The Blue Girl - Book Review

The Blue Girl (Newford #16)
by Charles de Lint

What is it about:
Seventeen-year-old Imogene's tough, 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.

Her first friend at Redding High, Maxine, is her exact opposite. Everyone considers Maxine a straight-A loser, but as Imogene soon learns, it's really Maxine's overprotective mother whose rules about clothes and curfews make it impossible for her to speak up for her true self. Oddly, the friendship works. Imogene helps Maxine loosen up and break a few rules, and in turn, Maxine keeps Imogene in line.

But trouble shows up anyway. Imogene quickly catches the eye of Redding's A-list 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 realises 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 Maxine and some unexpected allies by her side, will she be able to make it?

What did I think of it::
I will confess: this book caught my eye because of the cover! It did sounds like a cool read as well, so I decided to give it a try.

Now you might notice this book is part of a series. But I can tell you it can easily be read as a stand alone. I haven't read any other book in this series, and didn't feel like missing out. From what I understand these books are mostly linked because they're all set in the same fictional town. Some of them are more closely linked, but this one stands pretty much on its own within the series. Some of these books are more Young Adult, others more Adult.

The story (being Young Adult) is told in multiple viewpoints and multiple tenses, differing between Then and Now. This might sound confusing, but when reading the book I didn't have any trouble in following the story.

I liked both Imogene and Maxine. They were a perfect fit in my opinion. They have a lot of things in common, and where they were different they could help each other out. I really liked reading about how they met and how they interacted.

The paranormal aspects of this story (the ghost, the fairies) were taken from traditional folklore and mythology, but de Lint gave them their own unique spin that made them very intriguing. I was gripped by the events and was rooting for Imogene and Maxine to solve all their problems.

All in all this is a really fun and suspenseful read, that I found hard to put down. I will most certainly give other books in this series a try. Luckily I got some suggestions from a friend which books to try next.

Why should you read it:
It's a really cool Paranormal (YA) read.