5/5 stars

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland, #1) by Catherynne M. Valente

A Fairytale for Lovers of Fairytales

If I.Q. were a measure of strength of imagination, Catherynne Valente would most certainly be the Albert Einstein of writers. There was more imagination on display in that book than in any other book I’ve ever come across. I felt like I was reading a Tim Burton movie–colorful whimsy and fluff, along with some real adventure and brushes with death. It took 20 or 30 pages to really get into the rhythm and immerse myself in the experience, but once I did I really had a lot of fun! I’m looking forward to the next books.

Content wise this story is suitable for all ages. However, there are many, many BIG words in there…I haven’t used my Kindle’s dictionary this much since The Count of Monte Cristo! I would only turn my kids lose on this book if I knew the challenging vocabulary exercise wouldn’t discourage them.