Fly by Night Book Review

Much like Icefall, Fly by Night demonstrates how an author can be as much an artist as the illustrator. The word choice and syntax used in the piece are beautiful and creative, turning ordinary descriptions into something measuring up to the plot. The plot twists on itself so many times readers have trouble keeping up yet can’t feel a need to slow down. So many groups of people and places are introduced, but Hardinge organizes and crosses them with ease. The concept of the whole thing, a book discussing the destruction of books, intrigues the reader into investigating further. The protagonist, Mosca, engages in serious peril while retaining a youth not always seen from children characters, making her unique and appealing. The structure of everything dissects what could have been a messy book and makes it comprehensible if not easy to manage. I especially enjoyed the alphabet book format of the chapter titles; the contrast between something used for the simplicity of little kid reading with some of the actual titles (“A Is for Arson”, “K Is for Kidnapping”, etc.) draws the reader in without divulging any of the details of the story.

“ " High above Mosca’s head, a small kite broke free. The larger, older kites tugged and trembled on their leashes, but they understood that if they did not go where they were pulled, their story would be one long fall with a soggy ending. The little kite only knew that it could not bare the wires anymore.”

Recommended for anyone whose mind does not rest, always thinking and planning.

-Grace Nask