The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

I have finally collected all five books in this series, which means I can read it straight through. I've been wanting to revisit the early ones for a while, and it's nice to finally have all my ducks in a roll. Back when Gavin was first born, I attempted to read the first book to him, but I could never get through more than a paragraph or two at a time, which got frustrating. So I've adapted and am now using the series as my bedtime book.

 The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making was everything I remembered and more. It's a lovely story about beginning to grow up and all the choices you make as you start to navigate that scary path of adolescence. It's about making new friends and figuring out who you are and starting to see and accept the darkness of the world.

I hadn't remembered how dark this book gets at the end, and it was a nice counterbalance to all the sweetness that came before it. It grounds the book and makes it more than just a fun trip to fairyland. This is the sort of book that sticks with you.

It's really the language, though, that makes me love this book. The narrator is playful and Valente has such a way with words. I can just sink into it. Savoring it over weeks and falling asleep with these words in my head was the perfect way to experience it. I'm so excited to watch September and her friends grow through the rest of the series.

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