Scan barcode
judaroo's review against another edition
5.0
Another delightful installment in this series. I adored the characters of Hawthorn, Tamburlaine, Scratch, and especially Blunderbuss. I look forward to seeing more of how their tale intertwines with September.
lizaroo71's review
3.0
This is the fourth installment in this series by Valente. I wasn't too taken with the #3, but this one did have some lovely passages that took me back to the original in the series.
I found the final few chapters were the key to book #5. This is when we meet September once again (she is the reason we ended up in Fairyland).
This is a quick read, but I still felt like it didn't add much to the series as a whole.
I found the final few chapters were the key to book #5. This is when we meet September once again (she is the reason we ended up in Fairyland).
This is a quick read, but I still felt like it didn't add much to the series as a whole.
fallingletters's review
4.0
Review originally published 26 September 2015 at Falling Letters.
Fairyland Book #3 disappointed me. I can't recall exactly why (I didn't review it, I didn't remember the cliffhanger), though I can probably sum up my disappointment with "didn't contain that wondrous magic of the first book", especially concerning the plot (granted, to expect the sequels to match the originality of the first book is to expect the impossible - only once can you be introduced to September and Fairyland). The Boy Who Lost Fairyland refreshed my interest in this series with a delightful tale concerning Changelings.
September serves as an excellent guide through Fairyland. Valente's decision to instead feature Hawthorn, a Changeling troll, and set a good chunk of the tale in Chicago may at first seem like an unnecessary stirring up of a winning formula - but it works. I found September's adventures beginning to stale in the third book. With this book, I enjoyed meeting new characters who blossom throughout the story. Hawthorn will likely appeal to anyone who enjoyed September's company. A break from September also makes me more excited to see her return to prominence in the final book.
I don't think I need to comment much on the prose, save to reassure you that you're getting the same lyrical goodness of the other Fairyland books!
Fairyland Book #3 disappointed me. I can't recall exactly why (I didn't review it, I didn't remember the cliffhanger), though I can probably sum up my disappointment with "didn't contain that wondrous magic of the first book", especially concerning the plot (granted, to expect the sequels to match the originality of the first book is to expect the impossible - only once can you be introduced to September and Fairyland). The Boy Who Lost Fairyland refreshed my interest in this series with a delightful tale concerning Changelings.
September serves as an excellent guide through Fairyland. Valente's decision to instead feature Hawthorn, a Changeling troll, and set a good chunk of the tale in Chicago may at first seem like an unnecessary stirring up of a winning formula - but it works. I found September's adventures beginning to stale in the third book. With this book, I enjoyed meeting new characters who blossom throughout the story. Hawthorn will likely appeal to anyone who enjoyed September's company. A break from September also makes me more excited to see her return to prominence in the final book.
But this child knew very well that he was called Hawthorn and not Thomas, and was a troll on the inside, not a baby human. It was only that he could not tell anyone - his human was so small and soft! He could not make any words come out of it at all. When he finally managed it, they were just the simplest and plainest ones, none of which were big enough to hold his trollness, or that he had once spoken to a giant Panther, or the wonderful, terrible, burning flight through the clouds. (39)I did not expect so much of the story to be set in our world. This setting allows Valente to explore more realistic challenges that many young children face, most prominently that out-of-place feeling. I liked the Changeling perspective, showing a view of both our world and Fairyland that differs from September's.
"The Laws of the Kingdom of School," he squeaked. "One: A Teacher is the same thing as an Empress only a Teacher wears skirts and uses a ruler instead of a sceptre. Two: Be present at eight o'clock sharp or you will be marked Tardy and if you are Tardy enough you will be banished to the Land of Detention, where no food or joy can live. Three: If you write that you shall not do a thing five hundred times you cannot do it again for your whole life. Only Teachers possess this magic, as Mother and Father have never tried it[...]" (73)While each of the previous books build on its predecessor, this book pulls together a variety of events and hints from the three other books. I recommend a reread if it's been awhile. I struggled to recall the significance of some of the characters and happenings in the later half of this book.
