This is a thought-provoking and well-written book, but it is not a children's book. There's too much violence, and part of the plot involves the sexual awakening of two twelve-year-olds. I also think the themes of the book are above a child's head. The author interweaves Biblical imagery and allegory to express his belief in atheism. For children, though, who have trouble with abstractions and symbolism, I think it's unlikely that they'd reach the author's intended conclusion that there is no God. Instead, I think they'd take the story at face value and come to the conclusion that there is a God but he is bad and we should rebel against him. Also, there is never a clear dividing line between who is good and who is evil. For example, Lyra's father is supposedly one of the good guys and all the characters are flocking to join his revolution, but in order to set things in motion, he kills an innocent child. Blurred lines between good and evil might be realistic, but it's too confusing for a young child. I think this would be a great book for a teenager, but I'd be hesitant to let a younger child read it.

Honestly, first off I want to ask the other reviewers what their issue is. You all seem to be so judgmental it's ridiculous. Just because the book was written by an athiest doesn't mean you should put down everything he writes. It's a story, and a good one at that, and you guys need to get over it. If you don't like it, the don't read it. It's pretty simple. But I can tell you all, it does have adult themes, and it is definitly not a children's book, but it was one of my absolute favourite series of all time. I applaud Pullman on his fantastic writing style and ability. Do not listen to these people that like to go hunt out the bad things in the book and even go so far as listing the page numbers. Obviously, these people have little or no lives, and need to be ignored. Give the book a try. It is amazing, regardless of who wrote it. And to the reviewers before me, It is not nice to be intolerant of other religions. Maybe you should actually try to accept and RESPECT other people. Otherwise, they won't respect you. Enough said.

I heard the hype about this book and found it at my kids' elememtary school library. I read all three books in the trilogy and found this one to be very disturbing. First, the main characters go to the place where dead people go. They find that there is no heaven or hell, only a desolate wasteland where everyone goes for eternity. Where huge creatures torture each soul by reminding them of anything bad they might have done in their life. The idea of heaven is just a lie put on them by the people pushing religion. Secondly, toward the end of the book the main characters who have just reached puberty suddenly become "self-aware" and kiss passionately and ultimately have s** (although it is not explicit). The whole premise of the book is that religion, and I quote from the book "is a convenient mistake" and sin is actually a good thing. These may be interesting topics for debate in a college class, but definately not for children.

in the third book, the bad guy is god, the church and angels. god has to be killed in order to save the world. this book is truly crazy!!!! the main characters also manage to have s**. the story line may be appropriate for adults, but definitely not children. the author's atheist views should not be thrown on families who have any religious beliefs.

I don't care what your religion is, this is not a good book for kids. It annoys me we are told to stay away if our religion is easily offended... what if you have a sense of common decency? This book has themes that are not meant for kids. What kid needs to know about murder plots and 'sexual awakening'? This has nothing to do with religion, it has to do with the sort of message you want your kids to be reading!

It's a really great book. You religious folks who are angry about it, don't ban your kids from reading it. It gives them an alternate view, so they can choose what they think, personally. It is sort of violent, but not bad enough so that a tween can't handle it. It's a must read!

I read this book when I was around 12 and I thought it was amazing. It's brilliantly written, with lots of action and great description and an all around inspiring story. The characters are brave and strong and willing to sacrifice for the greater good. It's extremely imaginative and makes you laugh and cry and gets you excited...basically everything a good book should do! Some parts of the book are controversial (in it, there is no heaven and hell)...but I think reading this book was good for me. My parents brought me up with religion, we pray every day and believe strongly in God and heaven and hell. Reading this book just showed me that there are other possibilities. YOU CAN'T KEEP YOUR KIDS LOCKED UP FOREVER! Eventually they're going to learn about atheism and sex and stuff like that. I personally feel that it's much better to learn about these things when your parents are still around so you can ask them questions. if you're, say, in college and someone asks you "Hey! How do you KNOW that there's a heaven and a hell? Hmmmm? Why do you believe this?" And it would really suck if you had no answer. When I have kids, I want them to know why I have this belief and why religion makes more sense. PEOPLE NEED TO OPEN THEIR EYES!!! There are so many people and things that can influence children and make them question. LET THEM!!!!!! My parents let me question and it made my belief so much stronger. The only reason why someone might wait until they were older to read this book is so that they could better understand the themes and the message. And I guess some parents are worried about the sexual content, but seriously, when I read the book when I was little I didn't even realize that the main characters had had sex. I only noticed it when I re-read the book when I was older. So overall, this book is incredible and inspiring and A REALLY GOOD THING FOR ANYONE TO READ!!!!

