TGWCF: Chapters 1-7

[Kristina]

Alright, and we're off! What are your first impressions of the book? Was it what you expected? What's been your favorite part so far?

[Panda]

So far I really love this book! I think it's so cute and September is such an awesome little girl. I really like how she got all happy when she realised that she looked like a pumpkin, and that she likes to read, and that she gave up her shadow to save that little Pooka.
Also, I want to cuddle with A-Through-L so badly, right after I unlock that stupid chain around his wings and give him lemon ices.

I have to continue reading now since I need to know what happens when September meets the Marquess!!

[[deleted user]]

Only on chapter 4 at the moment but I'm loving the writing style and how fast paced it is. Never a dull moment. The narrators voice is really interesting I'm hoping for more of the same. Total Alice in Wonderland-esque vibe and I'm loving it.

[Annelie]

At first I was a bit thrown off by the language and it took a while to get in the reading flow, that I'm used to.
But after the first few chapters I started to love it and was totally enchanted. I have not been a big Alice in wonderland fan, but this is much more appealing. I can find a lot of my young self in September.

[Kristen]

I love how meta it can be with the famous longitude and latitude.

[Abby]

I love how large the vocabulary is! For a middle grade novel, there are a surprising amount of words I had to look up. This seems great for children to expand their vocabulary.

[Rachel]

At first I couldn't get into this book. But once I got through the first chapter I fell in love. I agree that this book has a Alice in Wonderland feel to it. I also get a A Wrinkle in Time-esq vibe too. The writing is unique and I can't wait to read more!

[Kayleigh]

I'm still only on chapter 2 but will probably power through a lot of it today; my first impression was that it reminds me of The Phantom Tollbooth a lot. But I'll probably reread that once I finish this to really see how different they are.

[Sarah]

I fell in love with this book really quickly. it definitely feels like a mix of Alice in Wonderland and Phantom Tollbooth, which are two of my favorite children's books
I wasn't expecting it to be a middle grade book, but it definitely still is fun as an adult reader. I see a lot of myself in September which makes the adventure even more fun. I can't wait to keep reading!

[Ariana Brinckerhoff]

It's interesting reading this as an adult! At first I found myself feeling like some of the devices she was using were a little cheap, such as having the narrator interject and give us vague insight into how things are going to turn out, but I had to remember that this is intended for younger audiences and it's definitely on par with all the books that everyone else is saying. The plot is almost identical to Marietta and the Creeping Nasties, which I loved. Who doesn't wish to be swept off to save a magical otherplace?

Even before I got in to the storyline, I found myself admiring all the wonderful little lessons for young people that Valente manages to include. For instance, not finding shame in nudity/your body because "it's just skin" in The House Without Warning, and September understanding that she should let A-through-L believe whatever he wants to believe about who his father is. Just a reminder of how important it is to read book like this to your kids or yourself when you're young!

[Kristen]

The interjection of the narrator reminded me of Peter Pan, which often seemed to offer insights that the kids in the story wouldn't know. I kinda lite the meta of all of it.

[Jasmine]

This book reminds me a bit of The Chronicles of Narnia with September being very much like Lucy in my mind. I'm not sure how I feel about the book so far. I'm not one to typically read books from the fantasy genre though, so it's good to get out of my comfort zone every once in a while.

[Colin]

When I read the list of Dramatis Personae at the start, I was slightly concerned - was this book going to be unreadably twee? I've been very pleasantly surprised so far. September is an interesting heroine and the writing has an enjoyable style that manages to avoid being too mannered.

Plot doesn't seem overly important in this book so far but that might change after September meets the Marquess

[Trini]

I really like this book so far! The writing style confused me for a little bit, but eventually I got used to it. And the book itself is great. September and A-Through-L are awesome characters, and I love how there's NEVER a dull moment. Now, with a cliffhanger like that, I need to keep reading!

[Kaitlyn]

Am I the only one who hates this book so far? I seem to be. Damn. I want to love it. It's such a cute world, and the characters are interesting. But the writing is so whimsical it's nauseating. Sentences flip and curl around themselves for so long that I get lost and forget the beginning of the sentence by the time I reach the end. I usually love fantasy and whimsical things, but I keep screaming at the narrator to stop showing off and get to the point. But I agree that the part about not being ashamed of nudity was great.

I'll stick with it and hope it gets better, but I'm ready for it to end.

[Jasmine]

Kaitlyn wrote: "Am I the only one who hates this book so far? I seem to be. Damn. I want to love it. It's such a cute world, and the characters are interesting. But the writing is so whimsical it's nauseating. Sen..."

I was on the fence of hating this book for a long time. But I kept pushing through and am glad I did. The last section of this book made it worth it, at least for me.

[Sammy]

For some reason I'm having trouble getting into this book. I've literally been working on it for weeks without much progress. :/

[Sammy]

For some reason I'm having trouble getting into this book. I've literally been working on it for weeks without much progress. :/

[Sammy]

For some reason I'm having trouble getting into this book. I've literally been working on it for weeks without much progress. :/

[Becka]

Chapter one was a bit difficult to stomach. I felt like we just jumped into the story without any background of what September was changing from. However what I was missing as an introduction has been sprinkled through the book.

I can see how the whimsical nature of the writing style could be annoying, but I feel like it's meant to come off as a child's perspective which is whimsical. It's definitely not written for young kids (tried to read it to my 4 year old lol). I absolutely love the story even more for being realistic. September has a way she thought Fairyland would be and as with any coming of age, she's finding out that things aren't as nice as they seem.

There are a lot of really good life lessons/ advise sprinkled through the chapters. I was on the fence but I'm starting to wonder how she will overthrow the Marquess.

[Kaitlyn]

I could find many words to describe this book, but "realistic" is not one of them.