I don't think I need to comment much on the prose, save to reassure you that you're getting the same lyrical goodness of the other Fairyland books!
And indeed, in the rippling red clouds above everything, a great number of treetops began to peek out. They were all very tall and very lush: great umbrellas of glossy leaves, lacy branches twisting and toppling together, cupolas of orange and fuchsia flowers, obelisks of braided beanstalks, huge domes like the ones Hawthorn had seen in his picture book about Pandemonium, but made of climbing roses and hanging babanas and iridescent turquoise bubbles that would not pop, even when they tumbled into thorns. Just the sort of place where the wind stills, grows sleepy, turns around in a few lazy circles, and settles down for a nap in a sunbeam. Everything was hot and wet and alive, like the inside of a summer raindrop. (9)The Bottom Line: Although I love September, a change in protagonist renewed my excitement in this series. Valente maintains her charming story-telling while giving a fresh perspective of Fairyland.
kittymamers's review
3.0
See lugu ei ole mu lemmikute hulgas ses Fairylandi-sarjas. Liiga vähe Septemberit (vabandust, aga tema on peategelane ja ilma temata ei ole üldse see!) ja liiga palju tegevust Chicagos Pandemoniumi asemel. Lõpuks ilmuvad kõik tuttavad tegelased ka välja, aga jube kaua tuleb oodata seda.
seeinghowitgoes's review against another edition
2.0
I started this oh so long ago, but put it back down. I adore Valente's writing but have to be in the right mindset for her prose and whimsical stories. It's the story of two changelings, whisked away from Fairyland and even more quickly finding themselves whisked back in. We're given tantalising glimpses of our previous heroine September, but this is really Hawthorn and Tamburlaine's journey (what a name, I want to name everything Tamburlaine from now on!).
I lost track of the storyline towards the end, it's a rough tumble with characters thrown at you from all corners, I've seen there's a 5th? Oh boy.
I lost track of the storyline towards the end, it's a rough tumble with characters thrown at you from all corners, I've seen there's a 5th? Oh boy.
dobsonfly314's review
4.0
Honestly my least favorite in the installment thus far. Which is still like saying it's my least favorite from a big bag of chocolate. Still delicious. And I'm still going to eat it.
disabledbookdragon's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I want to love this book more than I did since I loved the first book so much. And I think this book deserves to be loved more than my experience with it. I think maybe it’s just not super cognitive friendly and that maybe I should revisit at a later date when my brain is not under immense cranial pressure. But sadly I love the whimsy but I could not follow it in the slightest.
__sam__'s review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
sarahrosebooks's review against another edition
3.0
This was a nice addition to the fairyland series. I've enjoyed every book in the series so far, and this was no exception.
The fourth instalment follows Hawthorn, a troll who becomes a changeling when he is stolen away from his fairyland home and taken to a human family. Hawthorn forgets who he was and becomes Thomas, until he befriends a girl called Tamburlaine at school and things start to unravel.
At first I couldn't get into this, as we were following different characters, and a different story entirely, or so it seemed. But I slowly got into the book as I got used to Thomas/Hawthorn, and his friends, and Blunderbuss!
I did miss September and Ell, but they do feature in the story somewhat, along with the other characters we love. This is mostly Thomas's story, overall, and it was a nice addition to the Fairyland series. I am looking forward to reading the fifth instalment.
The fourth instalment follows Hawthorn, a troll who becomes a changeling when he is stolen away from his fairyland home and taken to a human family. Hawthorn forgets who he was and becomes Thomas, until he befriends a girl called Tamburlaine at school and things start to unravel.
At first I couldn't get into this, as we were following different characters, and a different story entirely, or so it seemed. But I slowly got into the book as I got used to Thomas/Hawthorn, and his friends, and Blunderbuss!
I did miss September and Ell, but they do feature in the story somewhat, along with the other characters we love. This is mostly Thomas's story, overall, and it was a nice addition to the Fairyland series. I am looking forward to reading the fifth instalment.