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2.07k reviews for:
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Catherynne M. Valente
4.06 AVERAGE
2.07k reviews for:
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Catherynne M. Valente
4.06 AVERAGE
Absolutely gorgeous writing. This is a wonderfully self-aware fairy tale, with a hard-earned adventure, and fantastic characters. If you liked McGuire's [b:In an Absent Dream|38244358|In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children, #4)|Seanan McGuire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1525436165l/38244358._SY75_.jpg|59926216], this has a similar vibe, but it's slightly less dark. Strongly recommended, and now I'm going to read the rest of the series.
Completely charming. I never thought my favourite characters would be a key and a jacket.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Consider this book's illustrious pedigree: you've got influences from Alice in Wonderland, a little Wizard of Oz, a little, I don't know...Wrinkle in Time, maybe even a little bit of The Phantom Tollbooth. When you've got so many high quality scraps in the mix, you're bound to get a final result that's really interesting, even if it might feel a little convoluted, and that's pretty much what happens here. The girl in this case is September, an "irascible" and altogether normal sort of girl who gets a free ride to Fairyland and promptly lands in danger, and on the bad side of a magical and somewhat ominous sovereign. As a quest story, it's pretty good, with a lot of genuine adventure and peril to be had. The accessibility for this story may be the tricky part, as the delivery involves a lot of embroidery and embellishment around the edges. This means lots of excellent vocabulary ("irascible" is one example) and quaint phrasing which lends even more of a resemblance to all those classic stories that came before, but may ask a lot of its younger readers at the same time. Admittedly, with that taken into account it's true that adults may have a deeper appreciation for this, having more experience with the stories that influenced it, but it's such a cool world that I can't help but feel like it's at least worth a try nonetheless. In general, I feel like stretching horizons is a good thing, and this book will provide quite the view. Also, I can see this having real possibilities as a read-aloud in installments.
I adored this book! It reminded me all at once of The Phantom Tollbooth and every Diana Wynne Jones book I ever loved.
Most definitely pick it up if you like fairy tales, quests, or adventures. Also silliness, self-awareness and the wide-eyed wonder that Fairyland can inspire.
Most definitely pick it up if you like fairy tales, quests, or adventures. Also silliness, self-awareness and the wide-eyed wonder that Fairyland can inspire.
The prose was a bit harder (for me) to get used too, compared to other writers (too many adverbs for Stephen King's taste :-) but once I got used it, the story flowed well with a lot of variety. I will probably listen to the audiobook again, just to pick up on all the poetry that was used. Valente's theme/style of writing (Wikipedia puts it best) tends to center on folkloric and mythological themes, reimagining fairy tales and genre tropes via feminist, surrealist, and postmodern lenses. Her writing is characterized by stylistic and structural experimentation as well as complex linguistic and poetic techniques.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love this book so much I am at a loss for words. I love September and Ell and Saturday and their adventures.
NOT FINISHED left at page 49:
This book was (obviously) made for younger readers, it seems to have quite a good theme but was rather confusing so I don't particularly know how a young reader would understand it. If I was 11 again I'd say I could read it but unfortunately it seems like more of a chore than something to enjoy, but it was a gift so I thought I'd try it. Maybe I'll revisit it someday
This book was (obviously) made for younger readers, it seems to have quite a good theme but was rather confusing so I don't particularly know how a young reader would understand it. If I was 11 again I'd say I could read it but unfortunately it seems like more of a chore than something to enjoy, but it was a gift so I thought I'd try it. Maybe I'll revisit it someday
It's not holding me, I might not be this book's audience.
Read this for the first time in high school and I've reread it a few times since. This is one of my favorite book series ever. I adore September, and Saturday, and A-through-L. And Fairyland. It's delightfully whimsical, and yet there's a heart at the center of it, even if "all children are heartless". All the fun of a romp through an aesthetically vibrant world with all the meat of a meaningful children's book.