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* TheCityNarrows: The Doldrums. No one wanted to live there ''before'' sickness broke out and it had to be guaranteed.
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* ConstantlyCurious: Mix with plenty of AttentionDeficitOohShiny and you have Neverfell. Grandible kept her secluded from the rest of Caverna, so every little thing captures her attention when she's finally free to roam.
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* EyeOfNewt: The ingredients and directions for making the delicacies are full of this. One Wine in particular calls for grapes that are tended to in silence, harvested during a new moon, crushed by orphans, and aged for a century while being serenaded by fine music.
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* EyeOfNewt: The ingredients and directions for making the delicacies Caverna's luxuries are full of this. One Wine in particular calls for grapes that are tended to in silence, harvested during a new moon, crushed by orphans, and aged for a century while being serenaded by fine music.
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* TheNoseKnows: Years as a cheesemaker's apprentice gave Neverfell a very sensitive nose. It comes in handy for detecting Perfumes before her senses can be altered.
* PrefersRocksToPillows: Neverfell slept in a hammock in her home with Grandible, so when she is bought and appointed a taster by the Grand Steward, she finds the mattress in her posh living quarters too soft. She gets the idea to sleep in the canopy above her bed, [[spoiler:which saves her from being assassinated in her sleep]].
* PrefersRocksToPillows: Neverfell slept in a hammock in her home with Grandible, so when she is bought and appointed a taster by the Grand Steward, she finds the mattress in her posh living quarters too soft. She gets the idea to sleep in the canopy above her bed, [[spoiler:which saves her from being assassinated in her sleep]].
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* SecretTestOfCharacter: The harrowing and outlandish interrogation the Grand Steward puts Neverfell through in Chapter 11 is less about learning whoever supposedly told her to [[spoiler:spill Wine at his latest banquet]] than seeing if her face's natural expressiveness is genuine.
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* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: When she comes face to face with the Kleptomancer, Neverfell is stunned at how ordinary he looks.
-->''It was not a face that would stand out from a crowd. Indeed, given his height, most crowds would have swallowed him altogether.''
-->''It was not a face that would stand out from a crowd. Indeed, given his height, most crowds would have swallowed him altogether.''
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* WhoWantsToLiveForever: The elite of Caverna use special drugs and spices to prolong their lifespans to centuries. However, while none regret immortality ''yet'', living so long has made the wonders of life dull and repetitive. The Grand Steward especially struggles with boredom so powerful that only one side of his brain can be awake at a time.
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* CapitalLettersAreMagic: The extraordinary delicacies are always spelled with capital letters, unlike the more mundane cheeses, wines and perfumes.
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* EyeOfNewt: The ingredients and directions for making the delicacies are full of this. One Wine in particular calls for grapes that are tended to in silence, harvested during a new moon, crushed by orphans, and aged for a century while being serenaded by fine music.
* EyeScream: Why Perfume makers wear eyepatches. They have their eyes plucked out to strengthen their sense of smell and make them better at the craft.
* EyeScream: Why Perfume makers wear eyepatches. They have their eyes plucked out to strengthen their sense of smell and make them better at the craft.
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* DefectorFromDecadence[=/=]HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Zouelle Childersin]].
** Grandible did this as well some time before the book starts.
** Grandible did this as well some time before the book starts.
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* DefectorFromDecadence[=/=]HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Zouelle Childersin]].
**DefectorFromDecadence: Grandible did this as well became disillusioned with the power plays of the Court some time before the book starts.starts, which is why he lives as a hermit. [[spoiler:Later on, Zouelle Childersin adopts the sentiment.]]
**
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* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Treachery runs so deep in Caverna society that altruism is unheard of. Neverfell's instinct to help others perplexes even the least loathsome of characters.
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* FauxHorrific: People commonly react to Neverfell's bare face with alarm, despite it being it plain and ordinary. The citizens of Caverna are expressionless at birth and need to learn how to show emotion, while Neverfell's face can naturally show multiple emotions at once.
