La brúixola daurada (1995)

I listened to the audiobook and it was difficult sometimes to understand because of the strong British accents and the very quick dialogue. And I don't know if had read the book if I would have imaged Lyra as shouting as much as she does in the audio version. It became a little off-putting after a while.

I enjoyed much about the book: the unique idea of having a small creature connected to each human representing their souls, the old-fashioned time period, the magical alethiometer. It was disconcerting how Lyra acted like such a little girl at first but then she seemed so much older and more mature later when she was at the clinic at Bolvanger and when she tricked the bear king. I think Lyra is a little too clever for a 12 year old, but on the whole I would recommend this book. ( )

Overall I enjoyed this, but didn't absolutely love it like I expected. Maybe I went in with too high expectations? I'm actually not sure I really need to read the rest of the series but feel like I should to see how they wrap things up. I liked the characters and Lyra's journey. Love the bears, setting and fantasy elements. It was definitely more violent than I expected for a YA book, so that jarred me quite a bit. I'd recommend it but would hesitate telling a kid to read it without knowing their maturity level. It struck me as a bit more YA than juvenile. ( )

The Golden Compass is one of my favorite fiction books ever. It's for youth but like Harry Potter, aldults love the series too. In this particular parallel sort of world, a person's soul is not embedded within their body, but rather as an animal alongside the humans who posses them. It's very interesting to witness in the storyline.

The stories of mysterious activities in the north, special dust, the aurora, a hidden city in the sky and all of Lyra's innocent and fiery attitude provide plenty of adventures. She comes to possess a symbol reader that helps guide her way. I actually always thrilled at her usage of the symbol reader and how she always proves true in her choices. ( )

Great story. Lags a little sometimes. Lyra seems a little staged and overwritten sometimes to be a real person. In fact most of the characters are more caricatures that literary characters. The story is so interesting though, that I was ready to go straight on to book 2, but apparently I don't have it here at home. ( )

This book lost quite a bit of its luster from my 2007 reading. I have a hard time with Gryffindor protagonists, and Lyra just has no Game. Exhausting. The book picks up speed in the last third, but uneven pacing is hard for motivation and enthusiasm. ( )