Description

September is a twelve-year-old girl, Somewhat Grown and Somewhat Heartless, and she longs for adventure. So when a Green Wind and a Leopard of Little Breezes invite her to Fairyland – well, of course, she accepts (mightn’t you?). When she gets there, she finds a land crushed by the iron rule of a villainous Marquess – she soon discovers that she alone holds the key to restoring order.

As September forges her way through Fairyland, with a book-loving dragon and a boy named Saturday by her side, she makes many friends and mistakes. But while she loses her shadow, her shoe and her way, she finds adventure, courage, a rather special Spoon, and a lot more besides . . .

Publisher Review

Pure escapism * Bliss magazine * Get swept away by this charming book * Vogue * Sweet fairytale, shot through with salty tears - magic! -- Cory Doctorow ...it is in fact one of the most extraordinary works of fantasy for adults or children so far this century. -- Lev Grossman * Time * A whole esoteric world of whimsy - Alice meets the Wizard of Oz meets the Persephone story with a whiff of Narnia. * Independent on Sunday * If you haven't heard of Catherynne Valente, give it time. She's only 32, and she's writing at a furious pace. Valente brings fathomless inventiveness to her fiction... A book for young adults, rich and strange enough for grown-ups, too. -- Lev Grossman A mad, toothsome romp of a fairy tale - full of oddments, whimsy, and joy. -- Holly Black Bundles of imagination and wry wit... This is a sophisticated world of forfeits, paradoxes and tricks. * Financial Times * A charming modern fairytale...with a knowing twinkle in its eye * Telegraph * An Alice in Wonderland for the 21st century... So effortless, so vivid, so funny. Every page has a phrase or observation to savour and her characters are wondrous creations. * Sunday Telegraph * A glorious balancing act between modernism and the Victorian Fairy Tale, done with heart and wisdom. -- Neil Gaiman