The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

I was thrilled when I heard that Philip Pullman was writing another set of books to join the His Dark Materials world. A prequel to The Golden Compass, Volume One in The Book of Dust is La Belle Sauvage. In this book, Lyra is a newborn baby and has been put into the care of an order of nuns. Malcom is the young boy who lives in the village near the convent and often helps the nuns with anything they need. He has developed a strong affection especially for the very old nun who runs the kitchen, visiting her often and helping with the food preparation. When this tiny baby comes to the nuns, Malcom is fascinated with her and after spending only a few minutes with her determines:

...he would never have dreamed, after those few minutes, of doing anything to upset that little child.

He was her servant for life.

When Malcom also accidentally finds his way in to a network of spies, he learns of Lyra's importance and of the people who want to do her harm. He will do anything to protect her and soon finds himself doing just that. When an unimaginable flood of extraordinary proportions takes over the entire country, Malcom finds himself in the position of rescuing and defending Lyra's safety. Accompanying him on this unintended adventure is Alice, the girl who works in his mother's kitchen. The two children have never gotten along, but they both want to protect the baby and they work well together.

There were many questions left unanswered in this book, but in the best way. There were parts of the world we saw that Malcom and Alice have no way of understanding and so the reader has to just float along in wonder with them. I really cannot wait to read more of this series, but it looks as though I will have to be patient. Book Two has no official release date, though Pullman has said it is finished and will hopefully be released one year after Book One. It is so hard to be patient! If you haven't read The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, or The Amber Spyglass, I recommend reading those first and then coming back to La Belle Sauvage. And I do recommend reading them. These books are wonderfully imaginative.