A Face Like Glass - High-Quality Glass Art for Home Decor & Gifts | Perfect for Living Room, Office & Wedding Presents

I stumbled across A Face Like Glass while browsing the Book Smugglers blog. After reading the short synopsis, I was immediately interested and went to check out some reviews of the book prior to purchasing. To my surprise, there were hardly ANY reviews... not only for this title, but for most of Ms. Hardinge's work. Although I hate to admit it, this did cause a bit of hesitation on my part, but THANK GOD I decided to take the plunge.I won't repeat the premise behind the book, as that can easily be read by scrolling up for a second or two. It took me quite some time to wrap my head around the concept of not being able to naturally express emotions without being taught the "face" for it. Obviously, this is a fantasy novel.. so suspension of belief is practically a necessity, but for some reason, it was a difficult thing for me to accept - which may or may not be an issue for other readers.However, the concept of having to be taught how to convey emotions provides important backdrop in illustrating how society is divided in Caverna, where a Face is arguably the most important commodity. Status is evident based on the amount, quality, and uniqueness of your collection of Faces. There are even Facesmiths whose entire livelihood rests upon their ability to come up with new Faces. Layered on top of this premise is a society corrupted by extreme thirst for power and the lengths people are willing to go to achieve it. Now, there IS murder in this book (quite a few actually), but it is neither graphic nor vulgar.This book was an absolute pleasure to read! I often found myself thinking about the story and looking forward to devouring it some more. I recaptured that feeling of childish awe and wonder I hadn't felt since reading Harry Potter as a child and Neverwhere and Stardust a few years back. I was truly immersed in the world and was fascinated to learn more about Caverna. The characters are also very charming and I admire Hardinge's ability to make them wholly realized and complex. I absolutely loved Neverfell and was pleased with the fine balance the author kept in not having her act too young, or too old, for her age - as is often the case with most novels with a young lead. There are many twists in this novel and Hardinge admittedly DOES have to do some nudging for younger readers, but never in a way that is aggravating for older readers. Although there were a few things I saw coming beforehand, it was still a joy to see how the plot moves forward or how characters are affected. Essentially, the pacing, atmosphere, characters, word choice, and conflicts are great!There is also no need to worry about the ending, as A Face Like Glass definitely delivers a satisfying conclusion. In fact, my interpretation of the epilogue allowed me to not only appease my difficulty in accepting the concept of having to "learn" facial expressions, but made me accept it to an even greater degree.As is always the case with books that we find plenty of joy in reading, I was sad to witness the approach of the last few pages. Never once in the 496 pages did I feel that the story was dragging on. My saving grace lies in the realization that I now have a new author to add to my list of favorites and that there are books of hers that I have yet to experience! I highly, highly recommend this book and implore you to take advantage of Amazon's "Look Inside!" feature or request a Kindle sample if the story piques your interest in the least. Frances Hardinge is truly a hidden gem that deserves more exposure.