Jul 21, 2013

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente

Title: The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There
Author: Catherynne M. Valente
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Format: Hardcover
Source: Borrowed
Overall: 4/5

September has longed to return to Fairyland after her first adventure there. And when she finally does, she learns that its inhabitants have been losing their shadows—and their magic—to the world of Fairyland Below. This underworld has a new ruler: Halloween, the Hollow Queen, who is September’s shadow. And Halloween does not want to give Fairyland’s shadows back.

Fans of Valente’s bestselling, first Fairyland book will revel in the lush setting, characters, and language of September’s journey, all brought to life by fine artist Ana Juan. Readers will also welcome back good friends Ell, the Wyverary, and the boy Saturday. But in Fairyland Below, even the best of friends aren’t always what they seem. . . .

My Review:

I got my hands on this book almost immediately after I finished the first. There is something so unique and charming about these books that I actually get giddy when I see them in the bookstore.A lot of what I have to say about this book is similar to what I said in my review of the first book in the series, THE GIRL WHO CIRCUMNAVIGATED FAIRYLAND IN A SHIP OF HER OWN MAKING, which you can read here.As a summary, the writing is still brilliant and charming and intelligent. September is still an excellent protagonist and so much fun to read about. She’s brave and she’s strong and she’s not afraid to take on the challenges of Fairyland. What I especially appreciate about September is that even though she’s our heroine, she knows she can’t do this on her own—she’s got the help of her friends along the way, and together these characters are so dynamic.

However, the characters (minus September) are kind of the reason that I didn’t give this book as high a rating as the first book. It’s not the fault of the author; the plot demands the characters to be different from the first book. In THE GIRL WHO FELL BENEATH FAIRYLAND, September’s shadow, cut off from her in the first book, has taken over fairyland, and she causes everyone’s shadows to be separated from their people. Since the shadows are like the darker sides of the people, that means we see different, darker sides to the characters we grew to love in the first book, like Ell the Wyverary and Saturday.

On one hand, it was interesting the way this book explored that darker side to the characters and the issues extending from that. But on the other hand, I missed my “normal” Ell and Saturday, and didn’t think we got to see enough of them in this book.

The plot was still great. The adventure was fun. But I still thought there was something lacking because of all these darker “shadow” versions of the characters I loved. Perhaps that speaks to September’s as she turns thirteen and grows older.

In the end, this was a great addition to the series, and I can’t wait to read the third book. Definitely recommended for those who loved the first.