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
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