This is easily one of the most delightful and magical YA titles I've ever read. 
 I know people do like to compare it to Alice in Wonderland, but in a lot of ways, it's better. There's more than a basketful of clever, more than a truckload of beautiful language, and a whole ocean of delight. 
 The darkness doesn't overwhelm and there's no overt or subtle religious messages. A lot happens, but it's friendship that carries the final day. 
 I'm going to be reading this to my daughter when she is a little older. I honestly think it surpasses Pullman and Gaiman and Carroll. It's so light and it tickles all my funny-bones. 
 And best of all, it leaves no aftertaste except for a pleasant glow. No saccarine. No pedantic moralizing. Just plain magic, trickery, adventure, and a twist of the tongue that makes me grin from ear to ear. 
 Valente is quickly becoming one of my most beloved authors. I knew I had to read everything after Radiance, and this just cements it. :)