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* GeniusLoci: Some characters (the Kleptomancer, Neverfell) speak of Caverna as one. But then again, they are either a little mad or wholly mad.
* HappilyAdopted: Neverfell and Grandible seem to get along pretty well.
* HappilyAdopted: Neverfell and Grandible seem to get along pretty well.
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* GeniusLoci: Some characters (the Kleptomancer, Neverfell) speak of Caverna as one. But then again, they are either a little mad or wholly mad.
* HappilyAdopted: Neverfell and Grandibleseem to don't have the warmest relationship, but get along pretty well.
* HappilyAdopted: Neverfell and Grandible
* LineOfSightName: Grandible named Neverfell after the variety of cheese in the vat he discovered her in.
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* SignificantGreenEyedRedhead: Neverfell, Madame Appeline. [[spoiler: Neverfell's mother, too]].
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* SignificantGreenEyedRedhead: Neverfell, Madame Appeline. [[spoiler: Appeline, [[spoiler:and Neverfell's mother, too]].mother]].
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* WhamEpisode: The sixth chapter, wherein Neverfell first sees her "disfigured" face, discovering it's normal, and why it shocks everyone who sees it.
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* GambitPileup: How about ''All of Caverna''? Just about everyone has some plot or plan of their own [[spoiler: Neverfell in the climax deliberately reveals as many as she can at once to throw the court into panic]]
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[[quoteright:309:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/a_face_like_glass.png]]
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* XanatosSpeedChess: Might as well be the national sport of Caverna, but Maxim Childersin proves to be the master of this trope.
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* XanatosSpeedChess: Might as well be the national sport of Caverna, but Maxim Childersin proves to be the master of this trope.trope.
----
----
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* DeadlyDecadentCourt
* DefectorFromDecadence[=/=]HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Zouelle Childersin]].
* DefectorFromDecadence[=/=]HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Zouelle Childersin]].
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* DeadlyDecadentCourt
DeadlyDecadentCourt: Caverna is so deadly that the person in charge is basically plotting against themselves.
* DefectorFromDecadence[=/=]HeelFaceTurn:[[spoiler: Zouelle [[spoiler:Zouelle Childersin]].
* DefectorFromDecadence[=/=]HeelFaceTurn:
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** Grandible did this as well some time before the book starts.
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* BrownNote: Of a sort. Cartography knowledge drives people insane trying to understand it. For this reason cartographers are avoided and must not be listened to for more than five minutes at a time.
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* BrownNote: Of a sort. Cartography knowledge drives people insane trying to understand it. For this reason cartographers are avoided and must not be listened to for more than five minutes at a time. Neverfell eventually discovers that there are Cartographers so crazy that even ''other Cartographers'' have to monitor the amount of time they spend with them.
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* WrenchWench: Neverfell has a talent for building machines,
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* WrenchWench: Neverfell has a talent for building machines,machines.
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* WrenchWench: Neverfell has a talent for building machines,
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* ImpossibleThief: The Kleptomancer.
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* BrownNote: Of a sort. Listening to a Cartographer for more than five minutes drives you mad trying to understand them. Without a timer on hand it's easy to lose track of that time, making things even worse.
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* BrownNote: Of a sort. Listening Cartography knowledge drives people insane trying to a Cartographer understand it. For this reason cartographers are avoided and must not be listened to for more than five minutes drives you mad trying to understand them. Without at a timer on hand it's easy to lose track of that time, making things even worse.time.
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* BrownNote: Of a sort. Listening to a Cartographer for more than five minutes drives you mad trying to understand them. Without a timer on hand it's easy to lose track of that time, making things even worse.
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* MemoryGambit: The Kleptomancer carefully edits his own memories and gives himself sealed orders to follow in order to avoid being understood by the many Chessmasters in Caverna. [[spoiler: he helps Neverfell do the same later]]
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* SpannerInTheWorks: Neverfell functions as this in among everyone else's elaborate plans.
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''A Face like Glass'' was published in 2012 and is the fifth book by the British middle-grade author FrancesHardinge.
