the offWhites

Years ago, when I was working in the instructional resource center for the education department in college, I read a lot. Like, all the time. I had shelves and shelves of good YA lit at my disposal, and new books coming in all the time.  One of the first books I picked up didn’t seem to fit in too well - it was a mass market paperback that looked pretty un-YA, and the back cover copy made the book seem more adult-ish than YA-ish. I picked it up to read anyway, since it still sounded like a good read.

It was. Once I started, I couldn’t put it down. Literally. My boyfriend of the time, who was used to my nose being stuck constantly in a book, was complaining about my not putting it down. I just pretty much devoured the book without even stopping for dinner.

A few years later, I started hearing about the book again, as well as the two sequels that completed the trilogy.  It was getting fantastic reviews, and now I was seeing it in trade paperback format, with redesigned covers that made the books look more like the YA they were.

Well. I finally got around to reading the sequels. I re-read The Golden Compass early last week (again, could not put the thing down). I finished The Subtle Knife last Friday (started it that morning and finished it that night), and will be to the end of The Amber Compass very soon.  They’ve all been a treat to read, but I think the last of the three is the weakest of the trilogy, based soley on my ability to put it down. I know I’m probably the last to tell you, but if you haven’t read the trilogy, or at least the first of the three yet, well, get thee to a library already!