For real for real. Im forever bitter that the release of HP overshadowed His Dark Materials since HDM subverted the genre before YA even got established. Though I suppose "A coming of age story thats meant to be Narnia but militantly atheist; containing child death, concentration camps, feminist subtext that extends beyond 'girl power' and talking polar bears brutally murdering eachother for sport" is a hard sell to a general audience.
Infinite admiration for the love Dresden Files people give to the Dresden Files. Do you have a recommendation for someone who may be interested but doesn't know where to start?