Review: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

Title: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Series: Fairyland #1
Pages: 247
Rating: 2.5/5 Stars
Summary: 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 the author 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.
Review: I've been hearing amazing things about this book over on youtube and I finally picked it up and I was utterly disappointed. Even from the first page I had issues, I really despised the writing style. My next issue is the target age for this group, I believe that it is intended for middle grades (the main character is twelve), but some of the vocabulary used was ridiculous and I had to look up my fair share of the words and I'm an adult, imagine a child. I honestly think that of the writing wasn't so weird I could have really enjoyed this book. I am going to read the other books in this series because I own them but no promises whether I will enjoy them or not. I did enjoy the characters in this book. Also I enjoyed the twist at the end because it was something that I wasn't expecting. I will be happy to reunite with these characters once again in the next instalment.  I'm not sure who I would recommend this book to only because I find the language too hard for children, but the story is whimsical so children would like it. Maybe to a parent reading it to their child would be the best option.

About this author

Catherynne M. Valente was born on Cinco de Mayo, 1979 in Seattle, WA, but grew up in in the wheatgrass paradise of Northern California. She graduated from high school at age 15, going on to UC San Diego and Edinburgh University, receiving her B.A. in Classics with an emphasis in Ancient Greek Linguistics. She then drifted away from her M.A. program and into a long residence in the concrete and camphor wilds of Japan. She currently lives in Maine with her partner, two dogs, and three cats, having drifted back to America and the mythic frontier of the Midwest.