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paintedgiraffe's review
4.0
So short. Or, I don't know, it *felt* short XD But after seeing the page count, it's barely different from the original "Circumnavigated".
jsmithborne's review
5.0
LOVING this book so far. Got it though a Goodreads giveaway (I haven't won very many luck-based contests in my life, but 2 times I have won Catherynne Valente books--must be doing something right!). Can't wait for Jaden to read this--I think he'll really identify with the kid who can't seem to be Normal, or even really wrap his head around what Normal is. Like our narrator says, "Who knew what Sense was Common in that mysterious place?"
This book was fantastic. I loved seeing our world through the eyes of a Fairylander, even if he didn't know he was a Fairylander at the time. In some ways I actually liked the parts set in our world better than the parts set in Fairyland. Maybe I can't go to Fairyland, but I can definitely experience this world in new ways, see it with new eyes. I love the scenes at the ends of there-and-back-again stories, where the kids who were whiny and scared before they left face down their bullies and takes their lives. I know the first Fairyland book was partly about the damage that going back to being a powerless kid in the everyday world after being a powerful grown-up in Fairyland, but I want to read the book that is about what happens after the big adventures, when the hero comes back stronger, braver, self-confident, and has to fit back into his or her life.
Anyway, in this book, the ending is completely crazy, in a good way, and I'm now VERY impatient for the last book.
This book was fantastic. I loved seeing our world through the eyes of a Fairylander, even if he didn't know he was a Fairylander at the time. In some ways I actually liked the parts set in our world better than the parts set in Fairyland. Maybe I can't go to Fairyland, but I can definitely experience this world in new ways, see it with new eyes. I love the scenes at the ends of there-and-back-again stories, where the kids who were whiny and scared before they left face down their bullies and takes their lives. I know the first Fairyland book was partly about the damage that going back to being a powerless kid in the everyday world after being a powerful grown-up in Fairyland, but I want to read the book that is about what happens after the big adventures, when the hero comes back stronger, braver, self-confident, and has to fit back into his or her life.
Anyway, in this book, the ending is completely crazy, in a good way, and I'm now VERY impatient for the last book.
dredican's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
ashleylm's review
4.0
As usual, a lovely book--but probably my least favourite of the four so far. Not because of the shift in protagonist (Hawthorn/Tom is terrific), but because the plot rather meandered ... around page 180 I started feeling like the book was starting, but it was actually closing in on an ending.
Despite that one criticism, a less-than-perfect book from Ms. Valente is about 100 times more rewarding than most author's best efforts!
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
Despite that one criticism, a less-than-perfect book from Ms. Valente is about 100 times more rewarding than most author's best efforts!
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
bibliotheca_draconum's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
ekatemari's review
4.0
This book is utter nonsense… you’re going to love it.
Let me first say that Catherynne Valente has more imagination in one fingernail than most people do in their whole body. You can just imagine her as a hyperactive, hyper-creative kid who’s just seen Fairyland and wants to tell you all about it and she can’t wait for even one minute, no she can’t. It’s the sheer volume of words and references and, frequently, nonsense that hurtles at you like the cascade of a waterfall that you couldn't stem if you jammed all your arms and legs into it.
At the start it feels a lot like that – that is, overwhelming and a bit like paddling against a commanding torrent of colours and lovely words and fantastic items that leaves you with very little room to breathe, much less grab hold of a tree branch for long enough to get your bearings. (The branch would probably turn out to be a boa constrictor, anyway.) But after a chapter or so you get into the swing of things, pick up a few native words and shrug on an ethnic jacket; you learn how to salmon upstream. And it’s easy, mad riding the rest of the way.
The story begins when a young troll by the name of Hawthorn is spirited away by the Red Wind and her Panther of Rough Storms and sent into the human world as a Changeling – an out-of-place little mischievous creature that is, for all intents and purposes, anarchy incarnate.
