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

A fun, light read. I enjoyed it, but didn't fall completely in love with the world and characters. It had some marvellous ideas like the swarms of migrating bicycles or Mr Map, but they were lightly touched upon and then swept away into the wind never to be heard of again, which is a shame because it is a rich and original world, and these creations deserve a fuller fleshing-out. The art of saying just enough and promising more perhaps, but still I did want more out of it. I initially gave it 3 stars but having looked at the other books I've given 3 stars to, it's definitely better than those.

No spoilers, but it had a more emotional ending than I was expecting, and I think the book got better as it went on and the plot developed more. Again, could have been deeper; at times it felt like a lighthearted romp, but in the background were these dire and serious perils swirling around. I suppose really I wanted a more grownup, less YA read, and it's unfair to judge it on that basis.

The feel of the book was lovely, an autumnal twilight world with glimpses and glimmers and everything dusted with sugar or magic or poison. There was a phrase that really struck home; about leaving your heart somewhere and never having it back, I felt that way for many years about my undergraduate university town. Eventually I think your heart finds its way back to you, or perhaps you grow a new one, ready to be filled and lost and found again.