A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge

My name is Neverfell. I snuck away from Master Grandible but was imprisoned when my mask fell off. My face clearly changes expressions with my thoughts and emotions, and this frightens the people of Caverna; they don't have the ability. I was placed in the custody of the Grand Steward, but I've become a pawn in the politics of different families seeking power. Some people thought I was an assassin, but assassins have been trying to kill me! Everyone calls me an outsider,  but I don't understand why I'm different. I know Master Grandible discovered me seven years ago, but I don't remember anything of my life before that. I have dreams of the overground, but what if they're actually memories? The truth is slowly emerging in my mind. Madame Appeline and Maxim Childersin hold horrible secrets that will rock the Council and all of Caverna. It's up to me to make things right. 

This book is a finalist for the 2017 Cybils Book Award in Elementary/Speculative Fiction. It's most appropriate for more mature readers due to the abstract concepts presented. Major aspects of the plot involve foods and drinks designed to influence others, and the back-stabbing drama found in the Caverna culture won't appeal to younger readers. Characters use wine to make others forget or remember past events, but some of them use wine on themselves. Neverfell is a wonderful main character and evokes sympathetic feelings. She's clueless in a society that doesn't accept her, and many of her "friends" use her for selfish reasons. She trusts everyone, but her face puts her at a disadvantage. Her thoughts and feelings are clearly displayed in her facial expressions, but everyone else in Caverna has learned to display a limited number of them. Their faces don't always match their intentions, and their desire for more "faces" is a key part of the plot's conflict. Overall, this book offers a very creative view of a dystopian society that will appeal to tween readers.