Fairyland (series)

Series of novels by Catherynne M. Valente

Fairyland is a series of fantasy novels by Catherynne M. Valente. The novels follow a 12-year-old girl named September as she is spirited away from her average life to Fairyland.

In Valente's previous novel, Palimpsest, the narrator briefly discusses a book that one of the characters read as a child, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. Valente then began a book by that title as a crowd-funded project and published the story online. The book was later picked up by Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan Publishers) for traditional publication.[1] It is published in the UK by Much-in-Little (Constable & Robinson).[2] Fairyland is a five-book series.[3][4]

## The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland — For a Little While

[edit]

The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland — For a Little While Author| Catherynne M. Valente

|

Language| English
Genre| Fiction
Publisher| Tor.com

Publication date

| July 27, 2011
Publication place| United States of America
Media type| Print (e-book)
Pages| 31 pages
ISBN| 978-1-250-02350-6 (e-book)

On July 27, 2011, a short prequel was published as an ebook by Tor.com, and is available to read there.[5] The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland—For a Little While features an opening illustration by Ana Juan, and tells the story of the young girl who became Fairyland's Good Queen Mallow.

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

[edit]

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

Cover of the first edition of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Author| Catherynne M. Valente
Cover artist| Ana Juan (jacket illustration), Rich Deas (jacket design)
Language| English
Genre| Fiction, Novel
Publisher| Feiwel & Friends
Constable & Robinson

Publication date

| May 2011
Publication place| United States of America
Media type| Print (Hardcover)
Pages| 256 pages
ISBN| 978-0-312-64961-6 (hardcover)
OCLC| 670481840

Published in May 2011, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland was written before the prequel, but set after it. In this book, 12-year-old September has her first adventure in Fairyland.

### Plot summary

[edit]

An unseen narrator relates the story of September, a twelve-year-old girl from Omaha, Nebraska. September's father is a soldier at war in Europe and her mother works all day building airplane engines in a factory. One day a Green Wind visits her and she accepts his offer to take her to the great sea that borders Fairyland. September meets a gnome who gives her the ability to see Fairyland as it truly is before pushing her into that world. September's adventures continue in Fairyland, where she meets witches who give her a mission to steal a spoon back from the Marquess, who rules Fairyland with an iron fist. She teams up with A-Through-L, a wyvern whose absent father was a library, and thus considers himself a "Wyverary", a wyvern and library hybrid. When they find the Marquess, she hands over the witches' spoon in return for September's promise to retrieve a special sword from a casket in the Worsted Wood. September meets Saturday, a marid, and with A-Through-L they head for the Worsted Wood, where September finds the casket. The "sword" inside varies depending on the interests of the finder's mother, so September found not an actual sword, but a wrench because of her mother's work as a mechanic. As September escapes the Worsted Wood with the wrench, Saturday and A-Through-L are kidnapped and she sets about finding them. She must circumnavigate Fairyland in a ship of her own making to land at the Lonely Gaol, a jail at the bottom of the world. Along the way, she befriends a one-hundred-and-twelve-year-old paper lantern named Gleam, who helps to guide September to the Lonely Gaol. Once there, she learns the Marquess's full story and that she wants September to use the wrench to permanently separate Fairyland and the human world. September refuses and frees her friends from the Gaol. She uses Saturday's marid powers to wish everything well again, just before her time in Fairyland runs out—until the next spring, when she is bound by law to return.

### Reception

[edit]

Fairyland was published by Feiwel & Friends as a novel for young adults (10–14 years old), but has been embraced as a tale for all ages. The New York Times noted that "there’s a ton of grown-up humor—Valente mocks bureaucrats, Bergman and put-upon grad students, lost on kids but fun for oldsters."[6] Neil Gaiman called it a "glorious balancing act between modernism and the Victorian Fairy Tale", while Peter S. Beagle said "Catherynne Valente is a find, at any age!"[7]

Selected as a Best Book of the Month for May 2011, Amazon.com called Fairyland "a fantastical tale that's somewhere between Lewis Carroll and Terry Pratchett", stating that "Catherynne Valente's imaginative cast of characters and spirited prose turn what could be a standard heroine-on-a-quest story into something on par with the best (and weirdest) classics."[8]

### Awards and honors

[edit]

In 2009, Fairyland, which was published online, won the Nebula/Andre Norton Award.[9] It was the first book to win the award before traditional publication.[7]

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making won the readers' choice CultureGeek Best Web Fiction of the Decade award for best web fiction of the 2000s.[10]

In May 2011, it debuted at number 8 on the New York Times Bestseller list.[11]

## The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There

[edit]

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

|

Language| English
Genre| Fiction, Novel
Publisher| Feiwel & Friends
Constable & Robinson

Publication date

| October 2, 2012
Publication place| United States of America
Media type| Print (Hardcover)
Pages| 258 pages
ISBN| 978-0-312-64962-3 (hardcover)
OCLC| 778422533

The second book of the Fairyland series was released on October 2, 2012.

In this story, September returns to Fairyland and attempts to reunite with her shadow, Halloween, who was lost in the previous book. It was published in the UK in January 2013.[12]

## The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two

[edit]

The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two Author| Catherynne M. Valente

|

Cover artist| Ana Juan (jacket illustration), Rich Deas (jacket design)
Language| English
Genre| Fiction, Novel
Publisher| Feiwel & Friends
Constable & Robinson

Publication date

| October 8, 2013
Publication place| United States of America
Media type| Print (Hardcover)
Pages| 248 pages
ISBN| 978-1-250-02350-6 (hardcover)
OCLC| 825754042

The third book of the series was released on October 8, 2013.

