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

There are many scary scenes, including one where river monsters are intent on snatching away a terrified little girl, and another in which September must beat her friend in combat. Along the way, September has a meeting with Death, and characters are sometimes in mortal danger.

Everything's pretty G-rated here, though older kids will enjoy the author's sly humor in, for example, September's innocent suggestion that a couple would enjoy spending their wedding night with a glass of milk and a nice book. September's new friend Ell proudly announces that he's the offspring of a mythical dragon-like being and a library.

Alchemy and magical potions are part of the story.

Parents need to know that The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making is, as the title suggests, uncompromising in its expectation that readers will be able to cope with big words, suspend their disbelief, and get into the story. It's so vivid, imaginative, thought-provoking, and heartstring-pulling that it's hard to resist. In this first of a planned five volumes, various characters, particularly protagonist September, show great bravery, especially when they're terrified. There are plenty of scary moments, including encounters with Death itself. Appealing characters are enslaved, held captive, or in mortal danger, while others suffer terrible, fateful losses, and difficult choices. At least one character is pregnant for part of the story, and the child of two others appears in a flash-forward, but the reproduction involved seems more magical than sexual, as another character is the offspring of a mythical beast and a library.