Frances Hardinge
1) Deeplight
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The gods are dead. Decades ago, they turned on one another and tore each other apart. When 15-year-old Hark finds the still-beating heart of a terrifying deity, he risks everything to keep it out of the hands of smugglers, military scientists, and a secret fanatical cult so that he can use it to save the life of his best friend, Jelt. But with the heart, Jelt gradually and eerily transforms. How long should Hark stay loyal to his friend when he's...
2) Fly by night
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Mosca Mye and her homicidal goose, Saracen, travel to the city of Mandelion on the heels of smooth-talking con-man, Eponymous Clent.
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In the underground city of Caverna, the world's most skilled craftsmen toil in the darkness to create delicacies beyond compare-wines that remove memories, cheeses that make you hallucinate, and perfumes that convince you to trust the wearer, even as they slit your throat. On the surface, the people of Caverna seem ordinary, except for one thing: their faces are as blank as untouched snow. Expressions must be learned, and only the famous Facesmiths...
4) The Lie Tree
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On an island off the south coast of Victorian England, fourteen-year-old Faith investigates the mysterious death of her father, who was involved in a scandal, and discovers a tree that feeds upon lies and gives those who eat its fruit visions of truth.
5) Unraveller
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Fifteen-year-old Kellen's unique ability to unravel curses unfortunately does not protect him from becoming cursed, and unless he and his best friend and ally Nettle can remove his hex, Kellen is in danger of unravelling everything--and everyone--around him.
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Verdigris (n.): a blue-green rust that tarnishes ageing and forgotten copper coins, altering them entirely . . .
One evening, Ryan and his friends steal some coins from a well. Soon after, strange things begin to happen. Peculiar burn marks appear on Ryan's knuckles and light bulbs mysteriously explode. Then the well witch appears, with her fountains for eyes and gargled demands. From now on the kids who've stolen from her must serve her-and the...
7) Fly Trap
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Mosca Mye and Eponymous Clent are at it again. Escaping disaster by the skin of their teeth, they find refuge in Toll, a strange gateway town where visitors may neither enter nor leave without paying a price. By day, the city is well-mannered and orderly; by night, it's host to rogues and villains. Wherever there's a plot, there's sure to be treachery, and wherever there's treachery, there's sure to be trouble-and where there's trouble, well, Clent,...
8) Cuckoo Song
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Following a mysterious accident that leaves her sopping wet, Triss awakens to a world that's eerily off-kilter. Her memories are muddled, her sister despises her, and when she brushes her hair, out come crumbled fragments of leaves. Is she going mad? Or did her accident trigger a nightmarish chain of events? In her quest to learn the truth, Triss ventures from the shelter of her parents' protective wings into the city's underbelly. There she encounters...
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On Gullstruck Island, legend has it that the mountain ranges and volcanoes are in charge. Anger them, and you'll pay the price. Keep them happy, and you'll enjoy their protection. These stories of the land's command come in handy for quiet, near-invisible Hathin when she must run for her life. Hathin's sister, Arilou, is believed to be a Lost. The Lost are held nearly sacred by those on Gullstruck, for they can send their senses away from their bodies....
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Having successfully wreaked revolution upon the City of Mandelion, the pair find themselves escaping catastrophe by the skin of their teeth and seeking refuge in Toll. In this strange, aptly named gateway town, visitors may neither enter nor exit without paying a steep price. By day, the city is well-mannered and orderly; by night, chaotic and debaucherous. Each resident, visitor, and passerby is allowed out in public only during one of these phases,...
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A Skinful of Shadows is a dark YA historical fantasy set in the early part of the English Civil War. Makepeace is an illegitimate daughter of the aristocratic Fellmotte family, and as such, she shares their unique hereditary gift: the capacity to be possessed by ghosts. Reluctant to accept her appointed destiny as vessel for a coterie of her ancestors, she escapes. As she flees the pursuing Fellmottes across war-torn England, she accumulates a motley...