By Charles de Lint
Penguin Books (firebird)
Toronto (2004)
pp 368
The Blue Girl is a delicious romp through fairy madness, as told through the first person perspective of three teens: two girls, both alive, and one teen-boy ghost. The author relies on heavy dialogue, and minimal prose, to propel an adventure that is set in a fictional city, and takes place in a public high school. The protagonist, Imogene, and her chief cohorts are seventeen and on the verge of finding their unique place in the world. The characters quickly becomes intimate with the modus operandi of pixies, fairies, feral eponies. (And the evil Anamithim are driven to suck away the souls of human being, dead or alive, for all eternity!) Mr. de Lint has a flair for blending the surreal and mystical with the ordinary angst of teenagers. The momentum in this crime stopper, sort of whodunit, action-adventure is excellent. Even if you’re not a fan of magical realism or urban fantasy, you will enjoy the many variations of the fairies who dwell among us.
Patricia Vaccarino
Patricia Vaccarino is an accomplished writer who has written award-winning film scripts, press materials, articles, essays, speeches, web content, marketing collateral, and eleven books.