"In Dickensian fashion, Pullman tells the story of 16-year-old SallyLockhart, who becomes involved in a deadly web of events as she searches for amysterious ruby. The novel is a page turner, peopled with despicable hags, forthright heroes, and children living on the underbelly of 19th-centuryLondon. The story's events are exciting, with involved plotting. Settings andcharacterizations are exquisitely drawn. The first entry in a plannedtrilogy."--(starred) "Booklist." Reading level: 6.7.