adult fiction
Key Stage: KS2/3
Rating: ★★★ and a half
Northern Lights by Philip Pullman (1995)
Orphaned as a child and left on the doorstep of Oxford’s college, Lyra grew up amongst scholars and lords, in particular her sinister Uncle Asriel- an explorer and researcher. In her universe, everyone has a daemon- a unique creature that is bonded to you alone and is part of your soul.
After an attempted poisoning of Lord Asriel, events have taken a drastic change. Children have been going missing. Unsettling rumours of ‘Gobblers’ have been circulating. Dust… a new discovery everyone is buzzing about. And when Uncle Asriel is captured by the Panserborne, armour-wielding bears, and her friend Roger disappears, Lyra is pulled into an adventure to the icy North, where witches fly and scientists are holding dreadful experiments- on children.
The first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy, we embark on a breath-taking adventure with Lyra and her daemon, Pantalaimon. There certainly is quite the unexpected twist at the end when the character we think is in mortal peril is actually behind most of the schemes! The vocabulary describes details intensely, and I must say, some of which I have not encountered before. I believe this book is perfect for younger fans of adventure. Older readers may find it slightly bleak/boring.
Reviewer: Muslimah, Year 9