At first I was debating whether I would retain the five star rating in honor of my younger self's first loves, or adjust it accordingly.

I needn't have worried.

This is a masterpiece of world building and character creation and subsequent development. I love worlds that have so much depth and complexity in the believable sense, you could easily imagine living and growing and thriving in them. What makes them even better is that hint of otherworldlyness, that small smidgen of magic and adventure and supernatural that takes realistic events and infuses them with a sense of wonder. Imagination is a wonderful thing, but knowing that there is potential in your dreams being realized is priceless.

And character creation. Lyra is brave, bold, and clever beyond belief. She is twelve, yes, so she is brash and childish as she should be. But you cannot deny the complexity and truth of her emotions, and there is never a time where she acts in a shameful or unrealistic fashion. Like many child protagonists, she grows up without real interaction with her known parents, but this was no ploy to attract the reader's emotions or force the character's development to ridiculous heights. She finds her parents, and finds herself past them. There is no love lost nor overwhelming desire to cater to their whims. She has already found the love she craves with others, and is satisfied with loving them in return.

Not to mention all the other characters. The panserbjørne, the gyptians, the witches, the Tartars, the Scholars, the dæmons. It is a veritable feast of descriptive power, and there is no possibility of mixing up the many races and creatures with each other. Each have their own culture and creeds, characteristics so ingrained within that had Pullman made a mistake in describing them, the reader would have realized it immediately. But he didn't. And it is a pleasure to visualize these beings in their full physical form using the many descriptions Pullman so graciously provided.
It's not enough for Pullman to build an amazingly detailed world and fill it with beloved characters. No, he has to have a historical background to encompass it all, a feeling of the past that is fully realized in the descriptions of the political machinations of the Church and those who dwell within it. This may be a children's book, but Pullman does not stint on embellishment of theological arguments and shady dealings.

Finally, the concept of Lyra's destiny. The 'chosen one' trope is in as it says, a trope, but here, this trope is done beautifully. It is made clear that Lyra's future is not one filled with amazing power ups and ultimate happiness. She will suffer in ignorance of her potential, and in suffering she will save everything. An everything that started with her world, one that has been enriched to the point of magnificence, and yet is just the beginning. There are worlds upon worlds outside that of Lyra's view, and her quest is just beginning.