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

I had heard some great things about this one on Booktube. The clincher was hearing Jen Campbell  talk about it. Generally speaking, I am not really into reading children's stories, and I can't say that I can ever really remember being up for them as a little kid even (I liked Robin Hood, Peter Pan and The Three Musketeers - all done in very abridged kiddies books with loads of pictures). But, as I have been really enjoying Jen's videos of late, I thought I would give this one a go.

Wow. No other book this year has put such a dent in my sticky note pile. I marked spot after spot in this one. But before I get ahead of myself, let me do a brief synopsis: September, a little girl, is taken through to Fairyland where many things happen. Brief, to the point, non spoilery. In fact, I bet the title alone will give you a clue as to something that happens in the book....

During the first few pages, I regretted my choice of picking this one up. It sounded like a children's book. I wasn't in the mood for a kiddie book. And then... and then the book just exploded and I fell in love with it. It is actually a strange book to categorise, because although everything about it screams 'kiddies book', I doubt children would grasp, let alone appreciate a lot of the wisdom and thoughts in it. This is just one of the first quotes that I liked.

“One ought not to judge her: all children are Heartless. They have not grown a heart yet, which is why they can climb high trees and say shocking things and leap so very high grown-up hearts flutter in terror. Hearts weigh quite a lot. That is why it takes so long to grow one. But, as in their reading and arithmetic and drawing, different children proceed at different speeds. (It is well known that reading quickens the growth of a heart like nothing else.) Some small ones are terrible and fey, Utterly Heartless. Some are dear and sweet and Hardly Heartless At All. September stood very generally in the middle on the day the Green Wind took her, Somewhat Heartless, and Somewhat Grown.”

― Catherynne M. Valente, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Some of the passages were spectacular, and I found myself hijacking unwitting family members to read parts out loud. I have added a ton of quotes to my favourites. I have terrorised the staff room with retellings and recommendations.

I think anyone who was ever young, or someone who has children or deals with children, should read this book. There is something in here for everyone.

This is the 33rd book I have read for the 2015 TBR Pile Reading challenge.
I gave this one an outstanding 5 stars on Goodreads because I just loved everything about it.