I always love DeLint, although lately I've found it hard to read his books. This is one meant for young adults, and I really enjoyed it. I may be regressing . . .

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Product Description

Seventeen-year-old Imogene’s rebellious nature has caused her more harm than good—so when her family moves to Newford, she decides to reinvent herself. She won’t lose her punk/thrift-shop look, but she’ll try to avoid the gangs, work a little harder at school, and maybe even stay out of trouble for a change. But trouble shows up anyway. Imogene quickly catches the eye of Redding High’s bullies, as well as the school’s resident teenage ghost. Then she gets on the wrong side of a gang of malicious fairies. When her old imaginary childhood friend, Pelly, actually manifests, Imogene realizes that the impossible is all too real. And it’s dangerous. If she wants to survive high school—not to mention stay alive—she has to fall back on the skills she picked up in her hometown, running with a gang. Even with her new friend Maxine and some unexpected allies by her side, will she be able to make it?

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #181306 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Amazon.com
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
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 8-11. Fifteen-year-old Imogene is new at Redding High School, and she's determined not to repeat the mistakes she made at her old school, especially after she meets Maxine, the good-girl friend she's always wanted--and needed. Then Imogene and Maxine encounter Ghost, the school's resident lost soul, and the girls embark on an adventure that moves back and forth between the dangers of the unforgiving high-school environment and a terrifyingly evil netherworld of fairies, supernatural creatures, and anamithim--soul-eaters who are attracted to Imogene's strong personality and who threaten her safety. De Lint's strong characters and riveting plot lines will work for even the most skeptical reader, and Imogene and Maxine are wonderful examples of strong young women faced with a variety of problems that appear to defy solutions--that is, until the girls realize that the simplest, yet most difficult, answer is within their control: bravery in the face of a friend's danger. Frances Bradburn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Customer Reviews

Pleased and Hoping for a Sequel!
Although Imogene is the central heroine of Charles de Lint's urban fantasy novel, the story is told from three points of view including Imogene, her friend Maxine, and a ghost boy named Adrian. It can get confusing if you don't pay attention as the chapters switch from "then" to "now" and in the various points of view. Still, the story is engaging enough to keep you straight.

The basic premise is: plucky bad girl moves to new town (trying to behave), makes friends with mousy sweet loser, and weird magical stuff starts to happen. The three major characters are developed well enough that when the story ends you want to know what is next for these girls. Imogene is a kick butt "nice" bad girl...think Angelina Jolie at 16 or 17 with short spiky hair. She becomes friends with Maxine and they rub off on each other in positive ways.

I enjoyed that Imogene was a cool tough chick but she wasn't breaking laws or being a punk. She actually defended other people and tried to do the right thing.

Definitely would like to see a sequel in the future and will try de Lint's other novels.

great
this was a really good book. i picked it up on a whim having heard good things about it, and it lived up to its expectations. i was kind of hesitant to get into it because it's about some street tough girl who has a run in with faeries, and i suppose there is a huge potential for this story line to destroy itself with cheesiness. but i was pleasantly surprised at how well it was put together.

imogene's a bitingly clever, strong, mature heroine. the book starts with her family moving to a new town and her attending a new school. she was with a rough crowd in her old town and was raised by hippie parents who gave her space to live her life, so as a result she's seen enough of the world to be comfortable with who she is when we meet her and has a kind of inner calm, not getting too caught up with the appearance of things, like social status. so she befriends a solitary girl named maxine.

i really enjoyed the beginning of the book, it was full of adventurous energy and i wouldn't have minded if it continued on without any supernatural interference. but she meets a ghost who unintentionally brings her to the attention of some unfriendly faeries. even though faeries are introduced to the story, the mood doesn't go all whimsical and light spirited. this is a great dark faerie tale for teens.

imogene tackles all of her problems by herself, which i found refreshing. she didn't go running to her boyfriend or family or friends for help, though she recognizes that they are there for her and her friends don't let her go into trouble by herself, she doesn't cling to them and finds strength within herself. i've read many stories trying to achieve this character or this mood and they always fall short of success. this is one of the few teen books i would recommend to someone without commenting on what i found unsuccessful about it. it was just really well written. i recommend.

Good, but...
There were aspects of this story that I really enjoyed - Imogene's quirky narration, the friendship between Imogene and Maxine, Adrian's story, the fairies and darkness - but there were a few issues that detracted from it as well.

While I liked Imogene's *voice*, the first-person narration from Maxine and Adrian didn't sound all that different. I like first-person POV but don't like it when the POV switches around. In this instance, I did enjoy hearing the story in Adrian's own words since his experience was so different from anyone else's, but didn't think it was necessary to do so with Maxine. Also, I didn't see the purpose in using different tenses (i.e., the beginning in past tense and the end in present tense). In some instances this technique can add to a narrative, but unless it's purpose is very clear, I find it often detracts from a story by interrupting the flow.

As another reviewer pointed out, the characters were all stereotypical. That didn't make them unlikable and the story itself was unique enough to compensate, but De Lint is so imaginative that I don't know why he'd need to resort to that. And two characters appeared but never had much of a role beyond being deus ex machina sources of info - the author (Christy Riddell - who just seemed like a self-insertion) and the e-mail pen pal Esmeralda.

Adrian was the only character I felt any emotional connection with and the poor guy never really got much fulfillment, even from Imogene. Only at the very, very end and only very marginally, which just made me sad for him.

There were little issues that bugged me like Maxine using a cell phone in the school basement, when she'd never be able to get reception there. Or the fact that everyone seemed to either a) have experience with the fairy world (down to Imogene's boyfriend) or b) be totally accepting of them. Only Imogene had trouble believing in the fairies which was absurd since she could plainly see and converse with a ghost.

It was still a fun and engaging read. De Lint is a talented writer - there's no doubt about that. I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA urban fantasy, but I thought this had the potential to be so much more than it was.