(His Dark Material Trilogy #1) Northern Lights by Phillip PullmanWhen

                                   

When Lyra is given the strange secret alethiometer, she begins an extraordinary journey that will take her to the frozen lands of the Arctic, where witch-clan reign and ice-bears fight. The destiny that waits her will have immeasurable consequences far beyond her own world...

I wasn't all that interested in this trilogy when it first came out, not even when the movie was made. But the other day when i was thinking of books for the Screen to Page Challenge, this book came to mind. Its also on the BBC's list of must-read books, so i finally decided to check it out for myself. A fun and adventurous  middle grade read.
The story was about a little tomboy named Lyra who was brought up with scholars. She has interesting connections, and once they begin to surface, nobody can hide them from her. Eventually she pieces her past together with information from a variety of sources, all the while on an adventure.
The concepts in the book are fun and original. Especially the demon concept, i like it very much! I wish i had one of my very own!!
The setting and the characters were intriguing and not cliche, nothing was cliche, not even the "love story" aspect of it. Two character i just did not get in the book were Mrs Coultier and Lord Asriel! They were so bizzare and insufficiently explained!
My favorite character was Iorek Byrson! He is a polar bear,who isn't goopy, ferocious or rude. He can't be stereotyped or labelled-his personality is such a soup!
It was a slow read for me, i took my own time, i didn't even speed up when i got to the last 2 pages- I just shut it! And finished it a week later. It was not a boring read, nut neither an exciting read.I don't quite have an opinion on the book; hence the jumbled review!
I would give it a 3 on 5 for cool setting (ha! no pun intended!), Iorek, interesting protagonist and demons!:D
What did you think of the book? (Link up your review please..)