A Face Like Glass. Frances Hardinge - Softcover

Frances Hardinge

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0330519700 ISBN 13: 9780330519700

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books, 2013

Synopsis

In Caverna, lies are an art - and everyone's an artist . . . the most enjoyable children's book of the year so far Sunday Times This unusual and highly imaginative fantasy from Frances Hardinge is spellbinding: sophisticated, multi-layered and elegantly written. Booktrust Weird and wonderful. Evening Standard It would be hard to imagine any book by Frances Hardinge being anything but excellent." Bookbag I loved this book! Face Like Glass: it's a sweet little onion of a story layer on layer of plot, and characters, and realisations British Fantasy Society In the underground city of Caverna the world's most skilled craftsmen toil in the darkness to create delicacies beyond compare - wines that can remove memories, cheeses that can make you hallucinate and perfumes that convince you to trust the wearer, even as they slit your throat. The people of Caverna are more ordinary, but for one thing: their faces are as blank as untouched snow. Expressions must be learned, and only the famous Facesmiths can teach a person to show (or fake) joy, despair or fear - at a price. Into this dark and distrustful world comes Neverfell, a little girl with no memory of her past and a face so terrifying to those around her that she must wear a mask at all times. For Neverfell's emotions are as obvious on her face as those of the most skilled Facesmiths, though entirely genuine. And that makes her very dangerous indeed . . .

About this title

About the Author:

Frances Hardinge spent her childhood in a huge old house that inspired her to write strange stories from an early age. She read English at Oxford University, then got a job at a software company. However, by this time a persistent friend had finally managed to bully Frances into sending a few chapters of FLY BY NIGHT, her first children's novel, to a publisher. Macmillan made her an immediate offer. The book went on to publish to huge critical acclaim and win the Branford Boase First Novel Award. This is Frances's fifth novel.

Review:

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Using beautiful prose, Hardinge builds a richly imagined world that twists as much as the carefully orchestrated plot. Readers will eagerly follow noble Neverfell through its tunnels, marveling at the extraordinary sights and catching their breath at her daring escapades." (Booklist)

"Hardinge’s imagination here is—as ever—ebullient, lavish, and original. Whether she’s anatomizing expression as fashion accessory, describing the
effects of certain wines, or likening human maturation to that of cheeses, she needles into some of our dearest desires and foibles with sharp psychological insight. Her enthusiasm for language play brightens dark Caverna with the sparkle of wit; but most notably, she suggests how fundamental to human interaction our facial expressions are." (The Horn Book)

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Hardinge excels at wordplay and worldbuilding; witty but not trite, her utterly original setting and chaotic, fidgety protagonist anchor a cracking good story that raises important ideas surrounding the nature of friendship, the value of honesty, and the danger of too much, whether luxury, ambition, power, or desire...like Grandible's cheeses, this may cause visions—or just make your head explode (with delight)." (Kirkus)

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Hardinge is at the top of her game with this entrancing and action-packed adventure. Her voluptuous prose is full of sensory details and wildly imaginative descriptions...A compelling and triumphant follow-up to The Lie Tree for those who love to become immersed in a good story." (School Library Journal)

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Hardinge’s characteristically lush and sophisticated language will entrance readers, and she makes wonderful use of her singular setting and wildly eccentric cast to pose haunting questions about reality, artifice, and the things we attempt to conceal." (Publishers Weekly)

**STARRED REVIEW**
"There is wit in the writing style and cleverness the development of this crackling world, and readers will connect with Neverfell, the one girl who can’t hide what she is feeling in a world that has no idea what that is like." (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books)

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Frances Hardinge writes at full throttle, with luscious language, viscerally evocative descriptions and more plot twists and turns than the Minotaur's labyrinth... the wily storyline and gorgeous writing that will leave readers longing for a new Face to express their devotion to the author." (Shelf Awareness)

"To identify any aspect of this book is necessarily to sing its praises. The characters are engrossing, their relationships moving and lovely; Neverfell's innocence and capacity for love and kindness carry her through enormous social upheavals, while the mystery of her lost memory burns hot and furious and hidden inside her. But above anything else what astonished me about A Face Like Glass was its construction, its pure perfect pace, the mechanical gravity of its plot moving through its beat with meticulously crafted finesse... A Face Like Glass is everything like magic." (Amal El-Mohtar NPR)

About this edition

• Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0330519700
• ISBN 13: 9780330519700
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 489