drawmejay5233's review against another edition
2.0
I couldn't actually finish this book because I found it incredibly dull! Maybe it was because I haven't read the previous book, but it didn't suck me in like other books. I have to admit the start was interesting but towards the middle and end just got boring.
I must try and finish it at some point.
I must try and finish it at some point.
radishb's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
some weird quasi-racist moments within detailed by painting a face green and pretending to be a very stereotypical foreigner. beyond that questionable motif, the story is very strong.
sandy_dream's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
confessions_of_a_bookaholic's review against another edition
5.0
Mosca Mye and Eponymous Clent are still running from danger. They make their way to Toll, a strange town where people have to pay to enter and pay again to leave. Even more strange, the town is split into two, with the daytime inhabitant being locked away after duck to set the night time residents free. When Mosca overhears a plot to kidnap the mayor's daughter, Clent sees the opportunity for them to make the money they need to pay their exit fees. As always though, nothing is as straightforward as it seems.
It had been a while since I read the first book in this series so it took me a few chapters to reaclimatise myself with the characters. Within the first few chapters though I was fully back in the thrall of the story.
There is a lot to unpack in this one. Firstly the concept of Toll and the fear that is impressed upon the residents was fascinating. It's a really interesting way to introduce the topic of discrimination to younger readers, but in an abstract way that doesn't reinforce some of the common discriminations we see.
The relationship between Mosca and Clent is a good one. They have become closer in this book but there is still some mistrust there. I love that Mosca is the one to lead by example in terms of behaviour, and her insistence on helping make things right is admirable. She's a character that you'd be happy for your children to aspire to being like.
It's clear that Hardinge has a love of words, and the writing in this is marvellous. I love the idea of people being named after the gods who were ruling the time of their birth, and the way this then shapes their lives makes a great starting point for a story.
I've still got a few of Frances Hardinge's books to read before I'm up to date with her back catalogue, but would be more than happy to see another follow up to this one.
It had been a while since I read the first book in this series so it took me a few chapters to reaclimatise myself with the characters. Within the first few chapters though I was fully back in the thrall of the story.
There is a lot to unpack in this one. Firstly the concept of Toll and the fear that is impressed upon the residents was fascinating. It's a really interesting way to introduce the topic of discrimination to younger readers, but in an abstract way that doesn't reinforce some of the common discriminations we see.
The relationship between Mosca and Clent is a good one. They have become closer in this book but there is still some mistrust there. I love that Mosca is the one to lead by example in terms of behaviour, and her insistence on helping make things right is admirable. She's a character that you'd be happy for your children to aspire to being like.
It's clear that Hardinge has a love of words, and the writing in this is marvellous. I love the idea of people being named after the gods who were ruling the time of their birth, and the way this then shapes their lives makes a great starting point for a story.
I've still got a few of Frances Hardinge's books to read before I'm up to date with her back catalogue, but would be more than happy to see another follow up to this one.
mora55's review against another edition
5.0
--10 December 2019
So I reread my somewhat delirious review below and cringed a little but also agreed with everything I said (apart from where I said my brother was 12, because he is 13 now).
I'd like to acknowledge that the ending
I just love the way Frances Hardinge uses words. So much. I aspire to use words like she does. It's so good. This is my fourth time reading this book, the most recent being just under a year ago, and I was still surprised into laughter by some lines.
I was actually much more impressed with Mosca and her acuity and how she parsed things out and had this incredible insight not only into events but also motivations and deeper thematic elements than I have been on prior reads.
Oh also I read the Twilight Robbery version and all the British English words! and spellings!
I'm going to say again that I do prefer Fly By Night over this one, because the plot is just so much more complicated and surprising and intricate. However, I also do love this book.
--23 December 2018
It's 2:20 AM and I'm in that state where I know in a kind of offhand way that I'm tired but I can't be bothered to do anything about it (like, you know, sleep). So I finished rereading this book and decided "huh, might as well write about it" even though I know my internal clock will wake me WAY TOO EARLY, even though it is definitely the weekend and not only the weekend but also winter break and I deserve to sleep in. (Not to mention that I... don't usually wake up early when I have to... like on weekdays when I have to go to school... so idk what my internal clock thinks it's doing...)
