Citation: Pullman, P. (2003). The golden compass (P. Pullman, Narr.; J. Wyatt, Narr.; R, Degas, Narr.; A. Dowling, Narr.; D. Blackwell, Narr.; J. Shilling, Narr.; S. Thorne, Narr.; S. Barrett, Narr.; G. Hagon, Narr.; J. O'Connor, Narr.; S. Sheridan, Narr.; Full Cast, Narr.) [Audiobook]. Audible. https://www.audible.ca/pd/The-Golden-Compass-Audiobook/B072HZ3T7R.
Content Warnings: child death, kidnapping, violence, animal death, child abuse, death, animal cruelty, gore, religious bigotry, (see others on The Storygraph).
Twelve-year-old Lyra Belacqua has spent most of her life at Jordan College in Oxford University. However, this is not the Oxford we know. Lyra lives in a world similar to ours, but with many differences, such as the use of magic, and where all humans have a daemon - a shape-shifting animal that represents a part of their soul. When her friend Roger and several other children are kidnapped, Lyra is hurled into a quest to rescue him, helping others along the way.
This book is classified as young adult fiction but enjoyed by people of all ages. It is a coming-of-age story where the protagonist slowly realizes that adults have been shielding her from the harsh realities of life. Lyra faces questions about her own identity and the concept of the soul, exploring what it means to be human.