The Blue Girl [Hardcover]

Charles de Lint (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2004

When Imogene, her mother, and her brother move to Newford, she decides to reinvent herself-this time she won't go looking for trouble. She quickly gets to know two very different people. Maxine is a "good girl," following a strict life plan. Imogene helps Maxine loosen up and break a few rules, and in turn Maxine keeps her on the straight and narrow. Imogene's other new friend is a little more unusual. His name is Adrian. He is a ghost. Adrian was killed when he jumped off the high school roof in 1998, and hasn't left since. He has a huge crush on her--so much so that he wants her to see the fairies that also haunt the school. The fairies invade Imogene's dreams, blurring the line between the unreal and the real. When her imaginary childhood friend Pelly actually manifests, Imogene knows something is terribly wrong. With Maxine, Adrian, and Pelly's help, Imogene challenges the dark forces of Faery. This compelling novel from Charles de Lint, the acknowledged founder of the "urban fantasy" genre, is set in the city of Newford, home to some of his best stories. After reading it, you will want to live in Newford, too.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Imogene Yeck, former gang member and current fairy butt-kicker, is the cool "blue girl" at the center of Charles de Lint's latest urban fantasy novel. Seventeen-year-old Imogene jumps at the chance to lose her bad girl reputation when her family moves to a new town. She purposely lays low at Redding High, only making friends with Maxine, a shy, studious girl who is Imogene's opposite in every way. Despite a few run-ins with the ruling football jock and his cheerleader girlfriend, Imogene keeps her temper in check and even lends some of her bravado to Maxine, who begins to come out of her straight-A shell. Things are going well for the new friends--until the day Imogene meets Adrian, the benign ghost of a boy who died in the school's parking lot. Adrian and Imogene's unusual connection attracts the unwelcome attention of Redding High's resident Little People, or fairies. Affronted by streetwise Imogene's lack of belief in them, the fairies set into motion a malevolent prank that will not only turn Imogene completely blue from head to toe, but pit her, Adrian and Maxine against some of the most frightening beings of the Otherworld--the soul-sucking Anamithims. de Lint's Blue Girl reads like a really well-executed episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer--smart and thought provoking, without taking itself too seriously. Although the action builds slowly, the final scene, involving a bucket of blue paint, a knife fight, and green monster blood, is absolutely worth it. Buffy fans who enjoy meeting Imogene and Co. will also want to check out Holly Black's dark fairy tale, Tithe, and Nina Kiriki Hoffman's modern ghost story, A Stir of Bones --Jennifer Hubert

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–This lively novel thoughtfully examines friendships that cross magical boundaries and explores how love can strengthen and save us. On her first day of school in a new town, Imogene meets Maxine, an outcast, and is targeted by a group of popular bullies. The two become friends despite their polar personalities; Imogene is bold and brash where Maxine is mousy and quiet. When Imogene notices a pale boy watching her, she asks about him and learns the story of Ghost–actually Adrian–another outcast who was harassed by cliques, died under mysterious circumstances a few years earlier, and now haunts the school. His only companions are a handful of amoral fairies. He convinces them to show themselves to Imogene, but this draws the soul-sucking anamithim to her, endangering her life and the people she loves. Adrian, Imogene, and Maxine alternate as narrators. Tied together as victims of both the magical world and of everyday tyrants, they are sympathetic characters who speak with sharp, snappy dialogue. As in Nina Kiriki Hoffman's A Stir of Bones (Viking, 2003), the otherworldly threat skillfully mirrors and enhances real-world concerns. This complicated story is made more intricate by the now/then time shifts between chapters. The two popular bullies are stereotypically flat, but the remaining characters are well drawn and delightful. Imogene's brutal choices about where to draw the line between self-protection and becoming like her tormentors are clearly depicted.–Sarah Couri, New York Public Library
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Viking, Young Readers Group; 1st edition (October 25, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670059242
• ISBN-13: 978-0670059249
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,438,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charles de Lint and his wife, the artist MaryAnn Harris, live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. His evocative novels, including Moonheart, Forests of the Heart, and The Onion Girl, have earned him a devoted following and critical acclaim as a master of contemporary magical fiction

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A blue girl and "boo" boy in Newford, May 19, 2006

By 

Tom Knapp "Rambles.NET editor" (Lancaster, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Blue Girl (Hardcover)

When we meet 17-year-old Imogene, newly moved to Redding High School in Newford, she is not, in any sense of the word, blue. She's fiery, fiesty and free-spirited, a rebellious teen who finds herself shifting back to the tamer style of wild in her new surroundings. A key factor in her transformation is her new best friend, Maxine, whose prim and proper attitude conceals a spark of independence that needs only Imgene's gentle prodding to blossom.

