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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Significant violence including a frightening supernatural threat and the dangerous flood; one chapter is genuinely terrifying
Language
Barely any
Mild language in Pullman's literary fantasy register
Sexual Content
Barely any
Minimal romantic content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
Some
Moderate psychological intensity; the supernatural threat in one key chapter is genuinely disturbing — more than the His Dark Materials trilogy
What this book is about
Philip Pullman's return to the His Dark Materials world is set ten years before The Golden Compass, following eleven-year-old Malcolm Polstead and a young woman named Alice, who rescue baby Lyra from a catastrophic flood and are pursued across a strange, waterlogged England. The novel is significantly darker than Pullman's YA work; one chapter contains a genuinely terrifying encounter with a supernatural threat. For older YA readers and adults.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
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