By guest contributor DG, age 8

This is a good book, I rate it 4 of 5 stars. In this book Harry meets Dobby and it's his 2nd year [at Hogwarts School of Wizardry]. The Chamber of Secrets gets opened, and people are petrified. There is a huge surprise at the end! So read this book today.

By Piranha T.

In the kingdom of Kildenree, magic exists. Ordinary people can be born with words on their tongues with allow them to speak with animals or have a gift with people so that any word they speak sounds like the truth. And in the old tales it is rumored there is a third gift: the ability to speak with one of the elements. Yet most consider that only a story.

Princess Anidori of Kildenree was born with one such word on her tongue, but she has grown up without knowing what it is. Although she has all she could ever want, Anidori (Ani for short) has never felt comfortable with who she is—a princess. Her beloved aunt teaches her the tongues of the swans on the pond when she is young, but even that does not last; Ani’s mother, the queen of Kildenree, doesn’t approve of such things and her aunt leaves her before long.

Meanwhile, the Queen has a different fate in store for Ani. She has an arranged marriage with the prince of Bayern to prevent a war, someone she has never met. But before Ani reaches Bayern, she is betrayed; with everything taken from her, she tries to find a way to reclaim her crown and prevent a war that is brewing within the city’s walls.
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The Goose Girl was a fun, well-written fantasy. Ani was a well-developed character who developed further over the course of the book, and Shannon Hale’s supporting cast was amusing, entertaining and excellent. I’d recommend The Goose Girl to kids and adults ages ten and up.

By Super Kitty

Lyra Belacqua has grown up at Oxford Collage, raised by various scholars but spending most of her time running wild with her daemon Pantalimon at her side. She and her best friend Roger explore every inch of the collage together, playing games (and occasional tricks) to their heart’s content. She is perfectly happy and never wants to leave, but her world is changing. Children disappearing, a mysterious new substance, and rumors of disturbing experiments are all part of something that could bring the earth to a very dark place, and as Lyra discovers, only she can stop it. With the help of an armored bear, her faithful daemon, and a mystical tool that she only half understands, she sets out on a journey which will take her to the edge of the world—and beyond.

The Golden Compass is one of my favorite stories for several reasons. First of all, Lyra is a brilliant heroine, the sort you just can’t help but fall in love with. Second, the writing and plotting are excellent. And third, unexpected twists, clever villains, and daring escapes made it remarkably hard to put down. It’s the first book in the His Dark Materials trilogy, which I have been enjoying, although each book is very different. It has some darker parts, so I would recommend it to readers ages ten and up, particularly fans of Angie Sage’s Septimus Heap series (reviewed May 2017) and Susan Cooper’s The Dark is Rising sequence (reviewed February 2017).

Note: This book is awesome on audio, so if you like audiobooks, this is for you!