A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge

Pros: fascinating world-building, interesting characters, twisting plot

Cons:

Neverfell was found around the age of five in the tunnels of Cheesemaster Grandible. Seven years later, a series of errors has her emerging into the wider world of Caverna and the mysterious Court that rules it. For in a world where Faces must be learned and lying is a fact of life, Neverfell’s face can change expression with her emotions, and lying is beyond her skill.

The world of Caverna is fascinating. You’re introduced to it - and all of its various workings - slowly, through Neverfell’s eyes and experiences. While she’s told early on that everyone lies and manipulates, her own trusting and trustworthy natures make it hard for her to protect herself from the plots of others. As the book progresses, you learn more about the world and the darknesses it’s based on.

The plot takes a lot of turns I wasn’t expecting, which was a real joy. Neverfell’s a great character and her constant curiosity has her acting in unpredictable ways. She starts off hopelessly naive, but over the course of the book learns what society is like, and that not everyone she meets has her best interests in mind. The Kleptomancer is really fun, and I’d have loved seeing more of him and of the brilliantly insane cryptomancers.

This is a fun book, one that briefly touches on numerous discussion points, so it would make a great book club novel.

I started reading this book thinking it sounded really cool. The whole idea of it was totally different from anything that is out on the market now. I have to say from the beginning I had a hard time reading this story and unfortunately about 20% into the story I stopped reading it. I just couldn't get into the story. I was forcing myself to keep going and I just didn't like the story at all.

DNF at 12%

This one sounded so interesting. Unfortunately as soon as I began reading it I knew it wasn't for me.

I decided to stop reading, I wasn't enjoying myself already, and I don't think the book could have gotten any better to change my mind. I wasn't a huge fan of the main character, or the storyline. The whole thing about learning Faces and living underground, it sounded cool from the synopsis, but as soon as I started reading about it, I found it kind of strange and boring.

While this one wasn't for me, you definitely may like it. Don't put it down just because of my review, I've seen some amazing reviews for this book. Wishing the author and the publisher best of luck.

I thought I would like this but alas. It took me just forever to finally get *into* the story and by the time I did, I didn't care for it. Nothing stood out or interested me.

I just couldn't get into this book. It didn't hold my interest, and with many books out there, I just don't want to waste my time on it. However, the writing was decent and the author did a very good job on the imagery.

Well this book was definitely different. It consists of an nation that was built underground using elaborate methods by people that pretty much have no real facial expressions having to be taught the ones they can use. I would find this very off putting to say the least especially since the lower classes are trained with very few expressions making them really unable to convey their true emotions. The main character Neverfell comes from above ground and has a face that shows all of her thoughts like glass would hence the title. The book is about her being used as a tool by everyone while she struggles to regain control of her life. It is a really good premise but I had a hard time really getting into the story though I enjoyed the little details sprinkled throughout. I can only give it 3/5 stars.

Creepy, bizarre and delicious! Absolutely loved it!

This book is amazing and a very interesting read! I wish I was seeing this cover more and not the one advertised on Goodreads. This is an uncovered gem that shouldn't be missed!

I really enjoyed this. I can't think of anything else I've read that was similar. The epilogue really got me!

While this book had an interesting and original premise, I felt disconnected from the characters and could have used more world building

There was so much I liked about this book and, really, only one thing I didn't--the pacing. The characters are so well-drawn and the world building is phenomenal. The mystery kept me reading but it took me a long time to get to the end. There was a lot of detail--excellent detail--but it slowed the story down quite a bit. Overall, I really liked Neverfell and will definitely recommend this book. .

*Will link review closer to publication.

So new and fresh and wow. It was everything I was hoping it would be! Character development was great and chemistry was excellent.

This is not the book for me, but I would recommend it to readers who would like to try something different.

