Fairyland, #1
Hardcover, 256 pages
English language
Published May 10, 2011 by Feiwel & Friends.
Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn't . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.
This was fun to re-read, it's much more challenging than the average kids book.
I envy her imagination.
I have trouble selecting books to recommend to my 10 year old nieces.
The empowering title of this novel made it a prime candidate.
A rule of thumb I've been taught is, that a YA book is aimed at an audience 2 years younger than its protagonist. I don't think it is the case here.
While At 48 I found this to be an amazing, sober exploration of the fairy tale genre.
I think a 10 year old or even a 12 or 14 year old will find this book too melancholy.
Perhaps I'm too influenced by Disney, but there is a lack of optimism, of hope and spirit of adventure that is needed to balance the monsters and the hardships challenging the heroine.
All the structure of a children's tail is there, but the spirit of the novel is grown up.
I'm not sure. I liked it, but some parts are way too long. And I just hated the "Extra Chapter".
I really enjoyed this one. It feels like an older story, like an Oz story.
September is a little girl who is whisked away from her home in Nebraska by personified wind riding a leopard. She arrives in Fairyland alone, and soon makes friends that she must help and protect as her quest spirals ever larger.
Valente's narrative voice is filled with exquisite prose and a narration that gently teases you on your way through the story.
It's an adorable, quick read and I loved it. I'm not sure it was written for children or just pretends to be, as there are so many jokes a child will probably not get. For me, who likes to spot grownup-topics in children's books and movies, it was perfect, though.
Wow. Just wow. This was beautiful and unexpected and I just want to start all over and read it again. So wonderful. Definitely recommend the audiobook read by the author.
A brilliant work, and I do not mean that lightly. An early moment in the book was so poignant I had to stop reading for a moment and just savor that one scene.
It reads like an old fashioned children's story, in the vein of Alice in Wonderland, but has a depth and poetry to it that rivals, if not exceeds, the classics. For lovers of fantasy, this is a book you must read.
“Such lonely, lost things you find on your way."
An happy, sad tale of a girl who isn't chosen. Enjoyed it immensely & felt a little hollow afterwards. Lewis Carroll, but without the hallucinogens. Neil Gaiman, but without the "I'm ever-so-whimsical, LOOK" desperation. A wonderful artist in her own right, I look forward to further things from this author.
This is like a high-end restaurant's classy, deconstructed version of one's favorite childhood dessert: it hits all the warm and fuzzy notes that a fun, romp-like, young-adult faerie tale should, while also having very worthwhile commentary on such topics as security theatre, the advantages and lack thereof of growing up, and the importance of feeling that you have agency over your own life.
Despite trying to cover some Big Ideas, and despite having some of the best world-building I've ever read, I barely noticed either of those things until I finished, because ultimately, The Girl Who Circumnavigated [etc] is, at it's heart, a faerie tale, and it reads like one: seamless and mythic. I felt wrapped up in the plot and the characters, with some room spared to appreciate the atmosphere. It was just once I finished that I realized how novel the book was. This is the type of …
This is like a high-end restaurant's classy, deconstructed version of one's favorite childhood dessert: it hits all the warm and fuzzy notes that a fun, romp-like, young-adult faerie tale should, while also having very worthwhile commentary on such topics as security theatre, the advantages and lack thereof of growing up, and the importance of feeling that you have agency over your own life.
Despite trying to cover some Big Ideas, and despite having some of the best world-building I've ever read, I barely noticed either of those things until I finished, because ultimately, The Girl Who Circumnavigated [etc] is, at it's heart, a faerie tale, and it reads like one: seamless and mythic. I felt wrapped up in the plot and the characters, with some room spared to appreciate the atmosphere. It was just once I finished that I realized how novel the book was. This is the type of book that I'll want to reread over and over again, and I am completely confident that I will find more each time I do.
It's worth noting, as an aside, that Valente's work is also extremely strong from a gender perspective: she has self-sufficient, interesting female characters who have myriad personalities and goals besides romantic ones. And unlike some books that have gotten critical acclaim for strong female characters, The Girl Who [etc] stars characters who break the bookish-eager to please-sidekick mold of female characters: the titular September is brash, nosy and heartless as well as brave, inventive and persistent; her mother is a mechanic.
There are so many other positive things to say: the denouement is clever (and extremely obvious once you know it, but so brave that I never expected it to be true!) and profound and sad, all at once. There is a Wyverary - a mix of a wyvern and a library who knows everything about everything as long as it starts with the letters A-L. There is a soap golem, who of course, has Truth inscribed on her forehead, and is of course, named Lye.
It's like the Phantom Tollbooth crashed into a faerie tale and it is absolutely delicious.
This is a charming and imaginative book, and vividly written. It's a book that reminds me a lot of the best classic fairy tales and fantasies that I loved so much when I was younger, and one of the most unique YA/MG fantasy books I've read in a long time.
But I did not love it. I think I would have preferred a simpler book, with fewer characters and puzzles and events. The narrative seems to be rushing, rushing, rushing, and with so much going on at once I didn't feel emotionally invested in September's journey, nor was I even altogether clear about what she actually wanted.
Also: the writing style is, for me, right on the edge between lyrical and annoyingly twee. If you don't take to the style right off in the first few pages, the whole book is going to be hard to take. I was distracted …
This is a charming and imaginative book, and vividly written. It's a book that reminds me a lot of the best classic fairy tales and fantasies that I loved so much when I was younger, and one of the most unique YA/MG fantasy books I've read in a long time.
But I did not love it. I think I would have preferred a simpler book, with fewer characters and puzzles and events. The narrative seems to be rushing, rushing, rushing, and with so much going on at once I didn't feel emotionally invested in September's journey, nor was I even altogether clear about what she actually wanted.
Also: the writing style is, for me, right on the edge between lyrical and annoyingly twee. If you don't take to the style right off in the first few pages, the whole book is going to be hard to take. I was distracted enough by the language and style that I had a difficult time becoming immersed in the story.
3.5 stars.
It reminded me of The Phantom Tolbooth with a bit of Oz and Alice. Even though I mention these comparisons it is unique in many ways. The perspective of the narration is exceptional. This makes it a very quotable book. There were so many things I loved about this book. It's a delightful adventure story with interesting characters with cool names. I could almost give it five stars, but not quite. Simply because while at times I couldn't wait to continue. In others the excitement wasn't enough for me.
This book was simply a lot of fun. A girl escapes to Fairyland with the help of the Green Wind and finds it's not exactly what she thought it would be. Charming storytelling with a dose or two of almost cynical humor (the politics/bureaucracy of Fairyland are pretty amusing). Loved it!
