A Face Like Glass is an astonishing and imaginative novel from the
Costa Award-winning author of The Lie Tree, Frances Hardinge.
In the underground city of Caverna, the world's most skilled craftsmen
toil in the darkness to create delicacies beyond compare - wines that
can remove memories, cheeses that can make you hallucinate, and perfumes
that convince you to trust the wearer, even as they slit your throat.
The people of Caverna are more ordinary, but for one thing: their faces
are as blank as untouched snow. Expressions must be learned, and only
the famous Facesmiths can teach a person to show (or fake) joy, despair,
or fear - at a price.
Into this dark and distrustful world comes Neverfell, a little girl with
no memory of her past and a face so terrifying to those around her that
she must wear a mask at all times. For Neverfell's emotions are as
obvious on her face as those of the most skilled Facesmiths, though
entirely genuine. And that makes her very dangerous indeed.