Patrick Aug 21, 2014

it was amazing bookshelves: books-i-would-blurb, good-books-for-little-kids

's review

I walked into the bookstore in a bit of a mood.



Wait, that's my Midwestern nature talking. We tend to understate. The truth is I walked into the bookstore furious at the world. I can't remember why. I am prone to dark moods, and when I'm in the middle of one, I tend to rumble through the world like an angry old-testament god.



I went directly to the Sci-Fi Fantasy section. That's where I live for the most part. That's where I go when the world gets to be too much for me.



I looked at the titles. I'd read about a quarter of them. I read a lot. But nothing looked particularly good. Nothing does when I'm in one of my moods.



A friendly bookseller walked over. "Can I help you find anything?" she asked.



"I want to read something good," I said. "I'm tired of gritty depressing shit. I want a fun, light book that isn't going to leave me wanting to put a gun in my mouth."



I'm not hyperbolizing. That's what I actually said. It wasn't a nice thing to say, but I can be unpleasantly brusk at times.



The bookseller didn't bat and eye. She pointed out a couple books, then asked how I felt about YA.



"I'll read anything if it's good," I said.



She pointed out this book. I'd heard of it before, appreciated its awesome title. I like faerie stories. Most importantly, I've read Cat Valente's work before, and I know she has a marvelous grip on the language.



Five pages into this book, I thought, "Why didn't I read this years ago? Why haven't I heard about this book before?"



I flipped to the back cover and saw blurbs from Neil Gaiman and Peter S. Beagle. "Oh," I thought. "Probably because I'm an idiot who lives under a rock."



Ten pages in, I was irritated. Fifteen pages in, I was jealous. Twenty pages in, I was in love.



So. A review:



This book is beautiful. The language is lovely without being pretentious. The story is careful and playful and smart. This book made me tear up in places. Not because it is particularly sad. But because sometimes when a story is true and sweet and perfectly shaped, it puts its hand around my heart.



This book is everything I love about Victorian faerie tales without all the tedious bullshit.



This is the best book I've read all year. And I read a *lot* of books.



I look forward to reading this book to my little boy. And that, ultimately, is the best thing I can say about a book.



So yeah. Read it. Read it ten times.