In the third book, September is spirited away to the moon, reunited with her friends, and finds herself faced with saving Fairyland from a moon-Yeti with great and mysterious powers.

## The Boy Who Lost Fairyland

[edit]

The Boy Who Lost Fairyland Author| Catherynne M. Valente

|

Cover artist| Ana Juan (jacket illustration), Rich Deas (jacket design)
Language| English
Genre| Fiction, Novel
Publisher| Feiwel & Friends
Constable & Robinson

Publication date

| March 2015
Publication place| United States of America
Media type| Print (Hardcover)
Pages| 235 pages
ISBN| 978-1-250-07332-7 (hardcover)
OCLC| 895500807

The fourth book of the series was released in March, 2015.

The blurb released to USA Today summarizes the novel: "When a young troll named Hawthorn is stolen from Fairyland by the Red Wind, he becomes a changeling – a human boy -- in the strange city of Chicago, a place no less bizarre and magical than Fairyland when seen through trollish eyes. Left with a human family, Hawthorn struggles with his troll nature and his changeling fate. But when he turns twelve, he stumbles upon a way back home, to a Fairyland much changed from the one he remembers. Hawthorn finds himself at the center of a changeling revolution--until he comes face to face with a beautiful young Scientiste with very big, very red assistant."[13]

## The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home

[edit]

The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home Author| Catherynne M. Valente

|

Cover artist| Ana Juan (jacket illustration)
Language| English
Genre| Fiction, Novel
Publisher| Feiwel & Friends
Constable & Robinson

Publication date

| March 1, 2016
Publication place| United States of America
Media type| Print (Hardcover)
Pages| 308 pages
ISBN| 978-1-250-02351-3 (hardcover)
OCLC| 905522953

The fifth book of the series was released in March, 2016.

In this final installment, September is accidentally crowned the Queen of Fairyland, and must contend with others who believe they have a claim on the throne. A Royal Race is set to decide the matter.[14]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Catherynne M Valente - All Things Fairyland Retrieved on August 14, 2011.
2. ^ New Much-in-Little fiction books Retrieved on October 10, 2012.
3. ^ Catherynne M Valente - The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There launches today Retrieved on October 6, 2012.
4. ^ Valente, Catherynne M. (January 31, 2019). The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There. ISBN 978-1-78033-845-3.
5. ^ Valente, Catherynne M. (July 27, 2011). "The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland - For a Little While by Catherynne M. Valente". Tor.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
6. ^ The New York Times: Paradoxical Storytelling for Children The New York Times (June 17, 2011). Retrieved August 14, 2011.
7. ^ a b Macmillan: Fairyland. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
8. ^ Amazon.com Editorial Reviews - Best Books of the Month, May 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
9. ^ SFWA announces 2009 Nebula Awards winners. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
10. ^ CultureGeek - Circumnavigating Fairyland. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
11. ^ Catherynne M Valente - New York Times Bestseller List.. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
12. ^ The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There at Constable & Robinson. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
13. ^ "Exclusive cover reveal: 'The Boy Who Lost Fairyland' by Catherynne Valente". www.usatoday.com. Archived from the original on June 20, 2014.
14. ^ Deborah. "The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home | Catherynne M. Valente". Retrieved October 17, 2019.

## External links

[edit]

* Children's literature portal

* Fairyland Official Website
* Fairyland publisher website
* Fairyland UK publisher website

* v
* t
* e

Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction

* Valiant: A Modern Tale of Faerie (2006)
* Magic or Madness (2007)
* Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2008)
* Flora's Dare (2009)
* The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (2010)
* I Shall Wear Midnight (2011)
* The Freedom Maze (2012)
* Fair Coin (2013)
* Sister Mine (2014)
* Love Is the Drug (2015)
* Updraft (2016)
* Arabella of Mars (2017)
* The Art of Starving (2018)
* Children of Blood and Bone (2019)
* Riverland (2020)
* A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking (2021)
* A Snake Falls to Earth (2022)
* Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion (2023)
* To Shape a Dragon's Breath (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book

2000s|

* Coraline by Neil Gaiman (2003)
* The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett (2004)
* A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett (2005)
* Pay the Piper by Jane Yolen & Adam Stemple (2006)
* Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett (2007)
* Un Lun Dun by China Miéville (2008)
* The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2009)

2010s|

* Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (2010)
* Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (2011)
* The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente (2012)
* Railsea by China Miéville (2013)
* The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two by Catherynne M. Valente (2014)
* Half a King by Joe Abercrombie (2015)
* The Shepherd's Crown by Terry Pratchett (2016)
* Revenger by Alastair Reynolds (2017)
* Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor (2018)
* Dread Nation by Justina Ireland (2019)

2020s|

* Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee (2020)
* A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (2021)
* Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders (2022)
* Dreams Bigger Than Heartbreak by Charlie Jane Anders (2023)
* Promises Stronger Than Darkness by Charlie Jane Anders (2024)

* Best Novel (1971–1981)
* Best SF Novel (1980–present)
* Best Fantasy Novel (1978–present)
* Best First Novel (1981–present)
* Best Horror Novel (1989–1997, 1999, 2017–present)
* Best Young Adult Book (2003–present)
* Best Novella (1973–present)
* Best Novelette (1975–present)
* Best Short Story (1971–present)

*[OCLC]: Online Computer Library Center number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template