GOD IN THIS BOOK IS FAKE NOT REAL HE IS AN ORDINARY ANGEL AND PEOPLE ARE TOO SENSITIVE TO THAT HIM BEING KILLED iTS JUST A PERSON IN A BOOK i THINK THAT GOD COULD BE FAKE AND PEOPLE WHO ARE OBCESSED WITH HIM ARE GOING TO BE CRUSHED WHEN THEY REALISE HES FAKE SO I CHOOSE NOT TO BE IN ANY RELIGION AND RELIGION DESTROYS FREEDOM OF THOUGHT p.s. IM ATHIEST

I have read this book (and the whole trillogy for that matter)twice and this is the best of the series. So much action and adventure. I do however believe you should be 13 and up to truly understand it. There are a few curse words and violence is not much except for a few deaths and many explosions. For alot of you, you thought the main characters, and there is no sex in the book so to those of you who read all the Off adult reviews, it never says that lyra and will do that. They kiss, but I dont consider that to be sexuality. The adult reviews also say that they try to kill god. They dont kill god, but a false god called Metatron. There are instances where characters express that god does not exist but I know that is not true. It did not change my views on christianity at all. Truly a masterpeice. I think 13 and up can read this.

So there's a lot of stuff about religion... so who cares? #1, it's fiction. #2, if you are old enough to read this (12-13+) then you can tell the difference between fact and fiction. And besides, there is a God in this book if you think about it - Dust. Dust is not an old man who lives in the sky, it's actually closer to what a lot of people feel like God is - that he is kind of spread out throughout the world keeping the world alive. This book is not really against God or some supreme, good force, it's more against an establishment that's doing an injustice to people. It's obviously NOT based on the real-life Church, so why gripe about that? As for romance-related stuff, that is up to parents. It wasn't an issue for me. And they never actually said that the kids went beyond kissing, even if it was implied. I read the book when I was 13, and didn't realize that they could have gone that far until I was 14 or 15. So if you are old enough to realize how far they MIGHT have gone, you are old enough to know not to go that far yourself. I guess to boil this all down to one thing, you would have to say: if you're old enough to understand, you're old enough to know better. And when you get past all of that, this is simply a great book, entertaining to the last page. There are many beautiful aspects of the book.

I looked up reviews on the "Goden Compass" movie, and was furious when the entire series was almost spoiled for me by one reviewer. Needless to say, I am disappointed in Common Sense Media for not screening these reviews carefully. But enough of that. This book is a very well done end to the series, though a couple of sections put me off. The ending was so moving. Loved the series. Thank you Mr. Pullman!

If you read the reviews on the back of the Golden Compass, you'll find the biggest names in magazines and newspapers calling it "a stunning work of genius" and "superb...all stops out thrilling." In my opinion, this book really wasn't worth the 50 pages I put into it. As the series goes on, the underlying theme of anti-Christianity becomes more and more apparent, and more and more arrogant. But the anti-Christianity message isn't the biggest problem here. The book drags on and on for pages with pointless scenes, over-descriptive descriptions, cliched, one-demensional characters, and so on. As far as offensive material goes, this book was really just about as "inappropriate" as Harry Potter, with a little kissing, lots of fantasy action violence, etc (disclaimer: Harry Potter really isn't anti-Christian, although some people may think it is). This book may have been decent if the author didn't try so hard to convey his message of anti-Christianity, which after a while turns from insulting to just downright annoying. Better options are Harry Potter, The Inheritence trilogy, The Septimus Heap trilogy, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.

One of the best books I have ever read!

This is stupid.I believe in God very strongly.And these stupid books are worse than somebody slapping me in the face.To make Christians seem like the bad guys is stupid.I think these books should not have ever been published!

The amber spyglass is a book that I think should be read by the people who are mature enough to appreciate it. The book does have some anti-christian beleif in it but I thought that tht added to it's unique style. It's not like the book changed any of my beleifs or the way I think of God and his angles. It has some sexual tension between the two main charactors at the end and ends very sadly in my oppinion. I would indeed recomend this book and thi series because of its high paced action and adventure.

For all of the adults who think that this book (and series, for that matter) are inappropriate for kids, please reconsider. These books undoubtedly deserve a spot on the shelf next to Lord of the Rings, and in front of Harry Potter. Maybe the reason that both kids and adults love them is because they actually are on a somewhat mature topic. I find the different view on the idea of religion and God interesting. It doesn't change my outlook on my religion in any way. These books are not for just kids or just adults. They are classics that I reccomend for ages ten and up.

Great book

What was great about this whole trilogy was that it's written well. Sadly, that should never be enough. All the rest seems very stale to me. The behavior of the characters is questionable, and because of that, I lost all my love for them. I failed to care about them, and only continued to read because it's supposed to be "the next LOTR". I doubt it. The Earthsea cycle seems much more worthy of such praise. This book ruined the other two, for me. And if you are a Christian you will only be disappointed in the end. There is an unveiled attack on God and on those who beleive in Him.

WOW! This series isnt too bad or gory, wake-up with nightmares stuff. Its an amazing story and the ending of this book is amazing. Its "on" for ages 10+, although if you're highly sensitive to war and religion then wait till you're 11. I read these when I was nine and they are amazing!