The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Corsair) (Paperback)
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Short Description for The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making September is a twelve-year-old girl, Somewhat Grown and Somewhat Heartless, and she longs for adventure. So when a Green Wind and a Leopard of Little Breezes invite her to Fairyland - well, of course, she accepts (mightn't you?).
Full description- Publisher: Corsair
- Published: 07 June 2012
- Format: Paperback 336 pages
- See: Full bibliographic data
- Categories: Fiction | General | Science Fiction
- ISBN 13: 9781780338330 ISBN 10: 1780338333
- Sales rank: 60,380
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Reviews for The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland...
I've been trying hard to put off this review, or rather, trying hard to think how to rate and review it - it's been very difficult for me. I think that the only thing I can do is say it outright - this is a truly fantastic book, but it's just something that I just couldn't get away with. If I had to rate my enjoyment of this book, it'd be around 2 stars, but if I had to rate the quality of the book, I can honestly say that it'd probably be around 4 or 5 stars.
This book is set in Fairyland and it is obvious that is where we are - the whole setting, the characters... absolutely everything in this book is magical. The writing was lovely - the imagery was very vivid without being overly descriptive. This book is so quotable - there were so many lovely phrases and ideas used throughout. I particularly liked the direct narration to the audience - it was strong, sometimes emotional and very easy to connect to the messages. There's nothing wrong with Valente's writing, it is very clear that she is talented.
September, our twelve year old main character is quite real, she has the inquisitiveness, the curiosity and the braveness of a child and it is good to see Fairyland through a child's eyes, it makes it even more special. It wasn't just September who was imaginative and whimsical though, the other characters we are introduced to are just as intriguing, if not more so. I absolutely loved the character 'A through L' (or Ell), a wyvern who was just so friendly, fun and totally loyal to September throughout her journey. A myriad of other supporting characters with equally bizarre names are scattered throughout the book and they are also very amusing.
So why didn't I enjoy this as much as I could? It was confusing. It was one of those things that just went over my head. It was all, quite frankly, nonsense, but it's meant to be - I just guess that's not for me. I think that thought that the separate sections are the stories were quite interesting and it did help me to follow things a little bit, but it was a bit too random for me and the jumping around from place to place, person to person, left me lost.
Overall, I really do not want to put anyone off reading this book - I think a lot of people will appreciate it and love it. Valente is a genius for writing this (extremely) creative piece of writing and I only wish I could've followed it more. If you're looking to get carried away into a fantasy world and meet lots of magical creatures, this one is for you. If you're easily confused, perhaps try a few pages until you fully commit to it. I will be posting an excerpt of the book on the blog tour soon, so hopefully then you'll be able to see for yourself if it's your kind of thing. by Stephanie Forster (Stepping out of the Page)
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