The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (2009)

by Catherynne M. Valente

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: The Girl Who (1)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
3,471	247	3,066	(4.08)	325
Twelve-year-old September's ordinary life in Omaha turns to adventure when a Green Wind takes her to Fairyland to retrieve a talisman the new and fickle Marquess wants from the enchanted woods.

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180
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (kaledrina, Crumble_Tumble)
Crumble_Tumble: Both of these fantasy tales are a bit out there, a little crazy, a little hard to undestand. But once you get it, it's amazing. I LOVE these kinds of books
181
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (aarti, calmclam)
140
Stardust by Neil Gaiman (aarti, Jannes, rakerman)
Jannes: Gaiman might be inspired by Dunsany and Mirrlees while Valente leans slightly more toward Carroll and Baum, but both of them are modern authors tackling the classic fairytale, both are great stylists, and both books are highly enjoyable.
rakerman: Stardust is also a modern fairy tale, but I found it to be a much stronger book. The flow of chapter by chapter standalone encounters in The Girl was light and entertaining but for me had a weaker narrative flow than in Stardust.
113
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70
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81
Coraline by Neil Gaiman (foggidawn)
60
Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente (Jannes)
Jannes: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland was first concieved in Palimpsest as one of the protaginists' favourite book. Then it sort got a life of it's own, so to speak. Palimpsest is probably not for children, though.
50
Flora Segunda: Being the Magickal Mishaps of a Girl of Spirit, Her Glass-Gazing Sidekick, Two Ominous Butlers (One Blue), a House with Eleven Thousand Rooms, and a Red Dog by Ysabeau S. Wilce (macsbrains)
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Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie (lorax)
lorax: Both are beautifully written fairy tales about young people traveling to another world, readable by kids but with much for adults to enjoy.
40
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (clfisha)
clfisha: Its not a fairytale but if your looking for more inventive, rich and dark YA try this.
40
At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald (rakerman)
rakerman: Wind spirits play an important role in both The Girl and At the Back of the North Wind. The books both have aspects of wonder and sorrow, with a similar idea of a child taken away into a magical land.
30
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▾Member reviews

English (242) German (1) Hungarian (1) All languages (244)

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Showing 1-5 of 242 (next | show all)

This is probably the most honest adventure book I've read to date.

It's such a treat. It's got all the good bits!
They get dirty, they get hurt, they need to eat... Nothing is magically simple (except one bit, and it wasn't pleasant, not at all). There is Terrible Wickedness afoot, and hair is lost, and THERE IS TALK ABOUT FOOD. And some things are Terrible, though there isn't much on account of blood (I don't think?) There is even a not-dragon Wyverary who is part Library and part Wyvern. One might even like the Marquess a bit (or a lot) and feel sad for her and very very sorry (but not TOO much).

Oh but it was so bittersweet to read about Mallow in The Girl Who Ruled... after reading the book.

Hope you try and carve out some time to give this a nibble.

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QuirkyCat_13 | Jun 20, 2022 |

Fun, and I'm reading the next books in the series..they're just what a teacher needs when spring break is the never of April. However, Catherynne Valente is no Neil Gaiman, and the Neil Gaiman schtick is a little contrived or pretentious when it's done by anyone other than Neil Gaiman (and sometimes it's a bit contrived or pretentious when he does it...I'm looking at you, "Stardust".) I'm hoping she finds her own voice later in this series. It certainly has come through in her other books. (

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leahsusan | Mar 26, 2022 |

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Sue_Z | Mar 22, 2022 |

Wow. Just wow. This was beautiful and unexpected and I just want to start all over and read it again. So wonderful. Definitely recommend the audiobook read by the author. (

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ElspethW | Feb 26, 2022 |

A delightful book that has numerous glorious moments. Everything you could want in a romp around Fairyland - unusual friends, magic, quests, a villain, a hefty dose of nostalgia for older readers. And it pushes some good boundaries, I think, over what child characters could do. September not only shows courage, she shows introspection, growth, and a willingness to not play by society's rules if they'll get in the way of doing what is right or necessary. And the ending was perfectly wonderful. (

