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

Edition: ARC
Author: Catherynne M Valente
Goodreads: The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland And Cut the Moon in Two
Release Date: October 1, 2013

I have to make a confession. See, at ALA, when Lynn showed off her nice galley copy of The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two, I was the first one to get super excited. Lynn admitted she hadn't read the series and gave me the galley to take home and read. Except when I got it home and went to reread the first book (of which I also have a galley), it turns out that I've never read the series either! I feel quite silly, but I'm so glad to get it off my chest!

Goodreads summary: September misses Fairyland and her friends Ell, the Wyverary, and the boy Saturday. She longs to leave the routines of home, and embark on a new adventure. Little does she know that this time, she will be spirited away to the moon, reunited with her friends, and find herself faced with saving Fairyland from a moon-Yeti with great and mysterious powers.


The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two continues the themes of growing up and how it affects September's view of the real world and the fairy world. The real world is a hard place where September's father has returned from war, a quiet and broken man who is unable to do much to help his family. September's mother continues to be a strong influence on her, teaching her how to maintain the family car so that September, who now knows how to drive, can run errands for the neighbors. September still waits for Fairyland to come back for her but realizes that she is no longer a child and that maybe this time, there will be no return to Fairyland. That is, until a mischievous Wind shows up and attempts to abscond with the neighbor's car, dragging September into a new adventure. Fairyland, it seems, is also just a bit darker, which one friend under a curse and another who faces a future he cannot understand and does not want.


This is the third book in the series and if you haven't picked it up yet, you should go to your library right now and get it! All three books are relatively short on pages but huge on story, imagery, and characters. This is, at it's heart, a story about growing up and what we leave behind when we become adults. It's also a story about what it means to be a hero and how friendships can withstand anything. It's also-also a story about wyverary ("when a library and a dragon love each other very much..."), meeting a boy and first loves, what happens when furniture turns 100, how shadows throw a party, and one thousand other tiny and amazing details that turn each of these short, mid-grade level reading books into a feast for even an adult reader. 

Today, in fact, is the release date for this lovely piece of masterwork, so head out and pick up your copy ASAP!