The Golden Compass Blog Tour: Review

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Release Date: July 1995
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Series: His Dark Materials, Book 1
Rated: MG 12+
Format: Paperback (my edition is a bind up of the His Dark Materials series)
Source: Bought
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

Lyra Belacqua is content to run wild among the scholars of Jodan College, with her daemon familiar always by her side. But the arrival of her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, draws her to the heart of a terrible struggle—a struggle born of Gobblers and stolen children, witch clans and armored bears. And as she hurtles toward danger in the cold far North, Lyra never suspects the shocking truth: she alone is destined to win, or to lose, this more-than-mortal battle.

It's been FOREVER since I'd read The Golden Compass, and reading it for the second time just made me love it even more! When I was invited to join the blog tour I jumped at the opportunity because this was the perfect excuse to dive into a childhood favourite. I've never actually read the whole His Dark Materials series–I've only read The Golden Compass and The Subtle Knife–and hopefully this gives me a chance to finally do so.

This whole world is just gorgeous. I love the different kinds of people it features, and the landscapes are beautiful and terrifying. I've always wanted a dæmon after reading this series, because these life companions that are part of the characters was such a unique quality to an epic fantasy adventure. The politics involved, the role of the church and the various religious undertones, the mystery behind what 'Dust' is...this is seriously a book like none other.

Lyra is such a brave heroine, and even though she makes mistakes along the way, she's such a wonderful character to follow into this strange and dangerous world. Pan is such a cute companion, and I enjoyed his loyalty to Lyra and his constant desire and fierceness when it comes to protecting her. In the large ensemble of characters, we meet many creatures and beings, such as the various bears, the witches, an aeronaut, the gyptians, and several more. I loved the constant questioning of morals as the lines between who is 'good' and who is 'bad' constantly blurs, all the way to the end.

I feel like a child again! Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. The Golden Compass is a brilliant start to a classic series, one that has contributed to the foundations of fantasy, inspiring works that we come across today. Even though the film was met with criticism, I still remember loving it, and after reading this one, not only am I definitely going to continue with the series, but I'm longing to see it come to life on screen. If you haven't picked up this series yet, you're in for a treat. 

If you like this, try...

• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis ● Goodreads

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PHILIP PULLMAN is one of the most acclaimed writers working today. He is best known for the His Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass), which has been named one of the top 100 novels of all time by Newsweek and one of the all-time greatest novels by Entertainment Weekly. He has also won many distinguished prizes, including the Carnegie Medal for The Golden Compass (and the reader-voted "Carnegie of Carnegies" for the best children's book of the past seventy years); the Whitbread (now Costa) Award for The Amber Spyglass; a Booker Prize long-list nomination (The Amber Spyglass); Parents' Choice Gold Awards (The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass); and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, in honor of his body of work. In 2004, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

It has recently been announced that The Book of Dust, the much anticipated new book from Mr. Pullman, also set in the world of His Dark Materials, will be published as a major work in three parts, with the first part to arrive in October 2017. 

Philip Pullman is the author of many other much-lauded novels. Other volumes related to His Dark Materials: Lyra’s Oxford, Once Upon a Time in the North, and The Collectors. For younger readers: I Was a Rat!; Count Karlstein; Two Crafty Criminals; Spring-Heeled Jack, and The Scarecrow and His Servant. For older readers: the Sally Lockhart quartet: The Ruby in the Smoke, The Shadow in the North, The Tiger in the Well, and The Tin Princess; The White Mercedes; and The Broken Bridge.

Philip Pullman lives in Oxford, England. To learn more, please visit philip-pullman.com and hisdarkmaterials.com. Or follow him on Twitter at @PhilipPullman.

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Continuing in the world of His Dark Materials...

LA BELLE SAUVAGE

THE BOOK OF DUST, BOOK 1

Fall 2017 ● Goodreads

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Thank you so much to Elena at Random House Children's Books for having me on the blog tour!

Stacking the Shelves (36)

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews, sharing the books I've acquired this week! Well... this post is actually going to be abut the books that I've received in the past month, since not much has been going on as I'm trying to get back in the rhythm of blogging.

Here are the books I got for review (and the titles link to Goodreads):

(Thanks to the bro for modelling the books)

Because You Love to Hate Me (sampler) edited by Ameriie
Monster by Michael Grant (ARC)
Windfall by Jennifer E. Smith ● Review

I also got a few eGalleys:

Grace and the Fever by Zan Romanoff

Gork, the Teenage Dragon by Gabe Hudson

Windy City Magic by Crystal Cestari

(Okay, this is most definitely not all of them because HarperCollins added a ton on Edelweiss and I went a little crazy...)

