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A review by squirrelsohno
The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente
5.0
For those of you who read THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING, you will know well about the life and adventures of young September, a girl from Omaha during World War II who escaped to Fairyland with the Green Wind and a flying jaguar. The lush prose, the exciting plot, the gripping tale of a young girl discovering the unknown – and herself – against the backdrop of a strange, confusing, and utterly unique new world. September saved the world only to be ripped away back to our realm for almost an entire year until the rift between the worlds opened up and September is sucked back in – only to find that Fairyland is a very different, darker place.
If you are a fan of imaginative, intricate tales, you need to be reading this series right now. Every page is a magical treat filled with new and inventive ideas. The same things that made THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND so successful to me were in full view in its sequel. We meet the same characters plus a whole new assortment of others – teapots living in samovars, shadows in their own little underworld, September’s shadow (who has taken on a life of her own).
It’s amazing to know what our opposites might be like. Mine would probably be an extremely confident yet extremely quiet math wizard who hated kitties. But discovering this world of opposites and the land of Fairyland-Below was awesome. Just when you think the story has discovered all it could, there is even more whimsy and yet mystery.
Once again, I had an issue with September’s perceived age. We are told she’s thirteen, but once again, she seemed much younger. The narration had a distinct tone of belonging to an adult aiming for an adult audience, but September herself, from the drawings to the way she acted to her dialogue was more reminiscent of a 9 year old.
But with that one hitch aside, I must admit, this story enthralled me. As readers, we learn so much more about Fairyland and even September’s life in our world – her parents, her schoolmates, her life as a normal girl with very strange experiences that she can’t share with those around her. I sympathized so much with September. When I was her age, my parents were going through a divorce, but the kids at school weren’t much help. I drifted away from those around me, so by the time high school came around I was pretty much on my own. September’s escape into Fairyland allowed her a chance to explore herself. It’s something that drew me in even more, being able to use my own experiences to identify and connect with her as a protagonist.
(This Charlie Brown image describes my life. Not really like September’s, but you get the idea.)
THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH FAIRYLAND is rich and complex, with a heroine that I admire and love, a cast of characters richly defined and explored, and a world that unfurls more and more with each page. The climax hit and I was swept away.
VERDICT: Um, go read this series. Now. I mean it.
If you are a fan of imaginative, intricate tales, you need to be reading this series right now. Every page is a magical treat filled with new and inventive ideas. The same things that made THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND so successful to me were in full view in its sequel. We meet the same characters plus a whole new assortment of others – teapots living in samovars, shadows in their own little underworld, September’s shadow (who has taken on a life of her own).
It’s amazing to know what our opposites might be like. Mine would probably be an extremely confident yet extremely quiet math wizard who hated kitties. But discovering this world of opposites and the land of Fairyland-Below was awesome. Just when you think the story has discovered all it could, there is even more whimsy and yet mystery.
Once again, I had an issue with September’s perceived age. We are told she’s thirteen, but once again, she seemed much younger. The narration had a distinct tone of belonging to an adult aiming for an adult audience, but September herself, from the drawings to the way she acted to her dialogue was more reminiscent of a 9 year old.
But with that one hitch aside, I must admit, this story enthralled me. As readers, we learn so much more about Fairyland and even September’s life in our world – her parents, her schoolmates, her life as a normal girl with very strange experiences that she can’t share with those around her. I sympathized so much with September. When I was her age, my parents were going through a divorce, but the kids at school weren’t much help. I drifted away from those around me, so by the time high school came around I was pretty much on my own. September’s escape into Fairyland allowed her a chance to explore herself. It’s something that drew me in even more, being able to use my own experiences to identify and connect with her as a protagonist.
(This Charlie Brown image describes my life. Not really like September’s, but you get the idea.)
THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH FAIRYLAND is rich and complex, with a heroine that I admire and love, a cast of characters richly defined and explored, and a world that unfurls more and more with each page. The climax hit and I was swept away.
VERDICT: Um, go read this series. Now. I mean it.