So, with a nod of thanks to the trailblazing Rowling, we have A Face Like Glass, which is really nothing like Harry Potter and, as a comparison, is probably a disservice to its author. In Caverna, blessed are the cheesemakers. In fact, if not for the Harry Potter Effect, the mere notion of a 12-year-old heroine in the magical underground world of Caverna may have been dismissed as unpublishable - especially when the book comes in at just under 500 pages (a tome by YA standards) and its opening section spends a great deal of time on the fine art of cheese-making.

It’s not difficult to imagine a world where Frances Hardinge’s new novel wouldn’t have found a publisher. Whatever your thoughts on the boy wizard and his author’s merits, the cultural impact is undeniable as evidenced by any number of touchstones - from the creation of an entire theme park in Orlando to a series of enormously popular movies.īut Rowling’s daring has also created much smaller ripples throughout the publishing industry and, more specifically, in the arena of young-adult literature.

Rowling and Harry Potter did for the literary landscape will not be fully realized for years. Right now.' - Patrick Ness, author of A Monster Calls.The extent of what J.K. And that makes her very dangerous indeed. For Neverfell's emotions are as obvious on her face as those of the most skilled Facesmiths, though entirely genuine. 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. Expressions must be learned, and only the famous Facesmiths can teach a person to show joy, despair or fear at a price. The people of Caverna are more ordinary, but for one thing: their faces are as blank as untouched snow. 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. A Face Like Glass is an astonishing and imaginative novel from the Costa Award winning author of The Lie Tree, Frances Hardinge.

A face like glass review