Face Like Glass is all about world building and the underground world of Caverna is fascinating. Babies are born without facial expressions; the Court will do anything to gain favor of the Grand Stewart; there are Cartographers who will make anyone insane if you talk to them longer than five minutes; and on and on. All of the characters were great in their own way, it had moments of humor, and I really craved cheese and wine while reading it. There were no tropes or silly romances. The world building is by far the best thing about the book and the reason for the rating. The plot on the other hand…

This book jumps all over the place. I thought I had it figured out at least five times and every time I was wrong. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it was frustrating. The reason for the low rating is Neverfell and the length. Neverfell was a good character but she lived in isolation in a cave for seven years yet she’s smart enough to beat everyone at their own game? She does spend her time reading and she’s quite the engineer but COME ON! My biggest problem was the 488 page number. Hardinge tends to take pages to make one simple point thus making this book 100 pages too long.

The Lie Tree was by far Hardinge’s best book and I realize it’s because it’s her latest book meaning that she’s either grown or has hired a better editor. If it’s the latter, for the love of rainbows please keep this editor because A Face Like Glass needed someone to tighten it up.

I enjoyed the story and the concept. It was definitely different from what I've read in the past. Reminded me of Phantom of the Opera. While also reminded of the one personality systems of the Divergent series.

I loved Francis Hardinge's MG books and am delighted by her YA offerings as well. This horror book will be a great addition to my library... my teens are always looking for scary reads, they're going to eat this one up!

Super interesting and definitely recommended. I loved that the story itself was a riddle of reveals and revelations. I think the way she used the world of Caverna to write it's own story was wonderful and I really grew quite attached to these odd little people and this odd little world.

Original rating: 3.5 Stars
This is the second book I read by Frances Hardinge. The first one was The Lie Tree which was awesome. Hardinge has managed it again to create a world which I have never encountered before. I was intrigued and happy to start this new adventure with an author who can create not only words and sentences, but art.

The story is about young Neverfell one day appears in a cheese maker's tunnel. Tunnel, you ask? Well, you see this cheese maker does not live in our world, but below ground, in Caverna, where babies can't form facial expressions by themselves and nobody knows why, where wine can make you forget, anc cheese can kill you on the spot. In this strange and wonderful world, the Emperor and court are never to be crossed, and yet...

Read more…

A Face Like Glass was an extremely intriguing story with many twists and a unique plot that had me hanging on and never wanting to stop reading.The characters were special and sinister and good like angels, deceptive, paranoid, opportunistic and naive. You could find them all in this and where every expression is well-crafted and prepared in advance.

Ii thought the main character was sometimes a little too naive, but she learned her lessens eventually I think. I liked being part of the adventured Neverfell has and the dangerous situations she faces. The book made me smile and laugh and be afraid for our main character.

Why then give 3.5 RIbbons? Well, the thing was, even though I liked the story I would have liked the story to progress a little faster. I enjoyed reading it but I didn't have much time on my hands and it took me about three days to read this book, not because I couldn't spare the time but because it simply wasn't so thrilling that I would stay awake longer to finish it. This might not seem like a big thing, but I can measure my excitement for a book pretty well on how fast I read it.

I enjoyed A Face Like Glass a lot and aI can recommend it to everyone who wants to read something new, magical and unheard of.

*I received an ARC from Netgalley in lieu of my honest review.

What a fascinating idea of a book and it is executed so well! I thoroughly enjoyed it and will be looking for more of the author's work in the future.

I LOVED this story. The only reason I didn't give it five stars was because it's derivative of City of Ember and Alice in Wonderland...

This is the story of Neverfell, a young girl discovered in the tunnels of Caverna by master cheese maker Grindible. When she falls into a giant vat of curing, magical Neverfell cheese, he rescues her and makes her his apprentice. But she must wear a mask always, because Neverfell's face shows everything. And those who live in Caverna must be taught expressions by Facesmiths. Grindible knows his ward is an outsider and his goal is to protect her from harm.

But Neverfell grows up and yearns to see the city just past the cheesemaker's tunnels. When a pet rabbit wriggles free through a crack in the wall, Neverfell follows. She's immediately recognized and seized as an Outsider, then rescued from death by a prominent family. They have their own reasons for keeping her, and Neverfell soon realizes she's a pawn in a complicated political game. Her inability to hide anything - even a lie that saves lives - is both her greatest liability and assets in a city filled with deception. Caverna's magic lies not with spells and wands but in food, perfume and clothing. I found the descriptions of these items endlessly entertaining and original, and as the plot and world building deepened, ended up reading the story all in one sitting.

HIGHLY recommended for MG readers!