 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Fly by Night
- By Frances Hardinge
- Genre: Fantasy
Common Sense Media says
Clever but confusing story needs editing.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that there's some violence, though not terribly graphic. For much of the book, the main character's ethics are questionable at best, though she does shape up toward the end.
What's the story?
In an alternative version of 18th-century England, Mendelion is ruled in name by a mad Duke, in reality by a group of competing Guilds, and in aspiration by a variety of royal pretenders. Since the Realm was shattered, the king deposed, and the parliamentarians and monarchists locked in struggle, with the Guilds in between, there has never been real peace, and open warfare is just a wrong move away.
Into this tinderbox comes Mosca Mye, an orphan who has taken up with a smooth-talking con man, both because she loves words, and because she accidentally set her mean uncle's mill on fire. Together they get involved in the power intrigues of the city. But Mosca, though very bright and literate (a rarity in this world), understands a lot less than she thinks she does.
Is it any good?
Frances Hardringe's fertile imagination fills this book with an abundance of complex, deeply thought-out, and at times just plain weird events and characters. Word-loving children will find much here to tickle their fancies.
But Hardringe falls prey to that familiar bugaboo of novice writers -- she tries to pack all her ideas into her first book, and apparently she didn't have an editor who told her to scale it back. The result is a mishmash that will lose many, if not most, young readers early on to boredom, confusion, or incomprehension. But there's tremendous talent here, shown in many real gems of originality and felicitous language. Let's hope that Hardringe gets an editor who will rein her in more sharply next time.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the complex plot. What are all the different guilds, and why are they fighting? Were the Birdcatchers good or bad? What about Eponymous Clent? Mr. Kohlrabi? What does Mosca guess wrong and what does she get right?
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AGE
loved it, this book is fast paced and well worded, to understand it fully it might be best to read it twice
as i did and enjoyed it both times. not the most thought provoking book ever but definitely good
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AGE
Could Be Skipped...
I found this a bit confusing and I tended to drift on and off with the plot line. It was a little boring for me but I can see some of my friends definitly reading it.
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AGE
Umm........ lost
I understood the book fully but when i gave a signed copy to one of my friends she was totally lost. She said it was confusing, hard to follow, and to fast paced.
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AGE
a terrible book
I absolutly hated this book. It was complete torture reading it. It was long, confusing and it was kinda stupid.
I could not understant some of the meanings the author used.
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AGE
supposd to be confusing
awsome!! I loved it finally a writer who writes not for the masses!
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AGE
Ugh
Usually, when I read books, I remember at least some of the plot, and if it's good, all of it. I couldn't even think of who the main character was till I read CSM's review. And I remember being so confused, always thinking "Wait...who's he?" or "What just happened?" Definitely not worth reading.
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AGE
FlyByNight, amazing
i loved this book. it is unlike anything else i have read. it creates a whole new world for the reader.
there is excitement, adventure, and mystery.
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| Author: | Frances Hardinge |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Fantasy |
| Publisher: | HarperCollins Children's Books |
| Publication date: | September 1, 2006 |
| Number of pages: | 487 |
| Hardcover price: | $16.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 10 - 10 |
| Read aloud: | 11 |
| Read alone: | 11 |
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