I gave this book four stars because although I didn't love it, it's left me thinking quite a lot. I'm not a believer in Jesus and it took me through 1/3 of the book before I look past this as just a Bible story. Although this is only a story, I find this way slightly more believable. Stories do get retold differently each time and people do make changes in order to make them more interesting. I do it myself when retelling a story to my fiancé that my sister told me or visa versa. Had this not been a Philip Pullman novel and had I not known his views on religion, I would have never read it. I'm glad I did and I hope to read this again sometime to gain a better understanding.