The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valente

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

Completion Date: June 7, 2011

Reason for Reading: Read more from this author.

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.

June was a strange reading month for me. I bought books, but I was so off with my reading that it was a struggle to read them. I heard such good things about this book, so I thought it was a perfect way to rekindle my reading. The first time I started it, I barely got into it and had to put it aside. Then, I decided to read it with Ana from things mean a lot, so I had to try again. I managed to finish it and I really enjoyed it... But, I didn't love it. For this review, I am going to answer 6 questions. Three of the questions I came up with and the other three Ana came up with. You can read her answers to the same questions on her blog.

Questions Ana Came Up With:

1. One of my favourite things about The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making was Valente's very conscious use of a Edwardian/Golden Age of children's literature narrative voice. What did you think of the narrator and of the book's classic feel? What do you think it adds to the story?

I was excited about this until actually faced with reading the book. I think one of the main reasons that I didn't love this book is because I didn't like how it was written. I think if I could have wrapped myself up in her words, I would have loved the book a lot better. It had a lot to do with the timing, but this writing style has never really appealed to me. I am not even entirely sure why that is, but I have a hard time dealing with it. It's not something I can specifically put my finger on other than to say, I don't generally enjoy it.

2. What did you think of September herself? What was your favourite thing about her?

I enjoyed September. I wasn't sure if I was going to because I have a hard time with children main characters in books. She wasn't that bad, though. There were a few times she bothered me, but generally she was well written and enjoyable to follow around on her adventures. I really enjoyed her curiousity and how she really lived her experience while in Fairyland. She was a brave little girl and a fun heroine. It made the book enjoyable because it was an adventure story.

3. I'm not sure if you read Catherynne M. Valente's Big Idea post at John Scalzi's blog, but to me her final paragraph perfectly sums up what I loved about Fairyland. She says:

"I wrote a book about a girl who never said no. When she first enters Fairyland, it isn’t because she falls through a hole in the earth or wanders through a closet or chases a rabbit. It’s a choice, and however dark her journey becomes, she never wishes to take it back. The Green Wind shows up at her door riding a flying leopard and asks if she wants to go. If she wants more than she’s been given. If she wants to leave this world and grasp for another, a mad and gorgeous place, sight unseen, results uncertain.

And she says yes."

What are your thoughts on this?

This sort of draws on what I said before. I really enjoyed September for her curiousity and for being able to carry on even when things get a bit tough going. I also enjoyed that this was a choice. She decided to have these adventures. It was not something she had to do and she was told the difficulties that may present themselves, but at the same time she is not entirely sure what she is headed for. She decides to go and make the best of it. I agree, what Valente says really sums up the book for me, too.

Questions I Came Up With:

1. September met a lot of characters along her journey. Which was your favourite? Why?

This is a hard question! There were a lot of secondary characters and they all added to the story in just the right way. From the very beginning there is the Green Wind who carries her off on her adventures. Even the 'evil Marquess' is an interesting character once we learn her back story. She was just a presence in Fairyland until near the end and then everything fell into place. Actually it might be her. I wouldn't mind seeing more from her if there really are more books in this series.

2. What did you think of September's thoughts on the war being fought at home? She believes her father has abandoned her and her mother is often not at home. Do you think this reflects how many children felt during the World Wars?

I actually rather like my question because it is not something I have ever thought about before. I suppose I knew that it was hard for children during the Wars because their parents were gone, but they likely were too young to entirely appreciate what was happening. September feels like she has been abandoned by her father, when really he is just off fighting the war. And, this was the changing time for women to be prevalent in the work force. It is possible that before now September always had her mother home with her. It would be a huge change for her, and really for all children that experienced the wars. I suppose it would depend on their ages. Some of the children older than her might understand a bit better, but those younger might think even worse things of their parents. It was a difficult time.

3. What did you think of this book overall? Did it compete well with other Valente books that you have read?

Let us face facts here. I like the idea of Valente's books, but I am a huge fan of how she writes. It just doesn't flow for me and it was no exception with this book. I can't get lost in her writing and it makes me sad because I want to. I finish these books and think I should love them, but I am always held back from that. This was no exception. This book had a delightful premise, was executed very well, and had many elements that I love in fantasy and fairy tales. I have had similar problems with her adult novels. I love everything about them, but I don't love the books in the end. I say it is the writing, but it could be something that I am entirely overlooking. I just know that everything says I should love these books by her and I don't, but yet I enjoy them enough to keep reading her.

