If you like Harry Potter, then I definitely recommend checking out the His Dark Materials trilogy from Phillip Pullman! I had seen The Golden Compass in theatres this past Christmas and knew I had to read the book. It definitely did not disappoint me.
The main character, Lyra Belacqua, is a fun trickster who is definitely smarter than HP while still being sweet and sensitive. In this fantasy world, every person has a daemon, an animal that is sort of their "soul" and an outward expression of their feelings as well as a helpmate. Lyra's journey begins at an Oxford college and takes her throughout an alternate northern Europe, leading to her meeting many strange and endearing characters, while unravelling a mystery and rescuing her good friend Roger.
A caution: the book ends up being a lot darker than the movie, which I appreciated but did not expect. Best to take this book and clear your reading schedule of others so that you can truly appreciate the world that the author has created. I'm taking a break in between this one and the next so I can make the adventure last longer!
I definitely need to read
I definitely need to read this. It's the first in the trilogy? What are the other two?
The great gift is the passion for reading. It is cheap [Hah! It most certainly is not!], it consoles, it distracts, it excites. It gives knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind. It is moral illumination. ~ Elizabeth Hardwick
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abut these books...they were great.
Defenately dont read these books if you are thinking about the movie...they are alot deeper. More thinking required.
I have heard them compared to Harry Potter, and to the Chronicles of Narnia. I dont think they are anything alike.
Terri
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Hi Jo -- Yes, Golden
Hi Jo -- Yes, Golden Compass is the first one in the series. There are 2 more, can't wait to read them!
Hi Terri -- I agree wholeheartedly. They are fantasy YA books, but there the similarity ends. I think they delve much deeper into a lot of complex issues that the other series allude to but don't directly address.