Fly By Night
by Frances Hardinge
'Twelve year old Mosca Mye hasn't got much. Her cruel uncle keeps her locked up in his mill, and her only friend is her pet goose, Saracen, who'll bite anything that crosses his path. But she does have one small, rare thing: the ability to read. She doesn't know it yet, but in a world where books are dangerous things, this gift will change her life.
Enter Eponymous Clent, a smooth-talking con man who seems to love words nearly as much as Mosca herself. Soon Mosca and Clent are living a life of deceit and danger--discovering secret societies, following shady characters onto floating coffeehouses, and entangling themselves with crazed dukes and double-crossing racketeers. It would be exactly the kind of tale Mosca has always longed to take part in, until she learns that her one true love--words--may be the death of her.'
Well, I guess I'll start with the positive stuff first: it was a very well written book, with a complicated plot full of espionage and battles that keeps you on your toes. Saracen, the goose, was a great idea on the author's part. And I found myself very attached to the main character.
Bad parts: first off, there's gods and charms in the book. Second, even though Mosca and Clent are the good guys that are supposed to be defeating the bad guys, I couldn't really see a lot of difference between them and the villains. They lie cheat, and Mosca even burns down her uncle's mill--she hadn't meant to, but she has completely no repentance over it.
Overall, I would suggest you read it, but I would also suggest proceeding with caution.
Here is the amazon link for anyone who wants to buy it:
P.S. Once again, a scheduled post (my, life is full of surprises!). It was really written on September 15, 2009
