Little (Grrl) Lost (2007)

5Q 4P
Charles de Lint is the master of urban fantasy, although I realize that not everyone enjoys the genre. Reminiscent of the Borrowers, de Lint puts us in the shoes of T.J., a more softly spoken Big who struggles with her move from the farm to the city, and Elizabeth, a prickly Little with an attitude. Teenage troubles and real city issues are layered with the dangers and wonders of the fairy world that exists a bit sideways of the real world. Characters and circumstances are layered as well; bad things exist, of course, but the world isn't black and white, divided into good and evil. Little (Grrl) Lost shows the shades of gray, and how perspectives matter. It's a maturity teens can realize vicariously through this book.

Let me first say that I love, love, love reading Charles de Lint. Let me also say that I'm probably 15 years older than the target audience for this book.

That being said, this was my least favorite of the de Lint books I've read. This is a young adult book about a girl named TJ and how she befriends a "Little" named Elizabeth. For those of you familiar with Mary Norton's The Borrowers (which I adored), Littles are basically Borrowers. For the rest of you, Elizabeth is a 6-inch tall punky girl who Elizabeth finds living in the walls of her bedroom. The book is about their growing friendship and the way each girl finally learns to accept herself.

Charles de Lint didn't really seem to be sure where he was going with the story. First we're on one quest, then, suddenly, a different quest, and then we finally ended up in a place that I didn't really see coming, but that was still somehow predictable. The dialog did not feel real to me. But maybe it was. I can't say that I bother with staying current on the current teen slang, but it felt way too forced and unnatural when I was reading it.

Read this if you're already a fan of Charles de Lint, but if you're trying him out for the first time, please try a different one first. This is not a good representation of what he can do with a story. ( )

Good, but not the quality I'd expect out of a de Lint book.

It seemed a bit all over the place. First, Tetty runs away from home to be more independent. Then, she decides she wants to find her family again. Then, she decides she DOESN'T want to find her family but wants to learn how to turn into a bird. Then she decides she doesn't want to be a bird but wants to see the place where people turn into them. Next, she decides she wants to be a baker. Finally, she decides she might want to talk to her family again sometime in the future.

Yes, teenagers can be indecisive, but sheesh. The plot changed so often it was hard to follow exactly where Tetty was heading.

As far as T.J. goes -- everything seemed a bit too easily resolved. She forgave her parents too quickly, was too well behaved, too well adjusted too quickly, and got out of bad situations way too easily. Not really believable. ( )

This is good de Lint for the YA crowd, but also a fun read for us older peeps. Not my favorite de Lint, but not at all disappointing. ( )

“When T.J. and her family are forced to move from their farm to the Newford suburbs, she makes an unexpected new friend – Elizabeth, a punked-out teen runaway with a big attitude – who also happens to be a “Little,” standing just six inches tall. Her family lives inside the walls of T.J.’s house. T.J. and Elizabeth soon forge a prickly friendship that’s put to the test when each girl finds herself in dangerous territory, without any way to help the other. Both have to learn the hard way whom to trust, and how to rely on their instincts and find kindred spirits. Little (Grrl) Lost is Charles de Lint at his captivating best."

Like a normal teenaged girl, Elizabeth makes mistakes and bad choices. She also learns from them. T.J. also learns from Elizabeth and grows up a little by her experiences and the friends she makes.

Years ago I read about ‘Borrowers’ or ‘Littles’, I don’t remember much about the books so I don’t know how these compare, but in my fuzzy recollection, this book seems to be consistent with the previous book. Also the storyline follow a logical order, or as logical a story line can be that contains 6″ tall people, fairies, gnomes, goblins and a singular guy called the Rat-King.

This was an enjoyable, quick read ( )