–Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, ORĬopyright � Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. Some readers may struggle to keep track of the complex politics, history, and religion in Mosca's world, but those who appreciate the inventive plots of Cornelia Funke and Jonathan Stroud or Lloyd Alexander's colorful prose should thoroughly enjoy this highly original adventure. This sophisticated tale is not for everyone. The conclusion addresses the value of words in a satisfying manner. Plot twists, lively dialogue, and the antics of Mosca's fierce pet goose add plenty of humor. Vying religious beliefs also play a part in the fate of the realm, and the details develop neatly as the adventures progress.

While she tries to judge right from wrong within the complex plots that ensnare her, she finds that few of the people she meets are as simple as they first seem. Readers get to know the realm and its people through the interactions between Mosca and a well-drawn cast of supporting characters. Through rich, colorful language and a sure sense of plot and pacing, Hardinge has created a distinctly imaginative world full of engaging characters, robust humor, and true suspense. Initially awed by her confusing new surroundings, Mosca gradually pieces together important truths about the realm and her place within it. Grade 5-9–Mosca, 12, and Eponymous Clent, a traveling wordsmith of dubious repute, become immersed in the intrigues of the city of Mandelion, where rival guilds vie for power with a pixilated Duke and his scheming sister. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title. Funny, surprising and fantastical, with an unforgettable cast of characters, FLY BY NIGHT contains at its heart an inspiring truth - that the power of books can change the world. With suspicion and peril at every turn, Mosca uncovers a shocking plot to force a rule of terror on the people of the Realm, and all too soon merry mayhem leads to murder. But the city is in uproar, for someone is once again printing seditious material and no one is quite what they seem.

With Eponymous Clent, a smooth-tongued swindler, she heads for the city of Mandelion, living by her wits among highwaymen and smugglers, dangerously insane rulers, secret agents and radical plotters. Now he is dead, and Mosca is on the run, in search of a better life. Mosca Mye has spent her life in a miserable hamlet, where her father was banished for writing inflammatory books about tolerance and freedom. In a fractured realm, struggling to maintain an uneasy peace after years of civil war and religious tyranny, a twelve-year-old orphan and her loyal companion, a large and homicidal goose, are about to become the unlikely heroes of a revolution.

Fly by night hardinge