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''A Face like Glass'' was published in 2012 and is the fifth book by the British middle-grade author FrancesHardinge.
Creator/FrancesHardinge.
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Just for fun pages are not tropes.
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* XanatosSpeedChess: Might as well be the national sport of Caverna, but Maxim Childersin proves to be the master of this trope.
* XMeetsY: ''A Face like Glass'' is best described as ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' meets ''{{Literature/Perfume}}'' meets ''{{Literature/Dune}}'' (the phrase "plans within plans within plans" is actually uttered at one point) with a dash of ''{{Film/Memento}}'' thrown in for good measure. Yes, it's that kind of book.
* XMeetsY: ''A Face like Glass'' is best described as ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' meets ''{{Literature/Perfume}}'' meets ''{{Literature/Dune}}'' (the phrase "plans within plans within plans" is actually uttered at one point) with a dash of ''{{Film/Memento}}'' thrown in for good measure. Yes, it's that kind of book.
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* XanatosSpeedChess: Might as well be the national sport of Caverna, but Maxim Childersin proves to be the master of this trope.
* XMeetsY: ''A Face like Glass'' is best described as ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' meets ''{{Literature/Perfume}}'' meets ''{{Literature/Dune}}'' (the phrase "plans within plans within plans" is actually uttered at one point) with a dash of ''{{Film/Memento}}'' thrown in for good measure. Yes, it's that kind of book.trope.
* XMeetsY: ''A Face like Glass'' is best described as ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' meets ''{{Literature/Perfume}}'' meets ''{{Literature/Dune}}'' (the phrase "plans within plans within plans" is actually uttered at one point) with a dash of ''{{Film/Memento}}'' thrown in for good measure. Yes, it's that kind of book.
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''A Face like Glass'' was published in 2012 and is the fifth book by the British middle-grade author Frances Hardinge.
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''A Face like Glass'' was published in 2012 and is the fifth book by the British middle-grade author Frances Hardinge.
FrancesHardinge.
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* ChekhovsGun: How about everything? Seriously, everything that is mentioned in the novel at some point - the flytraps that provide the light, the glass grove of Madame Appeline, Grand Steward's death traps etc. - comes together at the end.
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* HappilyAdopted: Neverfell and Grandible seem to get along pretty well.
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* AliceAllusion: Neverfell is led out of Grandible's labyrinth by a white rabbit. Neverfell is also "a little mad" and the city she lives in operates under rather warped logic.
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* MadArtist: [[spoiler: Madame Appeline could probably be classified as one. Her occupation is more of a craft than an art, and she does it not so much for its own sake as for money and respect in high society, but her discovery does turn out to be groundbreaking in her industry, and the way that she uncovers the Tragedy Range and ''especially'' uses it on Neverfell is plain horrible]].
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* MadArtist: [[spoiler: Madame Appeline could probably be classified as one. Her occupation is more of a craft than an art, and she does it not so much for its own sake as for money and respect in high society, but her discovery does turn out to be groundbreaking in her industry, and the way that she uncovers discovers the Tragedy Range and ''especially'' uses it on Neverfell is plain horrible]].
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* AMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Played with. On the one hand, people are capable of feeling emotions they don't know facial expressions for, they just feel weird when it happens. On the other hand, the drudges couldn't rebel because every one of them didn't know that the others are angry too, since they didn't have an expression for that.
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* BeautifulElite: Neverfell notices that the Childersins are taller, more beautiful and healthy-looking than the rest of the Caverna. [[spoiler: Turns out to be a justified and enforced trope]].
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* BeautifulElite: TheBeautifulElite: Neverfell notices that the Childersins are taller, more beautiful and healthy-looking than the rest of the Caverna. [[spoiler: Turns out to be a justified and enforced trope]].
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* DetectorFromDecadence[=/=]HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Zouelle Childersin]].
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* DetectorFromDecadence[=/=]HeelFaceTurn: DefectorFromDecadence[=/=]HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Zouelle Childersin]].
