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A review by confessions_of_a_bookaholic
Twilight Robbery by Frances Hardinge
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.