Saturday, May 28, 2011

Musings: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland
When I first saw the title The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, I wanted the book.  When I realized the author of this young adult novel is none other than Catherynne Valente, who wrote the excellent The Orphan's Tale:  In the Night Garden retelling of the Arabian Nights, I wanted it even more because believe me, the woman knows how to tell a fairy tale.

Luckily, I got my grubby hands on a copy of the book and read it immediately.  And, as expected, it was splendiferous.  Really, the more I read books set in Faerie/Fairyland, the more I want to go to there.  Well, kind of.  Fairies can be nasty beasties.  So I guess if I were to be perfectly honest, I'd have to say the more I read about Fairyland, the more I want to read even more about Fairyland.  It's just so fun and colorful and glorious, but also dark and sinister and creepy.  Great combination.


This book felt very much like The Phantom Tollbooth to me.  It starts with a precocious, bored 12-year-old girl named September (even though she was born in May) being spirited off to Fairyland by the Green Wind.  Once she gets through Customs, she is left to her own devices to make her way.  She chooses the path that promises that she will lose her heart (a better bargain than losing her way, her life or her mind, she reasons).  She comes upon three witches who tell her that they need a magical spoon that was stolen from them, so September grandly decides that stealing the spoon from the evil Marquess shall be her quest.  She sets off to do so, meeting all sorts of wonderful characters along the way, such as El the Wyvern, who becomes her very best friend, and Saturday the Marid, who can grant wishes.  And, as expected, she loses her heart and gains a lot of courage along the way.

If I were to sum up this book in one word, that word would be whimsical.  But that wouldn't be a fair word to use because by the end of this book, there is a lot that is not whimsical.  Like much young adult fiction, it's written for people at the cusp of becoming adults, realizing that their decisions have consequences and that the way they act says a lot about them.  And so September thinks through every decision and never gives up, even when she is tired and homesick and lost.  She is such a kind person and reminds me in a way of Bod, from The Graveyard Book.  She opens her heart to all sorts of lost souls, absolutely certain of the fact that everyone deserves respect and dignity, and fighting hard to give it to them.

There are so many delights in this book and I won't ruin any of them for you, I promise.  I feel the ending opens the story up for the possibility of a sequel, and I hope there is one.  But if there isn't, I think the ending was quite lovely as it was.  If I've piqued your interest at all, much of the story (except the ending) is available online, at Catherynne Valente's website.  If you enjoy tales of whimsy and magic, I highly recommend checking it out!

Note:  This review is based on an advanced reader's copy.  I received this book for free to review.

17 comments:

  1. I'm desperate to read this! I actually own it, but I'm going home for ten days today and don't want to take a hardcover with me, so it'll have to wait until I come back. It's good to hear you enjoyed it so much, though! I really think I will as well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Okay, should I read this as my first Valente? I am also pretty desperate to read it, but I'm having such a hard time getting through (and therefore to) anything right now. Just the title alone, though... and everything I've heard of it sounds so excellent.

    (Also, I haven't yet read The Phantom Tollbooth but my intention is to get to it with the kid's book club I run next year!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have never read a book that portrays the faerie world, but this one piques my interest for more than one reason. First of all, I love whimsical books, and I also love quest books. This book might be the perfect choice to ease me into fantasy a little bit, so I will be looking for it. Glad to hear that you were so thrilled with it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I saw on Goodreads you really liked this. I have it, but haven't had a chance to read it yet.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anything that is reminiscent of the Phantom Tollbooth gets my interest! I love that book. And this title certainly captures my imagination.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm often wary of children's books with such whimsical, twee titles as it always appears as though they're trying too hard... This review is added, though, to a growing list of recommendations for The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fariyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and I do like comparisons to The Graveyard Book (The Phantom Tollbooth is one of my glaring gaps in the children's book canon so I cannot say it helps my assessment in any way...). Sounds like an enjoyable book, worth looking into.

    ReplyDelete
  7. It does sound really sweet and cute :) And the title manages to catch my attention at once

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm already inclined to want to read this book, but the Phantom Tollbooth comparison would have convinced me if I hadn't been. It sounds like a darling book.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have just won this book from Armchair BEA. It looks fascinating, and I think my 11 year old daughter will like it too. Glad you liked the book.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I have this as an ebook but I really think that this is going to be a book that I want to own!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is the second great review I've read of this book -- and since I think Bod is a great character, I'm even more intrigued. Thanks for the great review!

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a mouthful of a title and what a beautiful book!!! This is the first review I'm seeing, and I'm excited about the prospects for this one.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm not familiar with this author but the book's interesting title had caught my attention and I've been curious to learn more about it. After seeing how much you enjoyed it I now very much want to read it myself. Especially if it's at all similar to The Phantom Tollbooth. I love that book!

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a beautiful cover! I've actually had The Orphan's Tale on my list forever, but don't even own it yet...

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love faery books! They are really the only supernatural books that appeal to me. I'm reading a non-fiction read about a woman in search of faeries and I love it

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'm really looking forward to this one. I, too, love reading about fairyland (though I'm not sure I'd do so well there if I ever tried to visit), and Valente's prose is just gorgeous. I've only ever read her short fiction, but I'm more than ready to try one of her novels.

    ReplyDelete
  17. This was such a sweet book - I enjoyed it so much.

    ReplyDelete

I read every comment posted on this blog, even if it sometimes takes me a while to respond. Thank you for taking the time and effort to comment here! Unless you are spamming me, in which case, thanks for nothing.