Northern Lights- Philip Pullman

When Lyra's friend Roger disappears, she and her daemon, Pantalaimon, determine to find him.  The ensuring quest leads them to the bleak splendour of the North, where armoured bears rule the ice and witch-queens fly through the frozen skies- ans where a team of scientists is conducting experiments too horrible to be spoken about.
Lyra overcomes these strange terrors, only to find that something yet more perilous waiting for her- something with consequences which may even reach beyond the Northern Lights. Northern Lights is the first book in HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy. The others being THE SUBTLE KNIFE and THE AMBER SPYGLASS.


The Northern Lights was my favourite book when I was younger and is still one of my favs now. I was about Lyra's age when I read it and really felt I could connect well with her even though her world is imaginary. The adventure is exhilarating, fast paced and surprising. A journey across the world full of magical beings and places. It was like stepping into a wonderful dream. 
Lyra is stuborn, determined, fearless and incredibly likeable wheras her daemon Pantalaimon is cautious, careful and a bit of a worrier. The two are a perfect pair.There is a very surprising plot to the story involving Lyra's family which shocked me but let to the continuation of the trilogy. Philip Pullman came up with a wonderful world although it is quite like ours in many ways. Full of happiness, love, friendship but also deceptiveness, cruelty and  anger. He turns the love and dangers of our modern day world into a descriptive story that everyone will enjoy!