Play Book Tag discussion

This book made the PBS list of 100 books beloved by (North) Americans, and the BBC top 200 list. I read most of the PBS list back in 2018-9, but skipped some of the fantasy and children’s books. The protagonist is a child, but there is a lot for adults too. I think I enjoyed this book a lot more now than I would have then. It’s set in an alternative world with 19th century style explorers, Oxford professors, and religious rulers. The book has a lot of adventure, fantasy, magic, philosophy and religious criticism. You can easily enjoy it as an adventure story, and brush over the loftier talk.

I really liked the main character, her friends, and the people and creatures she meets along the way. I particularly liked the pilot, the witches, and a giant flying bear.

Blurb
Lyra is rushing to the cold, far North, where witch clans and armored bears rule. North, where the Gobblers take the children they steal--including her friend Roger. North, where her fearsome uncle Asriel is trying to build a bridge to a parallel world.

Can one small girl make a difference in such great and terrible endeavors? This is Lyra: a savage, a schemer, a liar, and as fierce and true a champion as Roger or Asriel could want--but what Lyra doesn't know is that to help one of them will be to betray the other.

I loved this book - and the movie adaptation is really well done.