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* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Played with. On the one hand, people are capable of feeling emotions they don't know facial expressions for, they just feel weird when it happens. On the other hand, the drudges couldn't rebel because every one of them didn't know that the others are angry too, since they didn't have an expression for that.
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* AMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Played with. On the one hand, people are capable of feeling emotions they don't know facial expressions for, they just feel weird when it happens. On the other hand, the drudges couldn't rebel because every one of them didn't know that the others are angry too, since they didn't have an expression for that.
* AffablyEvil[=/=]SoftSpokenSadist: Maxim Childersin. [[spoiler: Also, Madame Appeline. ''Dear god'', Madame Appeline]].
* AffablyEvil[=/=]SoftSpokenSadist: Maxim Childersin. [[spoiler: Also, Madame Appeline. ''Dear god'', Madame Appeline]].
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* BeautifulElite: Neverfell notices that the Childersins are taller, more beautiful and healthy-looking than the rest of the Caverna. [[spoiler: Turns out to be a justified and enforced trope]].
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* DeadlyDecadentCourt
* DetectorFromDecadence[=/=]HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Zouelle Childersin]].
* DetectorFromDecadence[=/=]HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: Zouelle Childersin]].
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* ImmortalityImmorality: The aristocracy of Caverna; the Grand Steward in particular.
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* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Not exactly a spoiler-worthy trope, since we are told of the existence of memory-changing Wines in the very first chapter. What is spoiler-worthy, though, are some rather creative uses to which certain characters put these Wines.
* MadArtist: [[spoiler: Madame Appeline could probably be classified as one. Her occupation is more of a craft than an art, and she does it not so much for its own sake as for money and respect in high society, but her discovery does turn out to be groundbreaking in her industry, and the way that she uncovers the Tragedy Range and ''especially'' uses it on Neverfell is plain horrible]].
* MadArtist: [[spoiler: Madame Appeline could probably be classified as one. Her occupation is more of a craft than an art, and she does it not so much for its own sake as for money and respect in high society, but her discovery does turn out to be groundbreaking in her industry, and the way that she uncovers the Tragedy Range and ''especially'' uses it on Neverfell is plain horrible]].
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* XanatosSpeedChess: Might as well be the national sport of Caverna, but Maxim Childersin proves to be the master of this trope.
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* GeniusLoci: Many characters (the Kleptomancer, Neverfell) speak of Caverna as one. But then again, they are either a little mad or wholly mad.
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* GeniusLoci: Many Some characters (the Kleptomancer, Neverfell) speak of Caverna as one. But then again, they are either a little mad or wholly mad.
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* AlienGeometries: So much so that trying to map Caverna turns you barking mad. Just ask any of the Cartographers. [[InfectuousInsanity Or, rather, don't]].
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* AlienGeometries: So much so that trying to map Caverna turns you barking mad. Just ask any of the Cartographers. [[InfectuousInsanity [[InfectiousInsanity Or, rather, don't]].
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* InfectuousInsanity: You can't speak with a Cartographer for longer than five minutes, otherwise your lot shall be bitter.
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* InfectuousInsanity: InfectiousInsanity: You can't speak with a Cartographer for longer than five minutes, otherwise your lot shall be bitter.
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* AlienGeometries: So much so that trying to map Caverna turns you barking mad. Just ask any of the Cartographers. Or, rather, don't.
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* AlienGeometries: So much so that trying to map Caverna turns you barking mad. Just ask any of the Cartographers. [[InfectuousInsanity Or, rather, don't.don't]].
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* [[spoiler: EarnYourHappyEnding]]
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* InfectuousInsanity: You can't speak with a Cartographer for longer than five minutes, otherwise your lot shall be bitter.
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* AlienGeometries: So much so that trying to map Caverna turns you barking mad. Just ask any of the Cartographers. Or, rather, don't.
* CannotTellALie: Neverfell. It's not that she can't ''tell'' it, it's that it's always very obvious what she's thinking.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: All the aristocracy of Caverna display it, particularly the Childersins.
