Northern Lights

A week before our section on spiritual education, I discovered I had an old copy of the Phillip Pullman novel "Nothern Lights." I read it briefly in middle school, but couldn't remember what made it special, what sparked so much controversy when it was released. The reread made me remember. The world Pullman constructs is as unique to me as Middle Earth or the magical world of Hogwarts. It made me remember how influential this book was when I was younger. The book felt like an escape. Better than that, a relevant escape. While the setting was fantastic, the issues the world Pullman created faced were current. It commented on religion and oppression, and spoke to me as a kid dealing with finding myself in a world that seemed as fantastic as the one Pullman described. The companions the characters kept felt like friends I needed. Lyra felt as confused as I was in my youth, and her figuring out her world made me feel like I could figure out mine. 

I think "Northern Lights" was more psychologically effective on me than the Harry Potter franchise, perhaps because Pullman speaks to a different kind of person than Rowling does. I was more concerned with morality and philosophy than I was with relationships when I was younger. Pullman's novels spoke to that. The main character dealt with what was right, and Lyra wasn't always morally centered. If felt real and relatable. Her figuring out what right and wrong meant to her gave me the vision to do the same.