Review: The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

Oh, how I loved this magical book. I'm so, so thrilled that Philip decided to write more books in this world, about these amazing characters. This first book in this new trilogy takes place when Lyra is a baby, not yet one year old. It tells the story of Malcolm. Whom I ended up adoring so much. I loved reading about him.

As always with books by Philip, the writing was incredible. Must read his other books too, though, as I have only so far read the books from this world. But I'm pretty sure I will love other books by him too, so I must read them all one day. But anyway, I loved this book so very much. It was exciting, horrifying and so good.

I could not help but love every moment of it. This book tells the story about Malcolm, whom is around eleven years old. He lives with his parents, and reading about his life and getting to know him was the best. He has a close relationship with the nuns that live close by, and I so adored that, because Malcolm was a boy with such a big heart. He's kind and loving and brave and loyal. I loved this boy oh so much. And reading about his relationship with his dæmon, Asta, was the best thing. Sigh. I love how everyone has a dæmon in this world. And how it all works. The plot in this book is about a flood that is coming. And how Malcolm has a canoe, La Belle Sauvage, which ends up saving him from the water that comes. In a way, at least. It was exciting, all of it.

Having just re-read His Dark Materials, I have to say that this new book was a whole lot darker. There are so many awful things happening. A bunch of murders, in brutal ways. The villain was the very worst. And some parts of this book just made me so sad, as it was heartbreaking. Yet it could not have been written any other way. I loved how dark it was. I loved how horrifying some parts were. As this book was so real. And it made me feel everything. I fell in love with all of the characters. And this story. Gosh. Was so good.

A lot of this book focus on Lyra as a baby. And how Malcolm gets to meet her, and how he falls in love with her right away. Their relationship was the cutest. Lyra is so little, yet so fierce and she has the best personality. Malcolm has to save her for most of this book, villains all over. And he is the best at this. My heart broke for him so often, because he is exhausted, yet he wants to protect Lyra more than anything. And wanted to protect Alice too. So much happens in this book. I can't begin to describe it all. So I won't.

I'm just sharing a few more things about this lovely book. I have to mention again that I loved every single moment of this book. Sigh. Everything was perfect. And awful. I loved it all. The villain was the worst, and his dæmon was so disturbing. Shudders. Yet he was written so well too. Everything about this book was amazing. There are hints of a romance coming near the end of the book, and I very much approved and wanted more. I really loved reading this story about Malcolm, set in the best world, written by Philip. Love.

There is only one thing that I wish had been a bit different in this book, and that was the ending. Because it ended way too soon for me. Ahh. There are so many details I still want to know, a bunch of characters I needed to know more about. Like what happened next with all the things going on in schools. And what happened next with Hannah, and her secret work. I mean, I know where she is when Lyra is older, but I wish there had been a bit more about her before this book ended. But even so, it was the perfect ending.

But yes, I do wish there had been even more, because I grew to love these characters so much. I know that book two will be set twenty years later, ahh. But hoping for lots of details about all of these characters as well. There was this one scene near the end of the book, where the villain was doing something truly awful, and I felt a little bit confused about it. It wasn't fully clear what happened. I am hoping that it didn't happen the way I read it, but I think it did, but ahh, I wish I could be sure. Either way, fully heartbreaking.

The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage was everything that I wanted and more. I knew it wouldn't be about Lyra and Will, which did break my heart, but it was still such a perfect book and it made me the happiest. Reading more from this amazing world was the best. And reading about Lyra as a baby was the cutest thing. And getting to know Malcolm and Alice was all kinds of fun. It took me some days to read this book, but it was so worth it. I only wish it had been even longer. This book was simply the best. Go read it. Now.

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