The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There (edition 2012)

With the flavor of Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland, this is a whole new story in the world of fairyland, rich with bizarre and love-able characters, and an exciting adventure. ( )

4.5 stars

A review copy of The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There was kindly provided to me by Macmillan.

'Shadows are the other side of yourself'

Hardly a day has passed since September hasn't thought about Fairyland and Ell and Saturday and the Green Wind. Sometimes she even wonders whether she imagined the whole thing, but it was all so very real because September's shadow is gone; she left it behind in Fairyland. But she's thirteen now, and so much time has passed and she begins to think she'll never make her way back, until one day she sees a rowboat floating across the fields behind her house. She knew this was her opportunity and hastened to follow them to wherever they were going. Upon her return, she realizes that Fairyland is quite different from when she left it several months ago and that September is not the only one missing her shadow now.

"...your light side isn't a perfectly pretty picture, either, I promise you. You couldn't dream without the dark. You couldn't rest... You need your dark side, because without it, you're half gone."

September was once again an incredible character: full of heart, strength, and loyalty. Realizing that the problems in Fairyland stemmed from her actions from her previous visit, she didn't hesitate for a second before starting her adventure to make things right. I loved the implications of the purpose of shadows and how their importance reaches far beyond their physical presence. Very mature topics that I see as being a fantastic 'learning opportunity' for children during a potential read-along with their parents. The writing is not just full of beautiful prose but manages to also have substantial meaning behind every word.

'She did not know yet how sometimes people keep parts of themselves hidden and secret, sometimes wicked and unkind parts, but often brave or wild or colorful parts, cunning or powerful or even marvelous, beautiful parts, just locked up away at the bottom of their hearts... all of those brave and wild and cunning and marvelous and beautiful parts they hid away and left in the dark to grow strange mushrooms--and yes, sometimes those wicked and unkind parts, too--end up in their shadow.'

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland was wonderful, original, and full of incredible prose and The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland doesn't disappoint. If anything, the second installment is even more brilliant. The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland will be well received by children but I so love that it's equally (if not more so) able to be enjoyed by adults. Catherynne M. Valente has definitely done it again; full of adventure mixed with a new take on old-world fairytales. ( )

Yeah, I really stretched this out. It was wonderful, as expected. September is a great character and these stories are done very, very well. I hope we get a chance to follow her through more Fairyland adventures as she continues to grow.

I'm pretty sure I will be rereading these. ( )

The sequel to the stunning 'The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making.' You will enjoy this one more if you read that one first. The author has created a fantasy world rivaling Oz, and a heroine to cheer for. It's funny, beautiful, grabs your heart reading. The heroine, September, is now 13. A year has past since her return from Fairyland. And when she is drawn back, it's not what she expects. She's thinking of being reunited with old friends, and everyone in the land being delighted to see the girl who saved them before. Instead, they are suffering-due to her. Last book, she gave up her shadow to save someone-and her freed shadow is the cause of the current troubles! An Amazon reviewer compared the author to E.Nesbit and Eva Ibbotson, and I find I agree. Read the first, read this, read the third when it comes out. I'm searching out all her work now. ( )

The only real failing of The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There is that it's not quite as good as The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. Or maybe that's my failing as a reader, for being unable to replicate the delight I felt when Valente's charming world and style were new.

In any case, things have changed for September since we last saw her. She's a teenager now, with a "raw, unripe heart" that gets her into no end of trouble - she was better off as a Somewhat Heartless child. She's spent the last year of her life longing to return to Fairyland, but when she finally makes her way through, she finds the world much changed and not for the better.

It turns out that Fairyland Below has a new Queen, who's been stealing shadows. All the denizens of Fairyland-Above who've lost their shadows lose their magic along with them, and the world is beginning to suffer. Now magic is rationed (just like food in wartime Nebraska, in September's mundane life). September knows her own lost shadow is causing this mischief. She determines to visit Fairyland-Below and reunite all the shadows with their owners, starting with her own.

I felt like every odd event or panorama in The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland hid a nugget of wisdom. The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland didn't have the same depth for me. Many scenes were beautiful without being profound, and Valente toys with the idea of the Hero's Quest and its defined progress in a way that was clever without being particularly fresh or new (As when the Sibyl observes, "Nothing is more tedious than dropping broad mystical hints for wizards and knights with skulls like paperweights. 'Do you think you might want to discover that you had the power in you all along? Hm? Could shorten the trip.' They never listen.")

The parts that I found most moving I can only refer to obliquely, for fear of spoilers. September is similar to her shadow - who has a name of her own, Halloween, the Hollow Queen - but not the same, and the differences are heartbreaking. September does reunite with old friends, but this time she finds herself traveling in the company of A-through-L's shadow, and Saturday's shadow, and it's clear from the beginning that these shadow-beings who so insist upon their right to be "free beasts" are not at all identical to the friends they so resemble.

I think the best moments in The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland are sort of painfully triumphant - my favorite of all, the one that just stabs me in the heart, is when September is told to "take up thy mother's sword," and she finds herself holding a wrench. The best moments in The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland are melancholy or downright sad. September almost cries when she sees Halloween's parrot, and I came pretty close myself. When the narrator laments, "Oh, September! It is so soon for you to lose your friends to good work and strange loves and high ambitions," I knew exactly, and painfully, just what she meant.

I didn't love Fairyland #2 quite as much as Fairyland #1, but I did love it. I liked seeing September begin to grow up, peeking at adulthood. I liked the new scenery, and the language and imagery remains gorgeous. One of the remarkable things about Fairyland below is that you can feel the color palette change, all cold icy blues and violets. And I hope this series continues; I want to know what happens when September turns fourteen, and how the world will have changed again.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a review.
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