Wednesday book of the week
This week's book rec, which also happens to be the last book I read: A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge, which tragically is only available as an ebook in the US (or you can pick up a used copy that migrated over here by way of UK bookstores, which is what I did).
I adore Hardinge's books, and always look forward eagerly to each new one. She writes YA fantasy that is unique, highly original, and never talks down to its audience, and her books tend to tackle concepts that are often considered beyond the scope of kidlit -- this one deals with class and privilege in a fantasy setting, and her first book (still my favorite, Fly By Night) is about personal freedom and thought control.
A Face Like Glass reminds me more of Fly By Night than anything else she's written; another thing about her books is that they are all very different from each other, but this one deals with similar concepts and the worldbuilding is vaguely reminiscent of it, even if it's a completely different world. A Face Like Glass is about a society in which people do not have natural, inborn facial expressions; instead they have to learn them from a set roster of different expressions, and one's place in society determines which expressions one is allowed to learn, with people in the lower classes only being allowed expressions that are blank and polite, and those in the upper classes buying a unique face for each occasion. Into this world comes Neverfell, a friendly, coltishly clumsy girl who only wants to make friends with everyone she meets, and has no idea that the people around her are hiding terrible secrets behind their perfectly sculpted faces. It's a complicated, twisty book full of mysteries and secrets and betrayals, with a wonderfully funny, complex, sometimes tragic heroine.
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I adore Hardinge's books, and always look forward eagerly to each new one. She writes YA fantasy that is unique, highly original, and never talks down to its audience, and her books tend to tackle concepts that are often considered beyond the scope of kidlit -- this one deals with class and privilege in a fantasy setting, and her first book (still my favorite, Fly By Night) is about personal freedom and thought control.
A Face Like Glass reminds me more of Fly By Night than anything else she's written; another thing about her books is that they are all very different from each other, but this one deals with similar concepts and the worldbuilding is vaguely reminiscent of it, even if it's a completely different world. A Face Like Glass is about a society in which people do not have natural, inborn facial expressions; instead they have to learn them from a set roster of different expressions, and one's place in society determines which expressions one is allowed to learn, with people in the lower classes only being allowed expressions that are blank and polite, and those in the upper classes buying a unique face for each occasion. Into this world comes Neverfell, a friendly, coltishly clumsy girl who only wants to make friends with everyone she meets, and has no idea that the people around her are hiding terrible secrets behind their perfectly sculpted faces. It's a complicated, twisty book full of mysteries and secrets and betrayals, with a wonderfully funny, complex, sometimes tragic heroine.
This entry is also posted at http://layla.dreamwidth.org/219839.html with
comments.