The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home by Catherynne M Valente

Summary:

This final book in the New York Times-bestselling Fairyland series finds September accidentally crowned the Queen of Fairyland. But there are others who believe they have a fair and good claim on the throne, so there is a Royal Race―whoever wins will seize the crown.

Along the way, beloved characters including the Wyverary, A-Through-L, the boy Saturday, the changelings Hawthorn and Tamburlaine, the wombat Blunderbuss, and the gramophone Scratch are caught up in the madness. And September's parents have crossed the universe to find their daughter.

Who will win? What will become of September, Saturday, and A-Through-L? The answers will surprise you, and are as bewitching and bedazzling as fans of this series by Catherynne M. Valente have come to expect.

I had this book series in my TBR pile for a good while. Telling myself I'd get to it and read it eventually. I'm glad I finally did. Not only did I find the first book to be a delight, but there were more books to read afterwards!

Published March 2016
by Feiwel & Friends

September has had a wild ride theses past four novels. She's done all sorts of impossible things that have given her a name and reputation known throughout Fairyland. She's deposed two rulers, broken the moon, lost her shadow, and generally created mayhem wherever she goes. So she gets crowned Queen. But there's a slight hitch. In the process every single previous ruler gets summoned back to life. They all have a claim, in a sense. So the only way to find out who gets to rule once and for all is to throw a Derby. But it's not  just a race to be first. Find the heart of Fairyland, cross the finish line, and win. Of course, if it was that simple someone would have found the heart long ago.

It's a wild rumpus through Fairyland, and we get some new places. There's also some long awaited closure between September and the Marquis. My favorite part out of the entire series was the description of the food. Glorious, delicious food that would have more than one flavor in every bite and somehow each one stand out without getting muddied by such combinations. If I could eat food like that I wouldn't want to leave, ever. 

The ending was fantastic. I had made a few assumptions on how the book would end, and found them all wrong. How often does that happen to a reader? It is definitely not one I would have foreseen. 

4/5 Stars

Roots: A Small Tale

People, it can be argued, are not plants. They don't need to dig into the dirt and stand immobile for several hours to gain nourishment. If they want, they can leave at a moments notice simply to run to the grocery store, and be back before anyone has noticed they're gone.

But people do build roots, even if they're not easily visible. The roots of a stable job, of purchasing a house with a 30 year debt payoff. Of pets, and children who then must be watched until they are sufficiently able to take care of themselves without fear. Of going to the same restaurant so often you're on first name basis with most of the staff.

And then there are those whose roots are in the air. Who bound from place to place without cause to worry. Who wake up watching the sun rise over the canals of Venice, and dine in the moonlight of ruins. Who know the layout of cities and airports better than the people who live near them.

Sometimes though, the roles get switched. And those who happily stayed in place for so long, will go out and learn what it's like to live without roots. It might become a new permanent, or it is merely the thing needed to remind them of being rooted. And those without roots might learn what it means to stay long enough to grow some roots.

Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Summary:

Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she's back. The things she's experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West's care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy's arrival marks a change at the Home. There's a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it's up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of things.

No matter the cost.

Published by Tor

We've all dreamed of traveling to a magical land that feels like it was meant for us. Of going on adventures, stopping evil doers and feeling free in a way that reality doesn't quite seem to grasp. But most of us never stopped to think of the consequences of going to another world. Or coming back.

Only Seanan McGuire would be the one to ask what happens to children after coming back from magical doors. And yes, she does an amazing job keeping you reading until the last page has passed and you've wished the book had more words. (that's true of all her series I've encountered) 

The story follows Nancy as she is sent to Miss Eleanor's Home. A girl for whom the bright light hurts, the world is a riot of color, and anything faster than a sedate pace is considered too fast. Her hair has never been bleached, yet it now grows out pure white with rivulets of black. The school itself looks to be a respectable boarding school, and it is. It's meant to help those who have come back from the other side of a magical door.

The children themselves are mostly girls, with a few boys. The self adage "boys will be boys" actually proves to be a deterrent for magic doors, since boys are more noticeable to go missing than girls and get lost less often.

What really got me for this book was how well the magical worlds were described using only a few words. Even in sparsity they were infused with so much yearning. "Hope" is a dangerous word to use. Yet that's what these kids have, hope that someday their door might come back for them. If they only could just find the right combination of words and motions that will let them back in. A lot of the worlds described are fairyland style worlds, with either a "high logic" or "high nonsense" underlying foundation. The rules for which all inhabitants, native and tourist alike, must follow. The few darker worlds, like Nancy's Hall of the Dead, or Jack and Jill's Moors are harder to pin down. They don't seem like nonsense worlds, but would they be considered virtuous or wicked in nature? 

The story itself packs so much emotion in such a short time. The ending resolves everything nicely, with no frills or bows to add to the ceremony. 

I know this story is meant to be about the children, but I really wanted to read more about Eleanor West. She opens the story with her narration, introduces Nancy to her new room, and sticks up for her when everyone is convinced it's Nancy's presence that's causing the sudden upheavals . But beyond that she only pops in at intermittent moments. 

There is some good news for sequel hopefuls. Tor has already set up for two more books to be written in this world. I have no idea what the plot will be about, but I'm looking forward already. If I had any complaint about this book, it's that it was a novella length and thus far too short. But then the really good books usually are.

4.5/5 stars

Last Cold Snap: A Small Tale

Spring is a tricky season. Stuck between Winter and Summer, it doesn't quite make up its mind between the two. Winter is getting pushed by the warm weather that Summer is trying to push in, and Winter is holding its own.

I woke up the day after Spring officially started to a winter wonderland. It had gotten so cold over the night that several small low flying clouds had gotten caught. I could see them in the treetops. Frozen in their shapes, too heavy to fly back up into the atmosphere.

The town declared it to be a snow day, and we all stayed home. Pj's and hot chocolate required to thoroughly enjoy the day.

The next day the snow was gone. Vanished as though it had never fallen. And the clouds were back up in their respective sky, happily floating away.