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Thank you so much to Sasha at Pansing, Dani at Penguin Random House, Catie, and Amy at Disney Publishing Worldwide!

More Than Magic by Kathryn Lasky

More Than Magic by Kathryn Lasky

Release Date: September 27, 2016
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Rated: MG 10+
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

Join Rory and Ryder in their adventures in our world—and the world beyond the TV. 

Ryder Holmsby is the same age as Rory, the popular TV cartoon character her animator parents created. Ryder and Rory are alike—bold and brave! But Ryder is a bit lonely: Mom passed away a couple of years ago, and Dad is dating a woman with snooty teenage daughters. Ryder doesn’t fit in with them at all. 

And then: Shazam! Rory jumps out of the TV into Ryder’s bedroom to tell her that the TV studio behind her parents’ show is trying to turn Rory into a dopey princess—no more adventures. She needs Ryder’s help! The two girls team up with a crew of animated and real-life friends to save the day in both worlds.

I've been trying to get more into middle grade fiction lately, because there have been a whole bunch of releases that look amazing, and also why not? Middle school was time when I started to really love reading (even more than I did before!), and started moving away from middle grade to young adult fiction. More Than Magic is one of the several middle grade books that I had waiting for me when I got back to university, but unfortunately due to the work load I was faced with that semester, I put it off until recently. Unfortunately, in the end, I didn't really enjoy this book. I've heard good things about Kathryn Lasky's books–I mean, she wrote The Guardians of Ga'Hoole series! Even though I've never read it, I've always wanted to because people rave and rave about it. However, this book just wasn't for me.*

*Clarification time: okay, when I say "wasn't for me" I mean that I recognise that this is a middle grade book, intended to be consumed by middle grade readers, but even so, I've read several other middle grade books and I've found them to be pretty good in terms of plot and character. Not to say that this book didn't, because it definitely did. I just think it was missing that little spark, that extra umph, because I came away from this one not completely satisfied with how things turned out in the end.

The characters were interesting. They lacked a little depth, but they were still likeable characters. I enjoyed the parallels between the real world and the world of Ecalpon, because it was cool to see how Ryder's parents applied so many of the characteristics of the people around them into the characters they created for television. Ryder was a strong main character, and so was Rory, and I enjoyed the fun moments of trying to navigate between the worlds and the reactions of characters on both sides. What I couldn't buy was the adults in the book jumping in on what's going on and being totally cool with it. A little more freak out would be slightly more realistic, but they just seemed to accept it and move on.

While this book wasn't what I hoped it would be, it was still a cute adventure with important lessons about strong female figures in media (definitely relevant in this day and age!). I don't know if this will be a series or not, but I'm unsure whether I'd pick up the sequel or not. More Than Magic, besides my criticisms, was a fun story with headstrong heroines that I can see younger readers enjoying. 

▪ ▪ ▪ Thank you so much to Josh at Random House Children's Books for sending me a copy for review! ▪ ▪ ▪

If you like this, try...

• The Memory Thief by Bryce Moore ● Goodreads
• I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora ● Goodreads

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Waiting on Wednesday – Week 186

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It's to spotlight upcoming releases that I'm DYING to get my hands on.

This week's WoW is:

Wicked Like a Wildfire by Lana Popović

All the women in Iris and Malina’s family have the unique magical ability or “gleam” to manipulate beauty. Iris sees flowers as fractals and turns her kaleidoscope visions into glasswork, while Malina interprets moods as music. But their mother has strict rules to keep their gifts a secret, even in their secluded sea-side town. Iris and Malina are not allowed to share their magic with anyone, and above all, they are forbidden from falling in love. 

But when their mother is mysteriously attacked, the sisters will have to unearth the truth behind the quiet lives their mother has built for them. They will discover a wicked curse that haunts their family line—but will they find that the very magic that bonds them together is destined to tear them apart forever?

Goodreads ● August 15, 2017

I remember seeing this one way back before it had the jaw-dropping cover and a synopsis and thinking, "Hibiscus Daughter? OMG IS THIS A RETELLING OF NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE'S SHORT STORY 'RAPPACCINI'S DAUGHTER'?!" Well, I clearly didn't say that exactly because I forgot that the story was actually called 'Rappaccini's Daughter,' not Hibiscus. Nonetheless, I'm really excited for this one because magic, people, MAGIC. Apparently the prose is absolutely gorgeous, too. August can't get here fast enough!

What are you waiting on?