Hi Guys,
A colleague of mine has been recommending this series forever and I finally decided I would pick up the audio book. I’m not sure I will like the whole series but this one wasn’t bad.
The Glass Sentence by S.E. Grove is the first book in The Mapmakers trilogy. This is a teen read that takes place in a dystopian fantasy world where ages overlap. This is a world torn apart by the Great Disruption of 1799, which flung the world into different time periods, past, present and future. A matter of miles could contain several different ages… an ice age, a glass city, a crumbling waste and more.
In this world lives Sophia, a 13-year-old Boston-ite of 1891. Sophia and her Uncle Shadrack are in the midst of planning a search and rescue for Sophia’s parents, who disappeared 8 years previous. To prepare for this trip, Shadrack teaches Sophia how to read maps. But maps are more than meets the eye in this book–glass maps can contain memories, there are water maps, even onion maps.
While preparing for this trip, Shadrack is kidnapped and Sophia is the only one who can find him. As she begins her hunt, Sophia meets a private but charismatic boy named Theo and the two travel together into the Badlands. Along the way Sophia meets pirates, evil brainless thugs known as Sandmen, and ages no one knew existed. Can Sophia uncover the secret behind the maps and overcome her lack of an internal clock and save more than just her uncle? Or will she become lost in time and be too late to save anyone.
Grove built this incredibly complex world that at times can be difficult to wrap your head around. Imagine walking down a city street and seeing modern day buildings, wigwams, and futuristic ruins. This is a world created for explorers, for the imaginative and I’ll admit, at times my imagination fell short. And yet, the world building was well done, if a little confusing at times. But it is a neat concept, ages merging.
The beginning of this book started getting a little political. Ages wanting to outcast all non-natives. Rich verses poor and the power struggle which ensues. Tolerance and acceptance could be discussion topics if you wanted to do a teen book-talk.
One thing I liked about this book was that Sophia had no sense of time. That a little girl could lose herself in a moment and spend hours staring out a window while bombs explode or plan out elaborate schemes in a single moment was fantastic. Grandma Pearl tells Sophia that what some people might deem as a flaw, may in-fact be a gift that allows one to see the world differently. Sophia proves this by the end.
This was a good audiobook that kept me listening and asking questions. I will definitely pick up the second one.
That’s all for now!
-M-