But of course, this isn’t actually where the story begins.
The Boy Who Lost Fairyland is the fourth in the Fairyland series and, while it can stand independently, much like a small child, it would be much better off being supported on one side or the other by its mum or one of its older siblings. That is to say: alone it is very good, but in line with its forerunners it would be glorious. I say this having not read the others, mind – it’s just that, towards the end of the book in particular, characters from the other books are mentioned and I think you’d enjoy these mentionings more if you had the faintest idea of who they were on about. The beginning of the book, too, launches confidently into an assertive stride and you can immediately feel the presence of the narrative stepping stones that led to this one.
After Hawthorn is recast as a small human child, he is completely and utterly confused and crestfallen. The oven and the chandelier won’t speak to him, his mother (who is clearly a witch) makes him toys that won’t come alive, try as Hawthorn might, and his father is quick to point out that he isn’t normal. But life must go on and our small troll with it, and so Hawthorn grows into a human boy: Thomas Rood. Along the way are the hurdles of school and other kids and being normal, and Thomas must do his best to fit in even as he forgets all about his real heritage. That is, until one day, when a carefully orchestrated (and not entirely normal) accident changes everything and stirs awake the troll deep inside…
The book is absolutely wonderful and incredibly creative, entirely comfortable in its well-worn fantastical shoes. It also often reminded me of Dianna Wynne Jones’s work (which is a great compliment as she is one of my favourite writers) in the way that it followed its protagonist around and, again, in the cameos of old favourites towards the end of the book, much like Howl’s resurgence in Castle in the Air (and I shan’t say more about that, only that you must read Howl’s Moving Castle if you haven’t already!). Another similarity is the use of illustrations and a brief summary of the upcoming adventure at the head of each chapter in the form of, for example, ‘Chapter 1: Entrance, on a Panther. In Which a Boy Named Hawthorn Is Spirited Off by Means of a Panther, Learns the Rules of the World, and Performs an Unlikely Feat of Gardening’ – a style that I absolutely adore.
The Boy Who Lost Fairyland is an extraordinarily fantastic book, rivalling Alice in Wonderland in nonsensicality and Howl’s Moving Castle in poise; get this book if you are a fan of either. Perfect for humans, trolls and fetches of all ages (ok, maybe ten and up, give or take). I will be picking up The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, the first in the Fairyland series, sometime rather shortly.
I was sent an ARC copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
For full review complete with short excerpt, visit The Little Crocodile
Let me first say that Catherynne Valente has more imagination in one fingernail than most people do in their whole body. You can just imagine her as a hyperactive, hyper-creative kid who’s just seen Fairyland and wants to tell you all about it and she can’t wait for even one minute, no she can’t. It’s the sheer volume of words and references and, frequently, nonsense that hurtles at you like the cascade of a waterfall that you couldn't stem if you jammed all your arms and legs into it.
At the start it feels a lot like that – that is, overwhelming and a bit like paddling against a commanding torrent of colours and lovely words and fantastic items that leaves you with very little room to breathe, much less grab hold of a tree branch for long enough to get your bearings. (The branch would probably turn out to be a boa constrictor, anyway.) But after a chapter or so you get into the swing of things, pick up a few native words and shrug on an ethnic jacket; you learn how to salmon upstream. And it’s easy, mad riding the rest of the way.
The story begins when a young troll by the name of Hawthorn is spirited away by the Red Wind and her Panther of Rough Storms and sent into the human world as a Changeling – an out-of-place little mischievous creature that is, for all intents and purposes, anarchy incarnate.
But of course, this isn’t actually where the story begins.
The Boy Who Lost Fairyland is the fourth in the Fairyland series and, while it can stand independently, much like a small child, it would be much better off being supported on one side or the other by its mum or one of its older siblings. That is to say: alone it is very good, but in line with its forerunners it would be glorious. I say this having not read the others, mind – it’s just that, towards the end of the book in particular, characters from the other books are mentioned and I think you’d enjoy these mentionings more if you had the faintest idea of who they were on about. The beginning of the book, too, launches confidently into an assertive stride and you can immediately feel the presence of the narrative stepping stones that led to this one.
