Northern Lights (published as The Golden Compass in North America) is the first novel in the magnificent His Dark Materials trilogy. The story introduces Lyra Belacqua, a fierce, rebellious, and curious young girl living in a parallel world where every human soul manifests as an external animal companion called a Dæmon. Lyra lives a carefree life at Jordan College until children, known as "Gobblers," begin to disappear. She embarks on an epic quest to the frozen North to save her best friend and other missing children, guided by an ancient truth-telling device called the Alethiometer, beginning an adventure that will expose dangerous secrets about her world and the nature of Dust.
