Age: 16
Title: The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There
Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Publisher: Fiewel and Friends
Pub Date: 10/2/2012
Galley: Yes
Top 25: Yes
Convince us to read the book: If you loved the first book of Fairyland, you'll love this one. If you love tea parties you'll love this book. If you love Victorian stories, you'll love this book. If you love to read, have ever had an adventure (real, imaginary, or otherwise), and/or have a sense of humor you will not only love this book, but must read it. In her second book, Valente explores darker themes, and the shadow side of fairyland. September is growing up, and so is fairyland. As if the astounding writing style, creativity, plot, world, and characters were not enough, it has pictures.
Memorable or Forgettable: My favorite kinds of books are the ones that make me stop and read a sentence over, because the way the words fit together, in an almost broken way. Libba Bray, Terry Pratchett, and Neil Gaiman all do this, and so does Valente. Her quirky creativity pulls through into all aspects of her book. Characters react in ways that are both believable and unexpected. The world always has new twists and turns, so that I feel like I could keep exploring, and just around the next page, or if I peeked into the margin, I would find a whole other aspect of it. The perfect world to describe it is delightful in every aspect.
Cover: I adored these illustrations. They were stylistic enough to leave room for my imagination to make the world, but still accurate enough to give a basis for some of the stranger images. The quirkiness combined with historicalness fit so perfectly, and made me laugh!
Age Range: Under 12 through 18 and up
Quality: 5Q Hard to imagine a better book
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal
Annotation: September doesn't fit in after returning from Fairyland, and not only because she has no shadow. When she returns on the back of a ship, she finds a different land, and reencounters familiar face.
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