Book of Dust, The

Malcolm, who helps at his family's pub and aids the nuns who live across the river, hears of a baby who has great importance, and when he meets Lyra he vows to protect her. He gathers information he hears in the pub, encounters fugitives, enforcement agents, and a woman who all want information about Lyra, and outmaneuvers corrupt government forces. Philip Pullman’s page-turner is filled with intrigue, mystery, espionage, and supernatural powers and deals with issues of poverty, child welfare, exploitation of the young or weak, the role of law, and if or when it is acceptable to take another's life. Suitable as a read-aloud or as a class, lit circle, or independent novel for gr. 7-12.