The Golden Compass

His Dark Materials plunges you into an intriguing alternate universe that is both familiar, and strange. Imagine a world where we each have our own daemons (spirit animals) that are actually an extension of ourselves… but they change and fluctuate as we grow into ourselves… I love this concept so much.  I also love the nearly steampunk feel to the old-yet-new world Pullman constructs, replete with witches, armored bears, angels, and magic. Just because Lyra is a child does not mean this book is just for children, and Pullman definitely intended adults to connect to it. The Golden Compass (also published as Northern Lights in the UK) was actually the first children's book to win Whitbread Book of the Year. It went on to win the British Book Award, American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults, and many others. Lyra is courageous and bold, even as she gets caught up in religious, political, and cultural conflict. She is the one to set off to rescue the young men of her life who are imperiled by the adults who should protect them; especially the nefarious Mrs. Coulter who is beautiful, intelligent, and dangerous. My favorite character (aside from Iorek Byrnison— a bear that commands the full use of his name at each mention) is the extraordinary Serafina Pekkala, Queen of the Witches. She is wise, compassionate, tough as nails, and an incredible shot with a bow.