Once again, don't forget to visit Ana's blog to see her response to this book!

Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong

Books Completed: 69
Completion Date: April 27, 2007
Publication Year: 2004
Pages: 448
Owned Prior to 2007
Book Three in The Women of the Otherworld series

From Canada’s new queen of suspense, another hugely entertaining supernatural thriller that will have you on the edge of your seat. Prepare to be enchanted . . .

Forget the cackling green hag in The Wizard of Oz, forget Samantha from Bewitched. Real witches are nothing, NOTHING like this. For years real witches have hidden their powers, afraid of being persecuted. They have integrated so well into the community, you could have a witch living right next door and never know about it. Take Paige, for instance, whom we first met in Kelley Armstrong’s novel Stolen. Just an ordinary twenty-something who runs her own website design company, worries about her weight and wonders if she’ll ever find a boyfriend. Okay, so she’s leader of the American Coven and guardian of Savannah, the teenage daughter of a black witch. Really, life is ordinary. But then a telekinetic half-demon, Leah O’Donnell, shows up to fight for custody of Savannah. And although Paige is ready for her, she’s not quite so prepared for the team of supernaturals that Leah brings with her, including a powerful sorcerer who claims to be Savannah’s father.

When all hell breaks loose -- literally -- and Paige is accused of witchcraft, Satanism and murder, the Coven, fearing exposure, abandons her. Cut off from her friends, Paige is forced against her better judgment to accept the help of a young sorcerer lawyer. And she quickly comes to realize that keeping Savannah could mean losing everything else.

Breathtakingly thrilling, hip and funny, this new novel is another page-turning triumph from an author who is going from strength to strength.

To read the review to this book on Twisted Kingdom, click here.

Book Twelve in the TBR Challenge, Book Twelve in the Chunkster Challenge, Book Twelve in the 12 Months of Fantasy Challenge, Book Ten in the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Books Completed: 56
Completion Date: April 6, 2007
Publication Year: 2005
Pages: 400
Owned Prior to 2007

Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, spends the first years of her life under her aunt's guidance learning to communicate with animals. As she grows up Ani develops the skills of animal speech, but is never comfortable speaking with people, so when her silver-tongued lady-in-waiting leads a mutiny during Ani's journey to be married in a foreign land, Ani is helpless and cannot persuade anyone to assist her. Becoming a goose girl for the king, Ani eventually uses her own special, nearly magical powers to find her way to her true destiny. Shannon Hale has woven an incredible, original and magical tale of a girl who must find her own unusual talents before she can become queen of the people she has made her own.

To read the review of this book on Twisted Kingdom, click here.

Book Seven in the 12 Months of Fantasy Challenge and Book Four in the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

Stolen by Kelley Armstrong

Books Completed: 68
Completion Date: April 26, 2007
Publication Year: 2003
Pages: 576
Owned Prior to 2007
Book Two in the Women of the Otherworld series

Even though she’s the world’s only female werewolf, Elena Michaels is just a regular girl at heart -- with larger than normal appetites. She sticks to three feasts a day, loves long runs in the moonlight, and has a lover who is unbelievably frustrating yet all the more sexy for his dark side. Like every regular girl, she certainly doesn’t believe in witches. Then again, when two small, ridiculously feminine women manage to hurl her against a wall, and then save her from the hunters on her tail, Elena realizes that maybe there are more things in heaven and earth than she’s dreamt of.

Vampires, demons, shamans, witches -- in Stolen they all exist, and they’re all under attack. An obsessed tycoon with a sick curiosity is well on his way to amassing a private collection of supernaturals, and plans to harness their powers for himself -- even if it means killing them. For Elena, kidnapped and imprisoned deep underground, separated from her Pack, unable to tell her friends from her enemies, choosing the right allies is a matter of life and death.

Once again, since Kelley Armstrong is author of the month on Twisted Kingdom, you can click here to view the review.

Book Eleven in the Chunkster Challenge, Book Eleven in the 12 Months of Fantasy Challenge, Book Nine in the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Books Completed: 52
Completion Date: April 2, 2007
Publication Year: 2002
Pages: 194
Owned Prior to 2007
Read Number Three for the Once Upon a Time Challenge

The day after they moved in,
Coraline went exploring....

