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

I loved this book! There are so many hints and allusions to children's classics of the past eg Alice in Wonderland with its heroine falling a long way to reach a strange new world, The Wizard of Oz, with a child from Kansas whisked away to a world of witches and danger, but with a kind hearted Dorothy becoming firm friends with various creatures and going off to seek help for them, and also the moral dimensions of C S Lewis's Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, where the blight caused by tyranny can only be destroyed by great sorrow and sacrifice, and the courage to put what is right ahead of oneself. Yes Valente may delicately touch on magic shoes and wardrobes, but she does a wonderful job of bringing freshness to old ideas, telling a sometimes harrowing tale about a remarkable young heroine, September, and writing exquisite descriptions of both the beauties and terrors of Fairyland in a lyrical, poetic style. Never does she forget though that Fairyland can be cruel and wicked, and the heroine suffers badly at times. There are surprises and reversals of expectations, and all in all this is an excellent book, fresh, inventive and exciting, with a redoubtable, and unforgetable heroine. Highly recommended.