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Monj | Jan 7, 2022 |

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Showing 1-5 of 242 (next | show all)

▾Published reviews

3 reviews

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thingScore 100

I won’t lie. Some folks do NOT like this book, and I can understand why that is. For me, though, this is just one of the smarter juxtapositions of the fantastical with the tongue-twisted. Here you have an author who clearly enjoys writing. And if that enjoyment seeps through the page and into the reader’s perceptions, then here is a book that they’ll clearly enjoy reading. A true original and like nothing you’ve really ever seen before.

added by PhoenixFalls | editSchool Library Journal (Jun 1, 2011)

Told by an omniscient narrator who directly engages readers, the densely textured text deftly mixes and matches familiar fairytale elements, creating a world as bizarre and enchanting as any Wonderland or Oz and a heroine as curious, resourceful and brave as any Alice or Dorothy. Complex, rich and memorable.

added by melonbrawl | editKirkus Reviews (Apr 1, 2011)

The book's appeal is crystal clear from the outset: this is a kind of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by way of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, made vivid by Juan's Tenniel-inflected illustrations.

added by PhoenixFalls | editPublisher's Weekly (Mar 14, 2011)

▾Other authors

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Valente, Catherynne M.	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Juan, Ana	Illustrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

The Girl Who (1)

Is contained in

The Fairyland Series (Books 1-3) by Catherynne M. Valente

The Fairyland Boxed Set by Catherynne M. Valente

Was inspired by

Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente

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▾Common Knowledge

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Canonical title

Original title

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

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2009

People/Characters

Important places

Fairyland

Important events

Related movies

Awards and honors

Andre Norton Award (2009)

Locus (2012.3 | Young Adult, 2012)

Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee (Children's Literature, 2012)

Publishers Weekly Best Children's Fiction (2011)

Culture-Geek Best Web Fiction of the Decade Award

(show all 8 items)

Epigraph

Dedication

For all those who walked this strange road with me,
and held out their hands when I faltered.
This is a ship of our own making.

First words

Chapter 1

Exeunt on a Leopard
In Which a Girl Named September Is Spirited Off by Means of a Leopard, Learns the Rules of Fairyland, and Solves a Puzzle

Once upon a time, a girl named September grew very tired indeed of her parents' house, where she washed the same pink-and-yellow teacups and matching gravy boats every day, slept on the same embroidered pillow, and played with the same small and amiable dog.

Quotations

One ought not judge: All children are heartless. They have not grown up yet, which is why they can climb tall trees and say shocking things and leap so very high that grown-up hearts flutter in terror. Hearts weigh quite a lot. That is why it takes so long to grow one.

Hats have power. They can change you into someone else.

When one is traveling, everything looks brighter and lovelier. That does not mean it is brighter and lovelier; it just means that sweet, kindly home suffers in comparison to tarted-up foreign places with all their jewels on.

Stories have a way of changing faces. They are unruly things, undisciplined, given to delinquency and the throwing of erasers. This is why we must close them up into thick, solid books, so they cannot get out and cause trouble.

In September's world, many things began with pan. Pandemic, Pangaea, Panacea, Panoply. These were all big words, to be sure, but as has been said, September read often, and liked it best when words did not pretend to be simple, but put on their full armor and rode out with colors flying.

(show all 7 items)

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

▾References

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Wikipedia in English (1)

Fairyland (series)

▾Book descriptions

Twelve-year-old September's ordinary life in Omaha turns to adventure when a Green Wind takes her to Fairyland to retrieve a talisman the new and fickle Marquess wants from the enchanted woods.

▾Library descriptions

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▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

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.

[retrieved from Amazon, 8/2/2012]

Haiku summary

Fairyland has rules.
Magical, but uncaring.
Like laws of physics.

(Carnophile)

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