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

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

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

Catherynne M. Valente

247 pages

A lush, bittersweet portal fantasy that wraps the sharp edges of growing up in a cloak of wild, linguistic whimsy.

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What it feels like

Reading this book feels like stepping into a vintage illustration that suddenly springs to vibrant, slightly dangerous life. The narrative unfolds at a steady, deliberate pace, inviting you to savor its incredibly lush, ornate prose and the wry, knowing voice of its narrator. It is a portal fantasy that captures both the boundless wonder and the underlying melancholy of leaving childhood behind. The atmosphere is steeped in autumnal magic, whimsical but never entirely safe, filled with creatures that are as philosophical as they are fantastical. It delights readers who cherish the classic, surreal nonsense of Wonderland but crave a deeper, more modern emotional resonance about independence, the weight of choices, and the bittersweet reality of growing up.

Mood
  • enchanting
  • bittersweet
  • wondrous
  • slightly perilous
Tone
  • wry
  • whimsical
  • knowing
  • melancholic
  • earnest
Pace
steady
Themes
loss of childhood innocence · the power of storytelling · finding inner courage · the complexity of growing up
The writing
Lyrical, ornate, and deeply playful, filled with rich metaphors and a knowing, direct-address narrative voice.
The arc
Begins with restless yearning, moves through wondrous but perilous discovery, and lands on a bittersweet, hard-won maturity.
Who it's for
Readers who love classic portal fantasies but crave a modern, feminist, and linguistically lush twist on the genre.
Content notes
  • child in peril
  • parental absence
  • mild fantasy violence

About the book

"One of the most extraordinary works of fantasy, for adults or children, published so far this century."―Time magazine, on the Fairyland series

Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn't... then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.

With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when author Catherynne M. Valente first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice in Wonderland and the soul of The Golden Compass, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is a Publishers Weekly Best Children's Fiction title for 2011.

Description from Open Library.

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