The Golden Compass
Secretly the daughter of Lord Asriel and Mrs. Marisa Coulter, Lyra is raised by the dusty old scholars of Jordan College. She is content to run wild through the streets of her almost Victorian-like parallel Oxford, with her urchin friends. But when her closest friend, Roger Parslow, is abducted by the mysterious gobblers, Lyra vows to save him. She is entrusted with the care of a mysterious instrument, known as an alethiometer, that is able to answer any question by moving the hands of its compass-like face to point to various symbols, all of which have countless meanings. Lyra meets the attractive and intelligent Mrs. Coulter, whom she does not know to be her mother, and is soon ensnared in her mother’s complex plotting. She escapes from the seductive Mrs. Coulter, and hitches a ride north with the gyptians, gypsy-like canal people who are both wise and fierce. They embark on a quest to free Roger and the other kidnapped children from the horrors of the Church run “experimental station” known as Bolvangar. Followed always by her beloved daemon, Pantalaimon, Lyra is skilled in the art of deception and telling lies… some of which get her in trouble, and others of which save her life. She befriends the exiled armored bear, Iorek Byrnison, and through her skills at deceiving, is able to restore him to his rightful place as king. But she who so easily lies to others is also deceived… her own father, the bold and ambitious Lord Asriel, brings tragedy and betrayal in his wake.

The Subtle Knife
Lyra is back, and after her journey into the window opened by her father at the end of the first book, finds herself in a strange parallel world. Cittagazze- where specters roam the streets, preying on the souls of adults, but harmless to children. And in this place of invisible danger, she meets another traveler of the worlds- Will Parry, and inhabitant of our own world who wandered through a window into Cittagazze. Together they search and fight for the legendary subtle knife, a small but powerful knife that opened the windows between the worlds with its sharpest of blades. Will is instructed to find his father, and Lyra agrees to accompany him, but there is unseen danger up ahead. Her mother has followed her here, and when Will is gone, kidnaps her. Will returns to find a camp empty, with only Lyra’s alethiometer left behind.

The Amber Spyglass
Awakened from the drugged sleep induced by her mother, Lyra is rescued by Will, who has followed her trail with the help of the angels, Baruch and Balthamos. But the knife that gave them the power to travel the worlds has broken- and can only be fixed by the armored bear, Iorek Byrnison. Once done, Lyra is determined to travel to the world of the dead to make amends with her friend, Roger Parslow. Will agrees, and the two are accompanied by two miniature spies from Lord Asriel who has commanded them to bring the children safely to him.
Lyra sets forth on her journey into the world where no living person, let alone a child, belongs. Daemons cannot go there, and her beloved Pantalaimon must sit and watch from a desolate shoreline as she and her companions are rowed across Pullman’s version of the river Styx. Once there, she accomplished many thing, and learns many things- and she manages to escape.
Once out, and accompanied by the spirits of Lee Scoresby, and Will’s father, the companions are drawn into Lord Asriel’s war against the Authority of heaven himself. They escape into the peaceful world of the Mulefas… and there discover a truth that amazes both of them. But their joy is short lived. As the chapter heading in the new paper back version of The Amber Spyglass says: “Fate does iron wedges drive, and always crowds itself betwixt…” They must endure their suffering and pain and sadness.

Summary:
Lyra is a vibrant character that changes dramatically throughout the trilogy. In the first book she is a brat, a pest, a nuisence, with little or no respect for anyone. She is a child, and acts childishly. But throughout her experiences, she grows and matures very quickly, which is understandable since she goes through quite a lot. She learns much from Will about silence and descretion, and loses her eagerness to tell lies. She grows far more patient, and far more wise, for she has loved and hated, laughed and cried, lived, and in a way, died. She saw many things and met many people, and she learned a little something about life from each of them.

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