Parents' Guide to

Fly by Night

By Matt Berman, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Clever but confusing story needs editing.

Book Frances Hardinge Fantasy 2006
Fly by Night Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 10+

Based on 2 parent reviews

weasly
weasly Adult
May 16, 2010
age 10+

supposd to be confusing

awsome!! I loved it finally a writer who writes not for the masses!
ahcim3
ahcim3 Parent of 16-year-old
October 1, 2009
age 10+
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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See all 2 parent reviews

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?

Our review:
Parents say (2):
Kids say (3):

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.

Talk to Your Kids 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?

Book Details

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