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

Goodreads Synopsis: 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.

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Where do I even begin with this book? I suppose at the beginning, since that it a very good place to start (and yes, I will continue to hum Do-Re-Mi to myself as I finish writing this review). Let me just start off by saying that I was incredibly hesitant to start this book because I was so worried it would be too similar to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which I am not a huge fan of, the whimsy get's to me. However, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making absolutely astounded me! Let me break it down for you...

Characters | September is one of the first protagonists in a middle grade novel that I have genuinely liked in a good long while. She's brave and smart but also not always so sure of herself, she's believable and acts like a twelve year old and I love her for it. Plus, her favorite color is orange, I mean, c'mon! 

A-through-L (or simply Ell for the majority of the book) was fantastic! The concept of being a "Wyverary" and his entire back story was sweet and also interesting. He was probably my favorite character and I seriously want my own Wyverary now, but maybe one that can recall A-through-Z...

Saturday was a character we didn't get to learn too much about, but I was fascinated by what we did learn, plus I appreciated that Valente incorporated Djinn into the story rather than just the Disney-fied genie trope. 

And lastly, The Marquess, who I expected to hate, but there's something about her that makes her so unhatable, she really doesn't believe herself to be the villain in this tale, but rather the princess that will get her happy ending. I feel that this is a villain trope that has to be done in a very particular way for it to work in a story, and I think Valente really nailed the hammer on the head! A wonderful "villain". 

Setting | I loved that Fairyland felt like a conglomeration of Oz/Wonderland/Narnia, but also with so much of Valente's unique and new world. The ambiance in this book, marvelous! I especially appreciated the Autumnal region, made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :) I definitely think fans of any of the previously mentioned lands will love this tale. 

Plot | I will admit that the plot was a little lacking, however this is an adventure story and September has quite the adventure, I think the plot in this is really building up for the second and third books in the series, so I will definitely be checking those out! 

★★★★★ 5 stars!