In Coraline's family's new flat are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close.

The fourteenth is locked, and on the other side is only a brick wall, until the day Coraline unlocks the door to find a passage to another flat in another house just like her own.

Only it's different.

At first, things seem marvelous in the other flat. The food is better. The toy box is filled with wind-up angels that flutter around the bedroom, books whose pictures writhe and crawl and shimmer, little dinosaur skulls that chatter their teeth. But there's another mother, and another father, and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their little girl. They want to change her and never let her go.

Other children are trapped there as well, lost souls behind the mirrors. Coraline is their only hope of rescue. She will have to fight with all her wits and all the tools she can find if she is to save the lost children, her ordinary life, and herself.

Critically acclaimed and award-winning author Neil Gaiman will delight readers with his first novel for all ages.

To read my review of this book, click here.

Book Six in the 12 Months of Fantasy Challenge and Book Three in the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop

Books Completed: 30
Completion Date: February 21, 2007
Publication Year: 1999
Pages: 496
Owned Prior to 2007
Book 2 in the Black Jewels Trilogy

Enough time has passed for the young girl Jaenelle, heir to the magical Darkness. Her physical wounds have heal, ed while amnesia keeps her frightening memories at bay. But with Saetan--a Black-Jewelled Warlord Prince and Jaenelle's foster-father--to protect her, she will continue to grow. Her magic will mature. Her memories will return. And Jaenelle will face her destiny when she remembers Daemon, Saetan's son, who made the ultimate sacrifice for her love.

To read the review for this book, click here.

This is the second time I have read this author. To read the review for book one to this series, click here

Authors Gender:
Male: 5
Female: 25

The Light-Bearer's Daughter by O.R. Melling

Books Completed: 22
Completion Date: February 5, 2007
Publication Year: 2001 (2004 for the 4-in-1 book)
Owned Prior to 2007
Book Three in The Golden Book of Faerie

The Light-Bearer's Daughter tells the story of eleven-year-old Dana, who is about to emigrate to Canada from Ireland with her father, despite her protests. If she leaves, how will she ever find her mother, who disappeared when she was three?

As Dana grapples with her father's decision, she is unwittingly drawn into the world of Faerie. She encounters a mysterious young woman who calls her into the woods. There, Dana is charged with an important mission: she must carry an urgent message from the High King of Faerie to his second-in-command deep in the mountains. If she succeeds, Dana will be granted her heart's desire - any wish will come true.

But why has the High King of Faerie chosen Dana for this mission, and what does it have to do with her long-lost mother?

To travel over to Twisted Kingdom to see my review of this, click here.

Authors Gender:
Female: 21
Male: 1

To see the previous posts on this series, click here and here.

Book Four in the 12 Months of Fantasy Challenge and Book Two in the O'Canada Challenge.

The Summer King by O.R. Melling

Books Completed: 21
Completion Date: February 5, 2007
Publication Year: 1999 (2004 for the 4-in-1 book)
Owned Prior to 2007
Book Two in The Golden Book of Faerie

Sequel to the critically-acclaimed The Hunter's Moon

This second book in a series "shimmering with magic, myth, and romance" (Booklist), follows sixteen-year-old Laurel as she tries to understand the cause of her twin sister's mysterious death. Honor believed in Faerie, a parallel land of mischievous immortals. Laurel doesn't. That is, until the fairies come and ask her to take up her sister's failed quest to find the Summer King, a lord who can light the midsummer fire that keeps the two worlds, human and Faerie, cleaved. Laurel must decide to help those whose cause killed her sister, and, in the process, come to believe that there is still magic-and love-in the world.

Lush descriptions of Ireland and Celtic lore make this a satisfying read for travelers to other lands, real and mythic.

To see the review for this book on Twisted Kingdom, click here

Authors Gender:
Female: 20
Male: 1

This is the second time I read this author. I read her previously year when I read the first installment in this series. You can read the review by clicking here.

New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

Books Completed: 13
Completion Date: January 21, 2007
Publication Year: 2006
Pages: 576
Owned Prior to 2007
Book 2 in The Twilight Series





From Amazon:

Legions of readers entranced by Twilight are hungry for more and they won't be disappointed. In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.

I have to admit, when this book first came out I heard some iffy reviews about it, and I was slightly worried about how I was going to feel about it. I really liked Twilight, and I was worried I would feel like others, that the start and ending were all that were important. So, I finally decided this month that I was going to give it a try, because I really was curious what was going to happen next in the series.

