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

September, terribly bored of her mundane life in Omaha, is delighted when she's visited by the Green Wind and the Leopard of Little Breezes, who spirit her away to Fairyland. There, she takes on a quest for a witch to take her magical spoon back from the terrible Marquess, ruler of Fairyland. She gains great friends and allies in A-Through-L, a half-wyvern half-library crossbreed, a blue marid named Saturday, and many other residents of the land, both friendly and dangerous.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is a children's and young adult fantasy novel by Catherynne M Valente, with illustrations by Ana Juan. It was originally published for free online, but was finally put onto paper in May 2011. It deals with the adventures a young girl called September has in Fairyland. That Sounds Familiar, but the book provides a broad knowledge on folklore, and reads like a love letter to those odd Victorian classics with a twist of sardonic humor to them (such as Alice in Wonderland). A sequel called The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There is also set for an unknown release date. A prequel, The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland—For a Little While, tells the story of the young girl who became Fairyland's evil Marquess (and is full of spoilers for the first book, so be careful).


 * All Just a Dream: Averted. Everything that happened to September in Fairyland really did happen, although many characters say it feels like having been in a dream in the end.
 * Creepy Child: The Marquess, who has no problems killing and threatening others and is physically twelve.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: The Marquess's Backstory is awfully sad and touching.
 * Food Chains: September is warned not to eat any of the food in Fairyland, or else she risks becoming like Persephone.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: September sacrifices her shadow to save a Pooka girl's life.
 * I Know Your True Name: Knowing someone's true name gives you power over that person. September wasn't suppose to tell anyone her true name, though she never lied about her name when in Fairyland,
 * Interspecies Romance: The Good Queen Mallow (human) and Mr. Map (who has wolf ears), September (human) and Saturday (a Marid), and Ell's parents (as he is supposedly a Wyvern/library hybrid).
 * Kaleidoscope Hair: The Marquess uses magic to change her hair color at will.
 * Twist Ending: And a really good one.
 * Youkai: Fairyland residents include Tanuki, as well as tsukumogami, who have their own island.