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

*WARNING* THIS IS THE SECOND BOOK IN A SERIES AND MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente
Fairyland, #2
Hardcover, 258 pages
Published October 2nd 2012 by Feiwel & Friends
Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository

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 Initial Thoughts:

I was so freaking excited for this book (and the really long title that came with it). I absolutely loved the first book, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. Read my review HERE.  I figured there is no way this one would disappoint. Plus Misty over at The Book Rat loved it so I knew I would too. I love the cover and how well it matches the first book. (I just realized they revealed the cover for the third book!!). The trailer for the book is just as awesome as the first one too. I just wish there wasn’t any singing in the trailer as your trying to read. It sat on my shelf from the moment I bought it glaring at me to read it!

My Review:

This book definitely lived up to my expectations. I am a huge fan of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (if you didn’t figure that out by my blog title). This series reminds me of a lot of that.

This book continues to follow around September, who is now a couple years older, is more mature, and now has a heart. She is still the September we came to know and love in the first book though. Time on Earth goes by much slower than time in Fairyland so by the time September reaches her 13^th birthday she is worried they have forgotten all about her. This story follows September on an adventure through Fairyland-below in her attempt to fix what she believes she has wronged and return the magic back to Fairyland-above. You get to see people (really their shadow’s) that you met during the first book and then quite a few new people.

There are amazing pictures at the beginning of each chapter along with a short summary of what’s about to happen, as with the first book. I really like that and the fact that it is told by an unknown narrator. In this book you actually get to follow around an extra story, although it is only a couple times, it does come in handy toward the end of the book. It was a nice little twist.

There was a twist in the middle of the book that I sort of saw coming but still surprised me non-the-less. I was almost mad at a couple of the characters. That is how you are supposed to feel though. I was a little confused at the end also. I feel it could have been explained a little more. That was my only problem throughout the entire book though. At first I had actually thought I had skipped a page.

The characters in this book are described quiet well. The fact that there are pictures at the beginning of each chapter really helps that along. I sort of had trouble picturing the shadows in a 3D form and being able to touch and interact with them. That is just me though and didn’t have anything to do with how it was described. I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t really talk about the new characters you meet.

I really like the world building in these books also. The beginning of this book is a little slow, as was the beginning of the first book. But considering we are in a make believe world, there has to be a lot of detail in the description of places. There is also a bit of build up at the very beginning much like in the first book. Like in the first book September has to make her way through many new places to find what she is looking for. You can really feel how different Fairyland-below is from Fairyland-above.

Do I Recommend This Book/Series?

Yes! You should definitely pick up this series if you haven’t. If you are into fairytales or Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland then this book is definitely for you!

Will I Read the Next Book?

I will, without a doubt, be picking up the final book. I will be sad when it ends too. Thankfully I only need to wait until October.

My Rating:

 

Check Out the Other Books in This Series!

 

 Fairyland, #0.5                                             Fairyland,  #1                                              Fairyland, #3

*I tried something new on this review. I usually include my initial thoughts but I think I will make it its own section. Same goes with the next in the series/do I recommend it section. I am also including links to other books in the series.  Let me know if you like this way better.