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cretzlaff's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great mystery. Love the characters and tricky plot lines. Good audiobook.
beckiejean's review against another edition
4.0
I was pretty sure I'd read this book as a kid. The further I got into this one, the more I realized I'd never finished it. I promise if I had I would certainly have remembered that ending. I think a lot of the fun of this one is knowing who the BBC cast as certain characters. Normally I like imagining the characters myself, but there was just something hilarious about imagining Sally with Billie Piper's accent from Doctor Who. The payoff of watching the movie afterwards was more than worth it. If only to hear Matt Smith put on the heavy lower-class Victorian era accent of Jim. Brilliant. And who other than Julie Walters could possibly play Mrs. Holland? I do really need to read the second two books of the series because how can I not know how dear Sally turns out??
el_knittingbookaholic's review against another edition
Good, can't wait to read the others
swayashley's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.5
jb6246's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
cara1993's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
bookeater101's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
greatgris's review against another edition
3.0
This wouldn't be the best book I've ever read. The characters and the story especially like the first line in the book did catch my attention but then later there were way too many characters and things going on for me to catch up and be on track with all of it.
juliebugs's review against another edition
5.0
I first read the Sally Lockhart series when I was a little girl, and it became one of those series that I call one of my favorites and that I have fond memories of without really remembering all the details. All I remembered from before was that there was opium involved, that the second book was one of the first books that ever made me cry, and that the third book was very sinister.
Philip Pullman is a masterful storyteller. No one else writes quite like he does. These days it seems like most writers for teens like to use first person narration, or sometimes third person limited. Pullman is fond of third person omniscient, which, in my opinion, is a lot harder to pull off. Pullman takes you from Sally's POV to Mrs. Holland's and several others' flawlessly. You get all sides of the story without getting the mystery resolved before its time. You never delve too deeply into any one character's emotions, but they are still real and relatable. Futhermore, the writing is concise, but still vivid enough for you to get a clear picture of the settings in your mind. It's just really well-written.
Philip Pullman is a masterful storyteller. No one else writes quite like he does. These days it seems like most writers for teens like to use first person narration, or sometimes third person limited. Pullman is fond of third person omniscient, which, in my opinion, is a lot harder to pull off. Pullman takes you from Sally's POV to Mrs. Holland's and several others' flawlessly. You get all sides of the story without getting the mystery resolved before its time. You never delve too deeply into any one character's emotions, but they are still real and relatable. Futhermore, the writing is concise, but still vivid enough for you to get a clear picture of the settings in your mind. It's just really well-written.
mollybee18's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a classic, no doubt about it. Everyone should read it at least once, in my opinion. What it perhaps lacks in prose, it makes up for in plot. Without spoiling the book too much, I will say that the ending came as a surprise --- which, as I'm sure everyone on this site knows is an unusual pleasure.