Catherynne M. Valente

Fairyland #1

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Sarah Sammis

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M Valente is a modern day retelling of the Persephone myth with nods to L. Frank Baum's Oz, Lewis Carroll's Wonderland and Norton Juster's Phantom Tollbooth. September, stuck in Omaha washing dishes as her father is away fighting in a war and her mother is working late at a factory, is invited to Fairyland by the Green Wind.

September's adventures through there follow the classical path: land at the edge of the world or country, find the way to the center (and capital), be directed out on a new quest by the person in charge, accomplish extraordinary things all along the way, collect unusual but loyal friends and return home a changed person. I don't mean this simplistic description as a bad thing — it's a wonderful comfort for exploring the unique nooks and crannies of Fairyland.

Although September's initial quest is the "find her way home," she doesn't mean it. It's a lie to allow her entry into Fairland, as part of an intricate ritual to unlock the space between Earth and Fairyland. In that regard, then, September is more of an Alice, than she is a Dorothy. She wants to explore the world, if she can survive long enough to find her bearings.

Valente fills Fairyland with copious amounts of details. It may seem as though she is just filling the pages for a sense of rhythm or to make the mundane seem fantastical, but after listening to the audio twice, there is not one extraneous detail. The narrative is a complex and rich tapestry, befitting the capitol of Fairyland.

There are so many wonderful characters. I could write an entire separate post just on them. My favorite, though, is Ell (L-through-M) who is part Wyvern and part Library — Wyverary. Although September is dubious about Ell's background, I choose to believe him.

Like Dorothy and Alice, September will be returning to Fairyland. There's a short story already about Queen Mallow's adventures, The Girl Who Rules Fairyland — For a Little While and a sequel, The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There.

I happened to listen to the audio, expertly read by the author. Both times, the book has made me cry. I also have a hardback on hand to enjoy the lovely illustrations by Ana Juan.

Izza

5 stars | Wonderful fairytale story! :) 

"But it's their wedding night!" protested September. "Surely, they would like to retire with milk and a nice book!"

Best honeymoon ever.

September is a twelve-year-old girl, Somewhat Grown and Somewhat Heartless, and she longs for adventure. So when a Green Wind and a Leopard of Little Breezes invite her to Fairyland - well, of course, she accepts (mightn't you?). When she gets there, she finds a land crushed by the iron rule of a villainous Marquess - she soon discovers that she alone holds the key to restoring order. As September forges her way through Fairyland, with a book-loving dragon and a boy named Saturday by her side, she makes many friends and mistakes. But while she loses her shadow, her shoe and her way, she finds adventure, courage, a rather special Spoon, and a lot more besides . . .

Ken Yuen

Really was delighted by the use of language in this book. A lot of fun words that you don't see in frequent modern use. A modern day Alice in Wonderland. Content warning that even though it's a children's book, it gets a bit bloody in places. Overall a really enjoyable read. Was surprised to learn it's a whole series.

Henna

Book was amazing story about young girl’s adventure in fairyland.

Flavia Louise

4 stars
Really enjoyed the story, language and the author`s reading that I listened to.

Kaitee Tredway

This is just damn delightful and imaginative: stepping into Fairyland is like stepping into Neverland or Wonderland for the first time. It’s clever and ridiculous, a little expected in some ways, completely unexpected in others.

When I have a niece, this is a definite birthday gift.

Laume Zekas

Andrea Henderson

I wish I could give it 16 stars. I could not have loved it more. <3 <3 <3

Kerri McDonald

Sometimes when I'm reading, I want to just lose myself in a world that is fantastic and charming and makes me feel things. This book did just that for me. It was so whimsical and fun and enchanting, it was hard to put down! As I was reading it, I kept thinking about how much I would have enjoyed this book as a kid, when my imagination was much more full. I mean, I still loved this book, but I can imagine reading it as a child would make it that much more magical. I loved September (great name, btw, and I'm totally not biased because it happens to be my birthmonth), I loved the general story line, and the adventure was enthralling. There were bits that were a tad bit predictable, which is why it's not sitting at 5 stars. Still, I can't wait to see what September gets up to next!

September's ordinary life in Omaha turns to adventure when a Green Wind takes her to Fairyland to retrieve a talisman the new and fickle Marquess wants from the enchanted woods.

Elize van Heerden

I loved reading about September's adventure in Fairyland. The writing style is fantastic and you feel like you are right next to September

Daryl Houston

My daughter read this a year or two ago and loved it enough that she proposed it as a book to read to the family. So I read it aloud. The kids liked it, but I found it random and often hard to read aloud just because of the rhythm of the prose. 

It often felt like a book written to showcase cleverness about writing a book about a girl in fairyland (there's a persistent winky tone) rather than to actually move a story along in a satisfying way. It's a step above the Captain Underpants series, I suppose, but there's so much better literature for kids out there.

Neil Gaiman liked it, though, so what do I know?

Rebecca Light

The last third of the book redeemed it, but I'm afraid the middle suffered from mush. Maybe I didn't read it in the right frame of mind, but it didn't carry me from page to page with any sort of excitement. Also, I'm noticing this phenomenon that many middle grade fantasy books I'm reading are sounding eerily Lewis Carroll-esque. The language, syntax, and cadence are all very Wonderlandy. Problem is, Carroll's voice is distinctly British and Victorian. The protagonist of this book is from Omaha in the 1940s. It just felt like a trap the author fell into. Perhaps it was meant to be an homage but it came across to me as derivative. Wonderland is Wonderland. Alice is Alice. I realize how good they are, but let's try harder to find a uniquely American voice of whimsy, shall we?

Christina Hufford

I liked it, but I had the hardest time getting the motivation to read it. There's a lot of detail in here, but not a lot of depth. It's also one of a breed of fantasy books where the plot mainly involves the main character wandering from one clever, quirky, but ultimately inconsequential fairytale-ish setting after another, and I always have the hardest time getting immersed in stories like this. (Another example is the second half of The Never-Ending Story, when Bastian is just wandering around Fantastica. It took me hours to read the first half of that book, and months to read the second. I mean, it lived up to its name, but not necessarily in a good way.) 

Anyway, I feel kind of sad. I wanted to really like this book, and in moments I did -- the imagery is really vivid, and A-Through-L was a fun character. I particularly loved the scenes with the Marquess. Actually, by the end, I was left thinking that the Marquess's story was far more interesting overall. I'd have much rather read a book about a little girl who enters Fairyland only to take it over and spoil all its sugary sweetness. Compared to that, September's wandering-around-with-good-intentions was just ... bland.

Shannon Jade

Read my full review on the Shannon A. Jade Books blog!

Top 3:
- Opinionated narrator
- Constant creativity
- Alice in Wonderland-esque style

Lauren James

This was the cutest ever!! It was weird as all heck but I loved it. This is a very classic fairytale. It was so much fun to read! I want to read more about September's adventures! And I want a half-library half wyvern!

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making Fairyland #1

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