The Glass Sentence by S. E. Grove

Title: The Glass Sentence

Author: S. E. Grove

Pages:

Finished: February 18

First Sentence: It happened long ago, when I was only a child.

Summary: (from Goodreads) Boston, 1891. Sophia Tims comes from a family of explorers and cartologers who, for generations, have been traveling and mapping the New World—a world changed by the Great Disruption of 1799, when all the continents were flung into different time periods.  Eight years ago, her parents left her with her uncle Shadrack, the foremost cartologer in Boston, and went on an urgent mission. They never returned. Life with her brilliant, absent-minded, adored uncle has taught Sophia to take care of herself.

Then Shadrack is kidnapped. And Sophia, who has rarely been outside of Boston, is the only one who can search for him. Together with Theo, a refugee from the West, she travels over rough terrain and uncharted ocean, encounters pirates and traders, and relies on a combination of Shadrack’s maps, common sense, and her own slantwise powers of observation. But even as Sophia and Theo try to save Shadrack’s life, they are in danger of losing their own.

Thoughts: This is a re-read of this novel, and I enjoyed it just as much this time around as I did many years ago when I first read it. 

Characters: All feel in place in a middle-grade fantasy. Flaws are fairly minor or serve to make the character more likeable which could lead readers to feel the characters are too archetypal, but I don't mind it so much in middle grade literature. Sophia has a quiet strength that pulls her out of the Strong Female Character stereotype that sometimes prevails in women-led novels. Theo seems like the standard brash sidekick. Pirates Calixta and Burr are fun. The villain is very villain-worthy. There's enough of a reason that she doesn't seem just evil for evil's sake, but she's very disturbing.

Setting: World-building is pretty good. I would have liked to know even MORE about the ages, but I understand that's not the point of this book. New Occidant has enough familiarities for it to feel familiar even as it's different. The Baldlands are so completely different. 

Writing: The books moves at a decent clip. I continually found myself frustrated when I had to put it down. Point of view is primarily Sophia's in third person though Shadrack has a few POV chapters as well. His chapters are spaced fairly far apart, but they're really nervewracking. 

This is a solid middle grade fantasy similar to Inkheart or the Golden Compass.