Someone has to tell you it's impossible or
the Quest can't go on.
Why I read this book
I read The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her own Making last year and absolutely loved Valente's style and her
characters. I got the print version of the book, because is so beautifully
illustrated.
What the book is about
September saved Fairyland once but had to
go back to Omaha, where she found herself having a hard time readjusting to her
life without her friends and without magic. She is now almost a teen and all
she wants is to go back to her beloved Fairyland. When her greatest wish is
finally granted she realizes that Fairyland is in big trouble and that this
time, she might be the one to blame. She will set up on a full quest to bring
back the world that she so dearly loves.
First impressions
Some things are for hiding and for keeping
This book is beautiful, just beautiful to
look at, not only its cover, but the illustrations for every chapter by Ana
Juan. That aside, the history is absolutely endearing. From the first chapters
I remembered how much I loved September as a character and how I was also
missing going back to Fairyland.
Final thoughts
You need your dark side, because without
it, you are half gone. Cats, on the other hand, have a more sensible set up.
It was interesting to see September at this
stage in which she is no longer a little kid, while not being an adult either.
I love the idea of her "growing a heart" and how this affects the way
she encounters and confronts situations. It was nice to see her taking
responsibility and not hiding from it.
The whole concepts of the shadows and how
they would behave in comparison to their "originals" was nicely
executed. It remind me a bit of the way the people from the Kahani are depicted
in Haroun and the Sea of Stories (light vs dark) but a big difference is that
EACH person has it counterpart in Valente's books.
The new characters were quite nice too. I
loved Avogadra and her library, and the poor scared dodo Aubergine where
certainly my favorites. Valente has a gift to take mundane things and infuses
them with magic to create whimsical characters, case in point the Vicereine of Coffee ant the Duke of Teatime.
Above all I think what I like about this
series is that so far it has something for every age, so I can share it with
anyone. It goes to my pile to be shared
in the future with a little one, but I will recommend it to anyone who wants to
indulge the kid that still leaves inside of all of us.
Teenage hearts are raw and new, fast and
fierce and they do not know their own strength.
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