Then I was in America a few days ago and during a visit to Barnes and Noble, I asked for the bookseller’s recommendation for a great Middle Grade read. Why did I read this book: I hadn’t heard of this book at all even though it came out last year and earned starred reviews all over the place. Stand alone or series: The Mapmakers Trilogy #1 The Glass Sentence plunges readers into a time and place they will not want to leave, and introduces them to a heroine and hero they will take to their hearts. But even as Sophia and Theo try to save Shadrack’s life, they are in danger of losing their own. 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.

And Sophia, who has rarely been outside of Boston, is the only one who can search for him. Life with her brilliant, absent-minded, adored uncle has taught Sophia to take care of herself. Eight years ago, her parents left her with her uncle Shadrack, the foremost cartologer in Boston, and went on an urgent mission. 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. She had no idea they were so dangerous.īoston, 1891. She has only seen the world through maps. I can’t wait for book 2, The Golden Specific. Even though at times said world-building – given its scope – encounters inevitable hurdles and fails to live up to its full potential, my excitement for this world is genuine and lasting.

The Glass Sentence has a fascinating premise with an intricate and ambitious world-building around it.

The glass sentence book 2