The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

"Here lives an orphaned ward named Lyra Belacqua, whose carefree life among the scholars at Oxford's Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a mysterious celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe. He leaves Lyra in the care of Mrs. Coulter, an enigmatic scholar and explorer who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her. In this multilayered narrative, however, nothing is as it seems. Lyra sets out for the top of the world in search of her kidnapped playmate, Roger, bearing a rare truth-telling instrument, the compass of the title. All around her children are disappearing—victims of so-called "Gobblers"—and being used as subjects in terrible experiments that separate humans from their daemons, creatures that reflect each person's inner being. And somehow, both Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter are involved."

If you haven't been living under a rock, you probably know about this book/series. This was a re-read for me, and since it's been a few years I was interested to see how I'd like it now. The answer? Very much. It actually was pretty similar to my memories: engaging, well-told, with a bit of steampunk/fantasy in for color. It also confirmed that it's really not the lightest of books; the story is very good, but it's generally serious and never too optimistic. Quite a bit of adult corruption-type stuff going on too. It's very well-written, though, which makes up for it. I don't think I would enjoy this nearly as much without that, seeing as how I gravitate toward usually lighter moods. But at any rate, very fantastic series. I highly recommend reading. There's a copy at Kettleson, Keet, Sitka High, and Mt. Edgecumbe.