The Blue Girl by Charles De Lint

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.