* CrapsackWorld: Caverna is a battleground for aristocrats that fight tooth and nail for domination, while the drudges live in horrifying neglect and squalor. That's not even mentioning the fact that it's a sunless, underground city chock-full of AlienGeometries with a constant danger of a rockfall that may or may not have a mind of its own.
* GeniusLoci: Many characters (the Kleptomancer, Neverfell) speak of Caverna as one. But then again, they are either a little mad or wholly mad.
* ImpossibleThief: The Kleptomancer.
* TheReveal: A ''brilliant'' one, concerning [[spoiler: Neverfell's origins]].
* SignificantGreenEyedRedhead: Neverfell, Madame Appeline. [[spoiler: Neverfell's mother, too]].
* CannotTellALie: Neverfell. It's not that she can't ''tell'' it, it's that it's always very obvious what she's thinking.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: All the aristocracy of Caverna display it, particularly the Childersins.
* CrapsackWorld: Caverna is a battleground for aristocrats that fight tooth and nail for domination, while the drudges live in horrifying neglect and squalor. That's not even mentioning the fact that it's a sunless, underground city chock-full of AlienGeometries with a constant danger of a rockfall that may or may not have a mind of its own.
* GeniusLoci: Many characters (the Kleptomancer, Neverfell) speak of Caverna as one. But then again, they are either a little mad or wholly mad.
* ImpossibleThief: The Kleptomancer.
* TheReveal: A ''brilliant'' one, concerning [[spoiler: Neverfell's origins]].
* SignificantGreenEyedRedhead: Neverfell, Madame Appeline. [[spoiler: Neverfell's mother, too]].
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!!Tropes in ''A Face like Glass'' include:
* XMeetsY: ''A Face like Glass'' is best described as ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' meets ''{{Literature/Perfume}}'' meets ''{{Literature/Dune}}'' (the phrase "plans within plans within plans" is actually uttered at one point) with a dash of ''{{Film/Memento}}'' thrown in for good measure. Yes, it's that kind of book.
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Seriously, though, this writer deserves way more exposure than she gets.
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Deep underground, there is a city called Caverna that has retreated under the mountain 500 years ago. It's not your average underground city, though - it's divided between aristocratic houses of craftsmen, who create some of the delicacies that can only be found there, like Wines that can make you forget or remember something, cheeses that convey experience instead of taste or Perfumes that can submit you to the will of their wearer. There's something unusual about the people of Caverna themselves, as well - their faces are unable to convey emotions, so if they want to show - or conceal - what they are thinking and feeling, they have to learn facial expressions the way people learn foreign languages. There are special artisans called Facesmiths that can provide you with such education. It's not free, of course, so the range of one's expressions largely depends on their stand in society.
Once upon a time, a little girl turned up inside the domain of Grandible the Cheesemaker, who had barred himself from the rest of Caverna. No one, including herself, knew anything about her or where she had come from. There was something about her face that horrified Grandible, and he decided that Caverna is not for the likes of her. He hid the girl, who he called Neverfell, until she was twelve years old. But a string of accidents made Neverfell leave Grandible's domain and threw her into the world of deadly intrigues and even deadlier secrets. If Neverfell wishes to come out of her predicament alive and learn about her past, she has to work hard.
''A Face like Glass'' was published in 2012 and is the fifth book by the British middle-grade author Frances Hardinge.
Once upon a time, a little girl turned up inside the domain of Grandible the Cheesemaker, who had barred himself from the rest of Caverna. No one, including herself, knew anything about her or where she had come from. There was something about her face that horrified Grandible, and he decided that Caverna is not for the likes of her. He hid the girl, who he called Neverfell, until she was twelve years old. But a string of accidents made Neverfell leave Grandible's domain and threw her into the world of deadly intrigues and even deadlier secrets. If Neverfell wishes to come out of her predicament alive and learn about her past, she has to work hard.
''A Face like Glass'' was published in 2012 and is the fifth book by the British middle-grade author Frances Hardinge.