But "The Blue Girl," the latest urban fantasy novel by Charles de Lint, is not your average young-adult story of teen angst and the perils of fitting in with a new crowd. Like any new student, Imogene runs afoul of the "beautiful people" who consider themselves superior to the groundling students in their midst. Unlike most students, however, she also encounters a ghost. And that ghost -- Adrian, the miserable remnant of an unhappy student at her school several years before -- has fair-weather friends among the fairies ("when house brownies go bad"). So, when Imogene readily accepts the existence of ghosts but balks at believing in fairies, Adrian decides to prove it to her -- and that brings Imogene to the attention of more malevolent spiritual forces.

"The Blue Girl" is a stand-alone story in de Lint's canon of Newford tales, although one recurring Newford character does make a few appearances and a handful of others are mentioned in passing. While the lead characters sometimes suffer from "Dawson's Creek" syndrome -- their vocabularies and mannerisms are a bit more mature than their supposed 17 years -- the book largely reads true. And, to be honest, the elevated maturity of the young protagonists makes the book far more readable to its adult audience while not pushing it past the ken of its younger target crowd.

"The Blue Girl" is an excellent starting point for newcomers to Newford, and for long-time fans it's a welcome addition to the Newford mythology. While it's always a pleasure to read about the new adventures of Jilly, Geordie and other Newford regulars, it's a treat to be introduced to new, fully realized characters in this exciting, mystical city.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great Story from Charles DeLint, August 28, 2005

By 

Beth J. Freeman "---Beth---" (New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Blue Girl (Hardcover)

The Blue Girl is another of Charles DeLint's Newford stories. He makes you feel that Newford is a real place and that you would like to visit there, possibly even live there. The author is rather secretive about where Newford is. It could be in Canada or the U. S. I think that adds to the mythic quality of the story.

The Blue Girl is about the new girl in town and her problems finding friends and getting harassed just for being different. There are many elements in the story that almost everyone can relate to, the cliques of kids in high school, the feeling of isolation because your different from the other students, and the happiness of finding that special friend who accepts you for who you are.

Although many of the regular characters you come to associate with Newford don't appear in the story (Jilly Coppercorn is mentioned. I don't think Charles DeLint could write a Newford story without mentioning her, at least), Christy Riddell appears as that special adult, a person a teenager can confide in. Of course it takes a little while for Imogene, the title character to decide whether Christy is that special adult.

Underneath all the universal truths and things we can identify with is that element of the supernatural and other world that permeates Charles DeLint's work. It's part of what makes his stories special.

If you've read DeLint's other stories, you'll want to read this one as well, especially if you like the Newford stories.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected pleasure!, October 15, 2005

By 

Andi (Daly City, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Blue Girl (Hardcover)

I wasn't expecting too much from this, since it is a young adult book, but boy was I wrong! This can be for all ages! De Lint tells a wonderfully detailed and rich story set in his already established world of Newford, but not reliant on it. I'd never read any of his work before and I fell right into it. This is a book about two female high school students who encounter a ghost...who then opens the door to all kinds of things that children hope for, yet fear at the same time. Not exactly women, but not children either, I believe De Lint captures the feeling of being a high schooler very well- at least as I remember it. DeLint also does a very good job of writing the feelings of an overprotected girl- something I'm also very familiar with. Far from being full of sweetness and light, the world of Faerie is very gritty and real in 'The Blue Girl'. I am stoked to have found a new author who is so entertaining and socially relevant. To paraphrase one professional reviewer, "DeLint celebrates fantasy, and instead of using it as an escape, uses it as a vehicle to explore many issues that are relevant for everyday life." If you like books with strong female characters, ghosts, odd otherworldly happenings, and the Fae (not the modern tall ones, but the authentic 'Wee Folk'), this is for you. Heck, even if you don't like any of these things but just enjoy good fantasy- ditto!
Go for this one! It's money well spent! (And I dont have alot to spend!)