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It's not often that we receive a request from a publisher that makes me downright giddy, but yesterday when Flannery forwarded me this message:
"Frances Hardinge has been called one of the best kept secrets in childrens/YA literature but as a huge fan of hers (and also working on her books) I don’t want her to be a secret, I want to help as many people as I can discover her."
I kind of got more than a bit excited. My response to this message went something like this:
A) You had me at Frances Hardinge.
B) WHERE DO I SIGN UP??
Only...you know...I did try to at least appear slightly more professional than that. I've made no secret during my time here at The Readventurer that I am a huge Frances Hardinge fan. Remember when I:
So today I will quite happily participate in spreading the word about the excellent works of Frances Hardinge. Since you've already heard a lot about me and my opinions, I thought I'd share some thoughts from my favorite reviewers about this fantastic author:
"Frances Hardinge has been called one of the best kept secrets in childrens/YA literature but as a huge fan of hers (and also working on her books) I don’t want her to be a secret, I want to help as many people as I can discover her."
I kind of got more than a bit excited. My response to this message went something like this:
A) You had me at Frances Hardinge.
B) WHERE DO I SIGN UP??
Only...you know...I did try to at least appear slightly more professional than that. I've made no secret during my time here at The Readventurer that I am a huge Frances Hardinge fan. Remember when I:
- Challenged both Noelle from Young Adult Anonymous and Maja from The Nocturnal Library to read one of her books...within a two month period? (I didn't even realize I had done that until today.)
- Lugged one of Frances Hardinge's books on a four hour bus ride to New York so I could hand deliver it to my friend Heidi and insist that she read it?
- Used A Face Like Glass as one of the main reasons I still have hope for YA fantasy?
- Wished I could sample the cheeses of Caverna?
- Gushed all over the place for my reviews of A Face Like Glass and The Lost Conspiracy?
- Listed A Face Like Glass as one of my favorite reads of 2012?
- Checked out the short story anthology Under My Hat just so I could read her story (okay, and Margo Lanagan's) and then return it to the library?
So today I will quite happily participate in spreading the word about the excellent works of Frances Hardinge. Since you've already heard a lot about me and my opinions, I thought I'd share some thoughts from my favorite reviewers about this fantastic author:
"I hardly know where to start when it comes to Hardinge's spectacular novel. For one, let me assure you that it blew me away and, despite being a Middle Grade Fantasy novel, I found that it was every bit as thought-provoking and intelligent as YA and Adult reads, if not better because of its subtleties, cleverness, and surprising plot twists."
--Keertana at Ivy Book Bindings, writing about A Face Like Glass
"I am overcome with Imperious Feelings demanding that I find the Right Words to write this review. Fly By Night is Absurdly Brilliant. This is not an overstatement."
--Ana at The Book Smugglers, writing about Fly By Night.
"The Lost Conspiracy isn’t just a darn good story, it’s a story that can open your mind and change the way you approach life. It will ask you to question the meaning of stories, acknowledge the importance of understanding one another, understanding yourself, and knowing what you need from life. It is a story of stories in which we get to wonder how much of what is made up just might be true, and how much is really just conspiracy. The Lost Conspiracy exists so that when you pass the point where the stories end, you will know you can go on."
--Heidi at Bunbury in the Stacks, writing about The Lost Conspiracy
"A writer who asks a lot from the reader is a writer who believes the reader can deliver. That’s a writer with a lot of respect for her audience. It’s a risk for an author to demand so much, and I want Hardinge to be rewarded for it. That’s because it’s a risk for a reader, too. A reader has to have faith in an author to invest so much in a story, and I think Hardinge pays back on that investment, a hundred times over.
Reading The Lost Conspiracy is like climbing the mountain and turning around to see the world laid out at your feet. Only, in this case, the mountain is a volcano."
--Megan Whalen Turner, writing about The Lost Conspiracy
--Keertana at Ivy Book Bindings, writing about A Face Like Glass
"I am overcome with Imperious Feelings demanding that I find the Right Words to write this review. Fly By Night is Absurdly Brilliant. This is not an overstatement."
--Ana at The Book Smugglers, writing about Fly By Night.
"The Lost Conspiracy isn’t just a darn good story, it’s a story that can open your mind and change the way you approach life. It will ask you to question the meaning of stories, acknowledge the importance of understanding one another, understanding yourself, and knowing what you need from life. It is a story of stories in which we get to wonder how much of what is made up just might be true, and how much is really just conspiracy. The Lost Conspiracy exists so that when you pass the point where the stories end, you will know you can go on."
--Heidi at Bunbury in the Stacks, writing about The Lost Conspiracy
"A writer who asks a lot from the reader is a writer who believes the reader can deliver. That’s a writer with a lot of respect for her audience. It’s a risk for an author to demand so much, and I want Hardinge to be rewarded for it. That’s because it’s a risk for a reader, too. A reader has to have faith in an author to invest so much in a story, and I think Hardinge pays back on that investment, a hundred times over.
Reading The Lost Conspiracy is like climbing the mountain and turning around to see the world laid out at your feet. Only, in this case, the mountain is a volcano."
--Megan Whalen Turner, writing about The Lost Conspiracy
Today marks the release date for the paperback edition of A Face Like Glass, and the publisher has very kindly offered up a copy for us to give away. Open internationally!
P.S. - I also happened to notice that the U.S. hardcover editions of The Lost Conspiracy and Well Witched are only $6.80 today over at Amazon!
P.S. - I also happened to notice that the U.S. hardcover editions of The Lost Conspiracy and Well Witched are only $6.80 today over at Amazon!
