The Boy Who Lost Fairyland
The Fairyland series, Book 4
Catherynne M. Valente
Square Fish
Fiction, MG? Fantasy
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: The young troll Hawthorn never wanted to be a Changeling - a boy from Fairyland, wrapped up in human guise and sent to mundane Earth - but when the Red Wind comes calling, it's very hard to say no. He soon finds himself in a strange and wondrous world, one plagued by inscrutable rules and where the furniture never talks back or comes alive no matter how nicely he asks, and while he's forgotten his true name and troll self, he knows deep down in his bones that he doesn't quite fit in here and never will. Then he meets the girl Tamburlaine, who has a very special secret that might return him where he belongs... but Changelings are never supposed to go back home, and trying to do so may create more trouble than he can possibly understand.
REVIEW: Like the other installments in this enchanting series, The Boy Who Lost Fairyland is overflowing with wild imagery and fun ideas and memorable characters in a plot that hardly ever slows down. This installment shifts the focus away from the girl September, whom we last left in some peril, but returns to reveal what's become of her by the end... in doing so, unfortunately, stepping on the toes of Hawthorn and Tamburlaine, shutting them out of their own story as she becomes the focus and (not incidentally) sets up the fifth and final book in the series. It felt like a mild insult to the pair, whom the reader comes to know and love through their harrowing adventures in public school and a Fairyland that turns out to be less welcoming than they had hoped, but I'm willing to forgive it (somewhat - I still shaved half a star) on the precedent that Valente does not tend to leave loose ends; I expect them to be involved in the series finale. In any event, I'm looking forward to the next installment and the (probable) final adventure in this clever and imaginative take on Fairyland.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Over the Woodward Wall (A. Deborah Baker) - My Review
The Clockwork Fairy Kingdom (Leah R. Cutter) - My Review
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her Own Making (Catherynne M. Valente) - My Review
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