The Book of Dust, Volume One: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman

This is the story of Malcolm Polstead, son of a tavern owner, friend of nuns, and protector of Lyra Belacqua. About a decade before Lyra's adventures in Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy she is a baby being cared for by a priory of nuns in Oxford. But sinister people are trying to take Lyra away from the priory and Malcolm knows it. When a massive flood hits Oxford Malcolm and Alice, a teenager who works in Malcolm's family tavern, save Lyra and escape down river in Malcolm's canoe, La Belle Sauvage. They must struggle to stay alive and get Lyra to the safety of her father.

I was not impressed with this book, especially since I love the original trilogy. This is part one of a two-part prequel to His Dark Materials, an amazing Young Adult trilogy set in a parallel universe. I felt like Pullman was trying to make this story just as magical and fantastic as the other stories, and he couldn't quite pull it off. Parts of the story, like the giant flood, don't make sense no matter what universe you're in. It was just interesting enough to keep me reading and since I need to know how the adventure ends, I'll read part two when it's published.