The Golden Compass: Book Review (Uziel Beltrán)

 Book Review

    The Golden Compass (1996) by Philip Pullman tells the story of Lyra Belacqua, a brave twelve-year-old girl who tries to find her place in a magical world in which daemons are a part of people’s souls. In this journey, the young kid meets many interesting characters and finds out a secret that will change her conception of the world. 

    Regarding the good points of this novel, the author has managed to maintain tension throughout the plot as well as incorporate a significant number of unique characters successfully.

    On the other hand, there is an aspect I consider is worth mentioning. Quite honestly, I do not think this book is very appropriated for children since it presents some tragic events such as the death of some characters but more importantly, the way in which the main characters are portrayed because, at some parts of the story, their moral is corrupted. Therefore, to my way of thinking, that is not a good message for kids.

    In short, all these aspects create a realistic atmosphere in which not everything is bright. In addition, the narrative is quite easy to follow as well as gives the readers clear descriptions of the different settings in which the events are developed.

Finally, I would totally recommend the book to anyone who likes fantasy stories. That is why I am very likely to read another book by Pullman because I have always found this genre quite interesting. Nevertheless, I would not recommend this book to children because of the reasons mentioned above. Additionally, I would like to continue reading this trilogy to fulfill language development because it is quite challenging for the level of my English since it encourages me to enrich my vocabulary.