The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland, #1) in Beyond Reality

May 15, 2011 Stephen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, ebooks, 2011, all-time-favorites, love-those-words, ya, 6-star-books, humor-and-satire, audiobook

WINNER: BESTest, BRILLIANTest, most EXCELLENTest, YA Novel in HistorYA!!!

I know, I know, that comes as a bit of a shocker, what with Potter, Percy and those Hunger Gamers running from all those Sparkly Emos and bumping into Bartimaeus hiding inside His Dark Materials waiting for some Giver of an Abhorsen to find their Wrinkle in Time to send them all back to Wonderland. Not to mention that AMAZO Genesis I read earlier this year (sorry I couldn't work it in above).

However, despite all of th ...more

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Jan 29, 2012 Jen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland was a beautiful read. The writing was so brilliant and so imaginative. I absolutely loved it.

There was a lot of this:

One ought not to judge her: all children are Heartless. They have not grown a heart yet, which is why they can climb high trees and say shocking things and leap so very high grown-up hearts flutter in terror. Hearts weigh quite a lot. That is why it takes so long to grow one. But, as in their reading and arithmetic and drawing, different chil

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland was a beautiful read. The writing was so brilliant and so imaginative. I absolutely loved it.

There was a lot of this:

One ought not to judge her: all children are Heartless. They have not grown a heart yet, which is why they can climb high trees and say shocking things and leap so very high grown-up hearts flutter in terror. Hearts weigh quite a lot. That is why it takes so long to grow one. But, as in their reading and arithmetic and drawing, different children proceed at different speeds. (It is well known that reading quickens the growth of a heart like nothing else.) Some small ones are terrible and fey, Utterly Heartless. Some are dear and sweet and Hardly Heartless At All. September stood very generally in the middle on the day the Green Wind took her, Somewhat Heartless, and Somewhat Grown.

And it made me feel just like this:

There is a place, September, oh, very far from Pandemonium. A place where it is always autumn, where there is always cider and pumpkin pie, where leaves are always orange and fresh-cut wood is always burning and it is always, just always Halloween.

That's one of the best feelings in the world right there, and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland was simply a joy to read.

There was a whole host of imaginative characters in The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland, and I loved every single one of them. Even the evil Marquess. September was an awesome little girl to follow on an adventure. I totally fell in love with her, and I cannot wait to start another adventure with her in the second book.

I have to say, the ending to The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland is exactly how I wish all books in a series would end. There was enough closure to feel like I was given the entire story, but also a spark of excitement for what's to come.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is an imaginative coming-of-age fairy tale that I highly recommend to anyone who is young at heart. It is one I am certain to revisit again and again. ...more

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May 12, 2011 Libby rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2011, fantasy-fairytale-and-myth, current-recommendations, young-adult, favorites, read-in-2014

4.5 stars - A charming and beautiful adventure in Fairyland – an absolute pleasure to read and one I’ll certainly read again. Cathrynne Valente's highly imaginative tale blends classic fairy tale with everyday worries seamlessly. Her prose is well-crafted with a nice balance of poetry and wit. It's one of the rare books that captures childhood and adulthood all in one go. A book that will linger with you after reading.

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book or T ...more

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Jul 15, 2011 Katy rated it really liked it

Great story!
Good and evil are a bit more grey, but all's well that ends well still!
...more

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Nov 17, 2011 christine. rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-in-2013, favorites

Breathtakingly magical. I could go on and on, but one thing I adored about this title: the way it uses obscure fairytale creatures and creations.

Amazing.

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