This is the second book in a trilogy:
Book 1: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making.
Book 3: The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two
September returns to Fairyland and finds that things are not at all how she left them and her dear, dear friends whom she has missed so much are not in fact, waiting desperately for her to appear. There’s trouble in Fairyland because of Halloween, the Hallow Queen who rules Fairyland below has been liberating people’s shadows, thus stripping them of magic. September can’t help but feel responsible since Halloween was once her own shadow and so she embarks on a quest to wake a sleeping prince, restore order and ensure that Fairyland remains magical.
I found this far more likable than its predecessor. Despite it being about Fairyland Below (with all the sinister connotations of below) I honestly felt it was less scary and creepy. September’s journey is by no means easy, but I preferred the people she ran into, even those that betray her. Maybe I’m just getting used to Valente’s style.
I would say this is possibly slightly easier than the first book in the series, but the vocabulary remains impressive. I marked down hereditary monarchs, iridescent, ziggurats, gargantuan, marionette, carnelian, crystalline, languorously, disconsolate, bailiwicks, progenitors, obsidian, narrative matrix, all as words that would require extra attention. Again, Valente introduces us to no end of magical creatures, some whom have evolved from myths and legends and others I’m sure of her own making, including, hreinn (some type of reindeer-person), selkies, imps, dwarves, gnomes, hippogryphes, nixies, nymphs, Lutin, hobgoblin, glashtyn, Scotch-wight, Ouphe, Mermen, hobgoblins, peris, centaurs, Monacielli, minotaurs, baku.
Age Recommendation: This is a very difficult book which requires a strong vocabulary and excellent reading comprehension. Things do take a slightly more romantic turn than in the prior book so I would lean towards Grades 5 and up for this, although very strong fourth grade readers may be able to tackle it so long as their family is comfortable with the content.
Sex, Nudity, Dating – Girls who do not like September spread rumors that she goes behind the Chemistry building with boys. Some hunters are looking to shoot themselves a wife. September thinks about her teachers, two who had been in love but had disapproving parents; two other women who hadn’t married but lived together and another man who had chased a woman over town singing her love songs and buying her presents. A girl makes men perform tasks before she gives them a kiss. September is kissed on the lips and finds it sweet, frightening and mysterious. September’s hands are kissed repeatedly. September is upset that her first kiss was stolen. There is hand-holding. A Glashtyn is naked below its head. There’s a mention of meeting a lover on a balcony in moonlight; it’s very hypothetical. A woman has a child with a bull. A woman remarries. Two girls kiss a prince and his shadow. September kisses some that she wants to kiss.
Profanity – We’re told that wife is a curse. “damnable”,
Death, Violence and Gore – There’s talk of a cat eating a sparrow and a secret boiling your bones. There’s a type of creature that is hunted both for its meat but also for its skin, for he who possesses the creature’s skin may rule it for the rest of its days. A room has swords, maces, cudgels and arrows, daggers and tridents. A bench is made of bone. A friend of September’s died. A dodo’s heart burst during a race, and its jockey fell and broke her neck. There’s a mention of throttling. There’s a gun, but no bullets. Someone chooses not to slide an arrow into someone else’s heart. September has seen a veterinarians revolver that he used for putting down horses. A bull dies in battle. Another bull has his head bashed in. A radio reporting on WWII says casualty reports are grim. In dreams, someone shoots pheasants. Someone is bitten and bleeds. There are pistols. September shoots something and learns it is her father’s shadow.
Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking – The world keeps beers and liqueurs in its basement. A bear drinks honey-beer. Two women takes nips of whiskey in their tea. There’s a Baron of Port, a Pharaoh of Beer and a Dauphin of Gin. There are liquor-fountains in the Forest. A goblin stays up all night drinking pennywine. Whiskey is referred to as a heady and dangerous business. Monks brewed beer. A girl’s father has a liquor cabinet. A cellar contains liquor including blackberry wine and whiskey. A baku had too much to drink.
Frightening or Intense Things – September’s father is away at war. Tea and coffee were once at war. There’s a very scary thing called the Alleyman which comes and takes people’s shadows, but is written much scarier than it sounds here. An Onion Man has bones for fingers. September seems to be betrayed by those she trusts. Someone has a near drowning experience. A mother hides from her own child and decides to hide him so she won’t have to look at him. There’s talk of fairies stealing children and eating souls.
