5/5 stars

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

An adventure for adventure lovers…

“A book is a door, you know. Always and forever. A book is a door into another place and another heart and another world.”

You might have to be an authentic lover of good books to really appreciate the wit and whimsy found in The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There.  Just look at the book cover and the title—this book does nothing to hide what it is.  What is it?  I’m so happy you asked . . .

Just like the first book, it’s a fairy tale for lovers of fairy tales.  It’s packed full of more colorful imagination than any other book series I can think of.  A quest, magic, mystery. Heroes, beasts, betrayals. Friends who become enemies, enemies who become friends.  Kings, queens, princes, princesses.  Longing for home, finding yourself, growing up. Lessons to learn, first kisses, consequences for actions.

“The smell of loving is a difficult one to describe, but if you think on the times when someone has held you close and made you safe, you will remember how it smells just as well as I do.”

I think I enjoyed book 2 more than book 1, perhaps only because I’d acclimated myself to the unique prose—I knew what to expect.  I didn’t have to use my dictionary nearly as many times this time around either, although I did have to look up “brobdingnagian.” (Go ahead, use that in a sentence.  I dare you.) It’s just so smartly written . . . I’m certain there are nuggets of meaning buried under the layers of quaintness that I am too dense to glean.

“So much light, sweet girl, begins in the dark.”

Reading this book was an adventure.  I recommend it to all.