Valente is one of those authors that makes me feel incredibly conflicted in the sense that her writing is always an astounding work of art that I adore and makes me hate everything. Her prose is SO. GOOD. It is good to a level I would be able to forsake all plot and sense to enjoy on its own terms, but even there the book doesn't shirk. It is everything I loved from my personally adored children's classics, with the expanse of Oz, the surreal and the literal figuratives present in Wonderland and Phantom Tollbooth, the silent observation/recollection of children and being children in all books aimed at that age. The Fairyland books are so good to read, I would recommend these books to everyone because they deserve to be read and anyone who isn't is sorely missing out. A lot of people told me that the second one was superior to the first, which I thought bizarre considering I loved the first so much but I can see why. September is growing up in a difficult time for everyone and the process is difficult and as solemn and long and her journeys in Below reflect that more than anything.
REAAAADDDDD ITTTTTT.