After Hawthorn is recast as a small human child, he is completely and utterly confused and crestfallen. The oven and the chandelier won’t speak to him, his mother (who is clearly a witch) makes him toys that won’t come alive, try as Hawthorn might, and his father is quick to point out that he isn’t normal. But life must go on and our small troll with it, and so Hawthorn grows into a human boy: Thomas Rood. Along the way are the hurdles of school and other kids and being normal, and Thomas must do his best to fit in even as he forgets all about his real heritage. That is, until one day, when a carefully orchestrated (and not entirely normal) accident changes everything and stirs awake the troll deep inside…
The book is absolutely wonderful and incredibly creative, entirely comfortable in its well-worn fantastical shoes. It also often reminded me of Dianna Wynne Jones’s work (which is a great compliment as she is one of my favourite writers) in the way that it followed its protagonist around and, again, in the cameos of old favourites towards the end of the book, much like Howl’s resurgence in Castle in the Air (and I shan’t say more about that, only that you must read Howl’s Moving Castle if you haven’t already!). Another similarity is the use of illustrations and a brief summary of the upcoming adventure at the head of each chapter in the form of, for example, ‘Chapter 1: Entrance, on a Panther. In Which a Boy Named Hawthorn Is Spirited Off by Means of a Panther, Learns the Rules of the World, and Performs an Unlikely Feat of Gardening’ – a style that I absolutely adore.
The Boy Who Lost Fairyland is an extraordinarily fantastic book, rivalling Alice in Wonderland in nonsensicality and Howl’s Moving Castle in poise; get this book if you are a fan of either. Perfect for humans, trolls and fetches of all ages (ok, maybe ten and up, give or take). I will be picking up The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, the first in the Fairyland series, sometime rather shortly.
I was sent an ARC copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
For full review complete with short excerpt, visit The Little Crocodile
ohnoflora's review against another edition
4.0
MUCH better than Book 3.
The first two thirds in which the changeling Tom/Hawthorn tries to navigate the human world are as strong as anything Valente has written before. It is utterly charming (WOMBAT! WOMBAT! ONLY WOMBATS! I AM THE WOMBAT PRINCE OF CHICAGO!) and can very much can be read as being about a neuroatypical child bumping up against unfathomable rules and being constantly told that he is Not Normal.
I'm so glad that we had characters doing things and characters to actually care about rather than a wodge of description and endless monologues. I hope this bodes well for book five...
Spoiler
, although (weirdly) I thought it lost its spark a little (but only a little) when the characters returned to FairylandThe first two thirds in which the changeling Tom/Hawthorn tries to navigate the human world are as strong as anything Valente has written before. It is utterly charming (WOMBAT! WOMBAT! ONLY WOMBATS! I AM THE WOMBAT PRINCE OF CHICAGO!) and can very much can be read as being about a neuroatypical child bumping up against unfathomable rules and being constantly told that he is Not Normal.
I'm so glad that we had characters doing things and characters to actually care about rather than a wodge of description and endless monologues. I hope this bodes well for book five...
iamshadow's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
davidscrimshaw's review
5.0
This is book 4 in a series. I loved books 1 and 2, but found book 3 a little dark and not as playful. The Boy Who Lost Fairyland is back to the playfulness and delight with words that I love in this series.
If you felt like you didn't fit in with the other kids or know someone who didn't, this could be a great book for you.
If you felt like you didn't fit in with the other kids or know someone who didn't, this could be a great book for you.
stacers1973's review
4.0
As usual, a beautiful blend of whim and whimsy under-laid with some hard truth, laid out with fun and beautiful language. And just enough snark. Grin. LOVE the series.