Just gotta start out by saying Frances Hardinge plays with words in a wonderful and sometimes whimsical way and I love it. She strings them together in surprising ways that I 100% appreciate and adore and admire and other words that start with other letters of the alphabet other than just A. I would find examples but it's late and I'm tired and I'm sure other reviews of this book have many examples because it's hard to highlight this book without looking at the words and how well they're used. It's the same with [b:A Face Like Glass|12666103|A Face Like Glass|Frances Hardinge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1362222949l/12666103._SY75_.jpg|17780774], but nothing like [b:The Lie Tree|23592175|The Lie Tree|Frances Hardinge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1423240440l/23592175._SY75_.jpg|43194799] (and I can't understand - I didn't like The Lie Tree at all, but it's the one that got all these awards? A Face Like Glass is very good, though).
The narration style is also different and enjoyable (which somewhat goes along with the use of words as mentioned above, I believe) in the way that it's omniscient but you're not always aware of it, and it still manages to be completely mysterious and have all those hints and plotlines dropped without you even realizing (even though you know more than the characters, you definitely don't know it all).
And I love love love the world in this series, and the Beloved (the gods) are even more prominent in this book than in the last. The setting of these books is so unique and the aforementioned wonderful way of using words only highlights this. I personally didn't like Toll as much as Mandelion (though neither did Mosca).
Saracen is probably my favorite character, but he is also a goose, so my favorite human would have to be Mosca. She's 12, but she's resourceful, and she's brave but has swings in emotion and isn't perfect and is jealous and obstinate and acts more mature than 12 but also very much 12 at times. (I know this. My brother is 12.) Many of her emotions and reactions to situations are just so accurate to how people would actually react and therefore relatable. The relationship between Clent and Mosca is developed more here and we actually have Clent acknowledging fondness towards Mosca instead of just tolerance. And Mosca trusts Clent more, and Clent trusts Mosca, and since neither of them are particularly trustworthy at any given point in time, it is quite the relationship.
(Can I interrupt myself to say Twilight Robbery is a much better title than Fly Trap and I feel like the US got the short end of the stick there?)
I felt like the plot here was slower than in Fly By Night and while every little hint dropped and every plot point throughout the entire book DID come together and gain significance in the end and there was the element of mystery without it being openly a "mystery" just like how Hardinge masterfully pulled that off in Fly By Night, it wasn't as satisfying? It wasn't as large-scale, maybe, or the moving parts weren't as large and complicated and therefore as nuanced as in Fly By Night.
Anyway that probably didn't make a lot of sense, but keep in mind that it is now 2:38 AM.
Bottom line: I love the writing and the world and MOSCA (so much) and while I think Fly By Night is better this is definitely worth reading after you read that one.
So I reread my somewhat delirious review below and cringed a little but also agreed with everything I said (apart from where I said my brother was 12, because he is 13 now).
I'd like to acknowledge that the ending
Spoiler
that I so enjoy with the not quite offering a job and not quite saying no is probably intended to be interpreted as merely Mosca tactfully explaining how she got out of that conversation with Goshawk alive, but it gives me a thrill of excitement every time I read it more literally as the blurring between antagonist and ally and how Mosca IS only 12 and has no idea where she'll end up so I choose to ignore the more likely interpretation because it's far less interesting/exciting.I just love the way Frances Hardinge uses words. So much. I aspire to use words like she does. It's so good. This is my fourth time reading this book, the most recent being just under a year ago, and I was still surprised into laughter by some lines.
I was actually much more impressed with Mosca and her acuity and how she parsed things out and had this incredible insight not only into events but also motivations and deeper thematic elements than I have been on prior reads.
Oh also I read the Twilight Robbery version and all the British English words! and spellings!
I'm going to say again that I do prefer Fly By Night over this one, because the plot is just so much more complicated and surprising and intricate. However, I also do love this book.
--23 December 2018
It's 2:20 AM and I'm in that state where I know in a kind of offhand way that I'm tired but I can't be bothered to do anything about it (like, you know, sleep). So I finished rereading this book and decided "huh, might as well write about it" even though I know my internal clock will wake me WAY TOO EARLY, even though it is definitely the weekend and not only the weekend but also winter break and I deserve to sleep in. (Not to mention that I... don't usually wake up early when I have to... like on weekdays when I have to go to school... so idk what my internal clock thinks it's doing...)
