I read the His Dark Materials trilogy and enjoyed all three, though I do agree with much of the commentary here. I also cried at the end. :) Interestingly, the first book I have is called "The Golden Compass" and I bought it in Texas a couple of years ago. Not sure when/where it got the name change - must check that out.

I was reminded of books I read when I was much younger and enjoyed immensely, the series by Madeline L'Engle - The Murry family novels including "A Wrinkle in Time." I'm going to have to go back and read those again.