Plot: interesting, keeps me hook, though I saw some parts where Lyra could have shut her mouth up and stops talking and raising attention on her knowledge about dust and her golden compass. Lyra seems to have a lot of deus ex machina, especially always being rescued by her armored bear. But at the end, where she successfully tricked the king of bears, that was awesome! 
 Characters: : meh, not really develop that good, usually divide into two categories - the gyptians that helped Lyra, and the bad guy that followed Mrs. Coulture. And I could never understand the motives, reasoning, and relationship between Lord Asriel, his daughter and his wife. They are such a weird family that seem to have no meaningful connection. 
 World building : as a fantasy novel, Golden Compass is really fascinating. I love the witches, the armored bear, the cliff ghasts, and the North. Beautiful. 
 Favorite characters: Of course it's Iorek Byrnison. Wish he was a human than a bear though, then I would have a massive crush. 
 Would I read the sequel? : Meh. I don't feel like continuing the book. I am just not that involved in this trilogy right now, but I will pick it up when I have nothing to read. 
 Recommended : Totally!