One of the most important things to remember about this series is that Bella is dating a vampire, a vampire that has tried to change his blood-sucking ways (him and his whole family), and that Bella is very accident prone. This means that since she is not a vampire, she bleeds. This can be potentially bad for a family of vampires when presented with them. So, when the book starts, Bella goes the way of the clumsy, and suddenly she is in the middle of the very situation that Edward has always wanted her to avoid. Fearing for her, and for other reasons, the family moves away and leaves Bella behind. After this point, people began to tell me that the story was pointless. I have to disagree. I admit that Edward and Bella are a great couple, and I know that a lot of people have bookish crushes on our "young" vampire, but it there is one thing that everyone should know about romance, it is that it is not always perfect.

So, needless to say, Edward is not a major character in this novel. This book concentrates more on Bella, suffering through the loss of the love of her life, and Jacob, the young boy that Bella meets in the first book. He has a lot going on his life, too, though. In the beginning, everything between the two of them seems perfect, but pretty soon Jacob gets a bit elusive. I find his storyline interesting. I am not a big Jacob fan, though, I prefer Edward, but that does not mean that I did not enjoy learning more about him.

Bella can annoy me, she is did in Twilight, so I was worried what would happen with her as the central character and no Edward to off-set her. The truth is, I really did not particuarly mind her. I mean, the girl has her moments. She is a typical teenager, though. She has her innocence and she tends to do things in this book that I really question her sanity, but overall, she was not that bad. It is good that she did not annoy me because then I might be worried to read the next book in this series. I read this book in 24 hours, though. I stayed up late, into the witching hour and even beyond, to see how it ended. I admit I was waiting to see what would happen when Edward reappears, but the rest of the book was good. I liked Twilight better, but I cannot wait to read Eclipse when it comes out (hopefully) later this year.

4/5

Authors Gender:
Female: 12
Male: 1

I have previously read this author before, you can read my review of Twilight by clicking here.

Challenge Organization

As I posted in December, it is my goal to try and read more books that have been sitting on my to be read pile, so I divided all my books up. Today I chose what I would like to read off those piles for January. These are not set in stone, because I am bad about not reading what I am supposed to read, but here are my proposed books:

For the Classics Challenge, the five books I would like to read in January and February are:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Wizard of Oz by Frank Baum
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton or Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott (meant to read them last year, but did not, so they are not on my original list.)

TBR Challenge
White Teeth by Zadie Smith

12 Months of Fantasy Challenge
The Grand Ellipse by Paula Volsky

O'Canada Challenge
The Time in Between by David Bergen

Back to History Challenge
The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Chunkster Challenge
I have three chunksters that I started, so I suppose it could be one of the three, or in a dream world, all three of them:
Tatiana and Alexander by Paullina Simons
The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

Then, I want to read a teen novel. I am reading Inkheart right now, but it did not come off my to be read pile. I have too many good ones to pick from, but I will read something! I also want to read a Jean Plaidy novel, the next Robb.... and about 500 other books!

Oh No!

I was trying this whole new, update everyday thing, and I just noticed that while I updated today, I forgot to make note of it here. So, it looks like I skipped a day. I had been talking about challenges, and I decided that I would post my fantasy list on Twisted Kingdom. So, I did in fact update, I just didn't link it. And while I am sure no one else cares, it was my little goal for the month, and I care.
In other news, we have enough people for the Advent Calendar, so now it is time to double up. Anyone else that was sort of thinking about it, we are going to start at the 24th and work backwards. So, I hope that a few more people will take an interest. It's Christmas, but it does not have to be Christmas themed. For example, you could post a list of the books that you really enjoyed this year so that other bloggers can see, and maybe you will present them with the gift of a new author. And, you can really have fun with it, so I hope that people will come out from lurking and join in


Other than that, in book news, I am reading Tatiana and Alexander by Paullina Simons and Night Watch by Sarah Waters. For the observant people out there, yes Night Watch was meant to be a Christmas present. I just picked it up to look at it and ended up reading it... I am weak. But, on a positive note, I am enjoying my Christmas present. It is also no where to be seen on the list of books I am supposed to be reading currently, it actually appears on the Chunkster Challenge list for next year. Let's not go there, I am just very bad with following the very nice lists I am always making.

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