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

Catherynne M. Valente

Start date: March 1, 2016

Finish date: March 31, 2016

Discussion: archive

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What Members Thought

Mar 03, 2016 Mari rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2016, favorites-of-all-time, my-future-kids-will-read-these, childrens-middle-grade

For full feelings on The Fairyland Series, check out my video review.

This book is my favorite book in my favorite series. I'll front load this review with reasons it might not be for you: Valente is known for her dense, flowery writing. It is very descriptive and a lot of the charm is in just-because magic, backwards places and wild creatures that rely heavily on tropes created by other fairytales. It is also earnest and dispenses little nuggets of wisdom for people who appreciate a good quotabl ...more

46 likes · Like · see review

Jan 29, 2014 Sabrina rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, books-by-women, read-in-2015, to-re-read, read-in-2020

This reminded me of a Neil Gaiman novel and a Hayao Miyazaki film in equal measures. So whimsical. It did drag a bit for me in the middle, but I loved how referential it was, how strong September is as a protagonist, and Valente's writing is luscious. ...more

16 likes · Like · see review

Jan 02, 2022 Kayla Charisse rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star-reads, middle-grade, 2022-favorites

This read was such a whimsical, whirlwind of an adventure, and yet so much more than that. The writing was so lush and fun and clever—I loved the way that wordplay was used in this book. At times, the fantastical descriptions flirted with lines of confusion, but I honestly didn’t mind it at all because it was all part of the magic that comes from a reading experience like this. Did I immediately buy the rest of the series? Yes, yes I did.

7 likes · Like · see review

Aug 24, 2014 Samantha rated it really liked it

This was a fun, fantastical Middle-grade story!

LIKES:
Fairyland was a stunning combination of Oz and Wonderland, with it's own bits mixed in. There was a new and interesting creature or character behind every turn.

The main character was a spunky and stubborn young girl, who wasn't a brat! So I enjoyed her immensely.

DISLIKES:
While I grew to enjoy the writing, I did have some trouble getting into it. It was written in such a way that it was very over-the-top and put you into the story. But it t ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Mar 12, 2015 Samantha Ania rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: glorious-covers

This book was beautiful and creative and filled with subtle power. It grabs your hand and tugs you along on its adventures. I want to read it for the first time all over again. September is the kind of heroine I strive to be in my own life story. She's brave and compassionate and fierce. She's magnificent but also wholly relatable and very much a young girl. Valente weaves these two sides of her protagonist together brilliantly. And oh to have an imagination as rich as this world. Fairyland is s ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 07, 2016 Wendy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016, owned-hard-copy

I loved absolutely everything about this book. I picked it up because I had heard a couple of people talking about it, and I will be purchasing the rest of the books in this series as soon as I can. September is a wonderful character, and she is so brave and strong and lovely and empathetic and I just loved her a lot. Also, a wyvern with a library for a father? Yes, please! This was so whimsical and the writing is utterly beautiful. It doesn't shy away from the darkness that makes a really good ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 07, 2016 Samantha Ania rated it it was amazing

Shelves: re-read-favorites

This is still a book I would love to memorize and carry around with me always.

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 11, 2015 Olivia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, middle-grade, fantasy, adventure, fairy-tale, kidlit-study

Well, my ebook percentage was misleading...

This was LOVELY. It's very meta about storytelling, the tone is magical, it's so inventive and imaginative, and it focuses on girl empowerment/being an active character and just generally CLEVERNESS. So many little truths in here.

Yet another series I'll have to continue on with sometime... ...more

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