Just gotta start out by saying Frances Hardinge plays with words in a wonderful and sometimes whimsical way and I love it. She strings them together in surprising ways that I 100% appreciate and adore and admire and other words that start with other letters of the alphabet other than just A. I would find examples but it's late and I'm tired and I'm sure other reviews of this book have many examples because it's hard to highlight this book without looking at the words and how well they're used. It's the same with [b:A Face Like Glass|12666103|A Face Like Glass|Frances Hardinge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1362222949l/12666103._SY75_.jpg|17780774], but nothing like [b:The Lie Tree|23592175|The Lie Tree|Frances Hardinge|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1423240440l/23592175._SY75_.jpg|43194799] (and I can't understand - I didn't like The Lie Tree at all, but it's the one that got all these awards? A Face Like Glass is very good, though).
The narration style is also different and enjoyable (which somewhat goes along with the use of words as mentioned above, I believe) in the way that it's omniscient but you're not always aware of it, and it still manages to be completely mysterious and have all those hints and plotlines dropped without you even realizing (even though you know more than the characters, you definitely don't know it all).
And I love love love the world in this series, and the Beloved (the gods) are even more prominent in this book than in the last. The setting of these books is so unique and the aforementioned wonderful way of using words only highlights this. I personally didn't like Toll as much as Mandelion (though neither did Mosca).
Saracen is probably my favorite character, but he is also a goose, so my favorite human would have to be Mosca. She's 12, but she's resourceful, and she's brave but has swings in emotion and isn't perfect and is jealous and obstinate and acts more mature than 12 but also very much 12 at times. (I know this. My brother is 12.) Many of her emotions and reactions to situations are just so accurate to how people would actually react and therefore relatable. The relationship between Clent and Mosca is developed more here and we actually have Clent acknowledging fondness towards Mosca instead of just tolerance. And Mosca trusts Clent more, and Clent trusts Mosca, and since neither of them are particularly trustworthy at any given point in time, it is quite the relationship.
(Can I interrupt myself to say Twilight Robbery is a much better title than Fly Trap and I feel like the US got the short end of the stick there?)
Spoiler
The end interactions between Goshawk and Mosca were exceptionally satisfying. I loved how he "didn't quite offer her a job" and she "didn't quite say no" even after the Locksmiths are obviously the "villains" and have been at least the antagonists for both books.I felt like the plot here was slower than in Fly By Night and while every little hint dropped and every plot point throughout the entire book DID come together and gain significance in the end and there was the element of mystery without it being openly a "mystery" just like how Hardinge masterfully pulled that off in Fly By Night, it wasn't as satisfying? It wasn't as large-scale, maybe, or the moving parts weren't as large and complicated and therefore as nuanced as in Fly By Night.
Anyway that probably didn't make a lot of sense, but keep in mind that it is now 2:38 AM.
Bottom line: I love the writing and the world and MOSCA (so much) and while I think Fly By Night is better this is definitely worth reading after you read that one.
ksubbotage's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
itabar's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the main characters and no one is who they seem! Great misdirections.
michelletheshell's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
polyphonic_reads's review against another edition
4.0
As most Frances Hardinge books, this one was absolutely excellent. She writers fantastic worlds and characters and doesn't shy away from the darker side of life. People in her books live in abject poverty, children are kidnapped, there are quite explicit deaths on stage. These are, I remind you, middle grade children's books. She doesn't condensed to children either on the subject matter or on the execution. The only reason I'm giving this 4 rather than 5 stars is that a major plot point rests on exotisation of brown people and the main character dressing in brownface. Given the general lack of racial diversity in Hardinge's books, I think it is a real letdown. The book could also be about 100 pages shorter - there were a bit too many twists and turns in the last fifth or so.
barelyspicy's review against another edition
3.0
Considering that I did not like the first book, this was better but still not impressive. I found it boring at times and took too long for the story to progress. It was harder to go through with it but It certainly got much better at the end.