From Publishers Weekly
This comical adventure about a girl who longs to follow in her father's footsteps crackles with Pullman's (The Golden Compass; Clockwork) usual flair. Lila desperately wants to be a firework-maker like her widower father. Although he has raised her amid the dancing sparks, he wants her to have a husband rather than a vocation. With the help of her entrepreneurial friend Chulak, the personal servant to the king's talking white elephant, Lila tricks her father into revealing the secret to his profession, then bravely departs to retrieve the royal sulphur from Razvani the Fire-Fiend at the heart of a volcano. Pullman marries elements of fairy tale with slapstick humor as Lila outwits a vaudevillian band of pirates and scales jagged mountains on her quest. Gallagher's (Blue Willow, reviewed above) softly focused graphite drawings lend magical mystery as Lila fearfully contemplates the dancing fire imps at Mount Merapi and emphasize the absurdity as the elephant, his flanks emblazoned with advertisements, kneels before the Goddess of the Lake in order to save Lila from Razvani. If the tale, first published in Britain in 1995, isn't as polished as Pullman's other works, it's worth the trip just for the climactic fireworks scene in which Lila gets to show her stuff. Ages 8-12. (Oct.) FYI: As of September, Pullman's Sally Lockhart Trilogy is being reissued in paperback: The Ruby in the Smoke; The Shadow in the North; and The Tiger in the Well; as well as The Tin Princess, which features characters from the trilogy. (Knopf, $4.99 paper each ages 12-up ISBN 0-394-89589-4; -82599-3; ISBN 0-679-82671-8; -87615-4) Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Pullman is fast becoming a modern-day Charles Dickens for young adults. The setting (Victorian London) is the same; the strong eye for characters large and small is there, as are the sometimes brooding atmosphere, the social conscience, the ability to spin plot within plot against a large landscape, and the occasional editorial comment. These last are not intrusive; the author's voice is that of a friend, filling in details in a story he has witnessed, not wanting readers to miss a thing. Sally Lockhart, first met in Ruby in the Smoke (1987) and Shadow in the North (1988, both Knopf), is now a young woman, left alone with a toddler since the death of her lover, Frederick Garland. Nothing prepares her for the shock of receiving a summons from a man she has never even heard of, suing her for divorce and the custody of her beloved Harriet. Two other figures emerge: Daniel Goldberg, a Jewish slum radical with a violent past; and the ironically titled Tzaddik (saint), who preys on helpless European Jewish immigrants. The Tiger in the Well is the story of their converging paths, as Sally struggles against the net closing around her and seeks to find out who is persecuting her and why. The writing style is lively and direct, and there's lots of action. While Sally's story is for mature readers, it is never sordid or sensational. This is a suspense novel with a conscience, and a most enjoyable one. --Barbara Hutcheson, Greater Victoria Public Library, B.C., CanadaCopyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Review
"A suspenseful, textured mystery. Especially fine is his use of details--19th-century London comes alive here. Remarkable, too, is the way Pullman interweaves subplots...those who have enjoyed Sally's adventures before, as well as those new to the series, will find this a fascinating read, pulsing with life."--Booklist (starred review)


Review
"A suspenseful, textured mystery. Especially fine is his use of details--19th-century London comes alive here. Remarkable, too, is the way Pullman interweaves subplots...those who have enjoyed Sally's adventures before, as well as those new to the series, will find this a fascinating read, pulsing with life."--Booklist (starred review)


Book Description
"Pullman is fast becoming a modern-day Dickens for young adults. The setting

is the same, the strong eye for characters is there, as are the brooding

atmosphere, the social conscience, and the ability to spin plot within plot.

Sally Lockhart is now a young woman, left alone with a toddler. Nothing

prepares her for the shock of receiving a summons from a man she has never even

heard of, suing for divorce and the custody of her beloved Harriet. Sally

struggles against the net closing around her, seeking to find out who is

persecuting her and why. The writing style is lively and direct, and there's

lots of action. This is a suspense novel with a conscience, and a most

enjoyable one."--School Library Journal.







Card catalog description
In London in 1881, twenty-four-year-old Sally finds her young daughter and her possessions assailed by an unknown enemy, while a shadowy figure known as the Tzaddik involves her in his plot to defraud and exploit the hordes of Jewish immigrants pouring into the country.


From the Inside Flap
Sally, now 25, is comfortably settled with her child, Harriet, her work, and her London friends. But when a complete stranger claims to be both her husband and Harriet's father, Sally's whole world comes crashing down around her. With nowhere to turn, she escapes with Harriet into the slums of London's East End--and finds help in some unexpected quarters.

"Pullman is fast becoming a modern-day Dickens for young adults. The setting is the same, the strong eye for characters is there, as are the brooding atmosphere, the social conscience, and the ability to spin plot within plot. Sally Lockhart is now a young woman, left alone with a toddler. Nothing prepares her for the shock of receiving a summons from a man she has never even heard of, suing for divorce and the custody of her beloved Harriet. Sally struggles against the net closing around her, seeking to find out who is persecuting her and why. The writing style is lively and direct, and there's lots of action. This is a suspense novel with a conscience, and a most enjoyable one."--School Library Journal.  


From the Back Cover
"A suspenseful, textured mystery. Especially fine is his use of details--19th-century London comes alive here. Remarkable, too, is the way Pullman interweaves subplots...those who have enjoyed Sally's adventures before, as well as those new to the series, will find this a fascinating read, pulsing with life."--Booklist (starred review)


About the Author
Philip Pullman was born in Norwich, England and was brought up in Rhodesia, Australia, London and Wales.  Philip graduated from Oxford University in 1973 with a degree in English, and has taught middle school at Westminter College.  He is the author of many highly-acclaimed books for young readers, from contemporary fiction to Victorian thrillers, and has written plays and picture books for readers of all ages.  Philip's current book, The Golden Compass , has been hailed as "a rich combination of high fantasy, high drama, and intense emotion" by author Lloyd Alexander, and "extraordinary storytelling at it's very best" by the Detroit Free-Press .

Philip currently lives in Oxford with his wife, Judith, and children.  

ANNOTATION

In London in 1881, twenty-four-year-old Sally finds her young daughter and her possessions assailed by an unknown enemy, while a shadowy figure known as the Tzaddik involves her in his plot to defraud and exploit the hordes of Jewish immigrants pouring into the country.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Sally, now 25, is comfortably settled with her child, Harriet, her work, and her London friends. But when a complete stranger claims to be both her husband and Harriet's father, Sally's whole world comes crashing down around her. With nowhere to turn, she escapes with Harriet into the slums of London's East End—and finds help in some unexpected quarters.

"Pullman is fast becoming a modern-day Dickens for young adults. The setting is the same, the strong eye for characters is there, as are the brooding atmosphere, the social conscience, and the ability to spin plot within plot. Sally Lockhart is now a young woman, left alone with a toddler. Nothing prepares her for the shock of receiving a summons from a man she has never even heard of, suing for divorce and the custody of her beloved Harriet. Sally struggles against the net closing around her, seeking to find out who is persecuting her and why. The writing style is lively and direct, and there's lots of action. This is a suspense novel with a conscience, and a most enjoyable one."—School Library Journal.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The conclusion to Pullman's dramatic trilogy ( The Ruby in the Smoke ; Shadow in the North ) finds Sally Lockhart searching London's slums for the source of her ruination. Ages 12-up. (Mar.)

School Library Journal