A review by kblincoln
Ink, Iron, and Glass by Gwendolyn Clare
5.0
4.5 stars, actually.
We are thrust into this YA story at the same time that the main character, Elsa, is thrust into the "real world" (an alternate, un-unified 19th Century Italy) from her "scribed' world of Veldana.
Her mother has been abducted, a library burned, and the worldbook of Veldana that holds the only home she has ever known as well as all her friends may or may not have been burned along with the library.
In the real world, a family friend puts her for safe-keeping into a the house of a family that runs a sort of orphanage/school for pazzerellone--the genius polymath children gifted with skills such as alchemy, mechanics, and scripting of worldbooks much like the one of Elsa's home.
Together, they decide to rescue Elsa's mother. Hijinks ensue. Lots of hijinks that involve things like diagnosing poison, outwitting armed assassins, using scriptology to get around the real world, finding their way through booby-trapped labyrinths, and falling in love.
This is a really fun book. I took half a point away because the first third of the book felt like I was floundering a little to understand the politics of Italy, which character was aligned where, and also to get into the awesome, fun, emotional bond of the four friends: Porzia, Faraz, Leo and Elsa. Once their camaraderie is developed, and Leo has to contend with his feelings of inferiority when compared to genius Elsa, and some of his family background comes out-- it becomes a totally engrossing romp. I wanted to spend more time wtih the four, which is a hallmark of a great book in my opinion. But it takes a bit to get there.
I'm definitely going on to find out what happens next. While the book does end with Elsa accomplishing one of her tasks, another greater task opens up before her and splits the friends apart. Gotta find out how they handle it!
We are thrust into this YA story at the same time that the main character, Elsa, is thrust into the "real world" (an alternate, un-unified 19th Century Italy) from her "scribed' world of Veldana.
Her mother has been abducted, a library burned, and the worldbook of Veldana that holds the only home she has ever known as well as all her friends may or may not have been burned along with the library.
In the real world, a family friend puts her for safe-keeping into a the house of a family that runs a sort of orphanage/school for pazzerellone--the genius polymath children gifted with skills such as alchemy, mechanics, and scripting of worldbooks much like the one of Elsa's home.
Together, they decide to rescue Elsa's mother. Hijinks ensue. Lots of hijinks that involve things like diagnosing poison, outwitting armed assassins, using scriptology to get around the real world, finding their way through booby-trapped labyrinths, and falling in love.
This is a really fun book. I took half a point away because the first third of the book felt like I was floundering a little to understand the politics of Italy, which character was aligned where, and also to get into the awesome, fun, emotional bond of the four friends: Porzia, Faraz, Leo and Elsa. Once their camaraderie is developed, and Leo has to contend with his feelings of inferiority when compared to genius Elsa, and some of his family background comes out-- it becomes a totally engrossing romp. I wanted to spend more time wtih the four, which is a hallmark of a great book in my opinion. But it takes a bit to get there.
I'm definitely going on to find out what happens next. While the book does end with Elsa accomplishing one of her tasks, another greater task opens up before her and splits the friends apart. Gotta find out how they handle it!