Philip Pullman's "Northern Lights" - A Review

The Good: A strong female main character navigates through a beautifully created world full of adventures. The world really sucked me into it, with its armoured polar bears, daemons and selfish grown-ups.

The Bad: I can't really find anything... Oh, I know: The movie! Unfortunately, "The Golden Compass" fails to capture any of the beauty of the book, although the cast is brilliant. But there's so much left out, and the story is completely turned around.... And the magic is just lost. The good thing: The movie flopped and the series wasn't continued.

The surprising: When I started reading "Northern Lights", I had no idea what it was about. I didn't even know if to expect a book for children, Young Adults or Adults. So what is it? Actually, all of them. You can read this as a child, and just be amazed by Lyra's adventures. Or you can read it as an adult, and love the hints at the Authority's power plays, the idea of deamons as part of yourself, and the mysterious nature of "Dust", and what it's revealed to be during the series.

The beautiful: The language and the world – wintery, icey, blue, cold and magical. And the friendships between some of the characters, who would do anything for each other.

The ugly: Some of the adults who act very selfishly. The cruelty in Bolvangar. Parents abandoning their children.

The rating: 4 out of 5 stars. But I very rarely give 5 stars.