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The Blue Girl (Firebird) | 
| Author: Charles De Lint
Publisher: Puffin
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $2.99
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Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 68295
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.1
ISBN: 0142405450
EAN: 9780142405451
ASIN: 0142405450
Publication Date: April 6, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: New - Has remainder mark. Fast shipping from trusted wholesaler with many exclusive publisher contracts.
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Amazon.com Review
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
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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| Customer Reviews: Read 33 more reviews...
 A blue girl and "boo" boy in Newford May 19, 2006
Tom Knapp (Lancaster, PA USA)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
When we meet 17-year-old Imogene, newly moved to Redding High School in Newford, she is not, in any sense of the word, blue. She's fiery, fiesty and free-spirited, a rebellious teen who finds herself shifting back to the tamer style of wild in her new surroundings. A key factor in her transformation is her new best friend, Maxine, whose prim and proper attitude conceals a spark of independence that needs only Imgene's gentle prodding to blossom.
But "The Blue Girl," the latest urban fantasy novel by Charles de Lint, is not your average young-adult story of teen angst and the perils of fitting in with a new crowd. Like any new student, Imogene runs afoul of the "beautiful people" who consider themselves superior to the groundling students in their midst. Unlike most students, however, she also encounters a ghost. And that ghost -- Adrian, the miserable remnant of an unhappy student at her school several years before -- has fair-weather friends among the fairies ("when house brownies go bad"). So, when Imogene readily accepts the existence of ghosts but balks at believing in fairies, Adrian decides to prove it to her -- and that brings Imogene to the attention of more malevolent spiritual forces.
"The Blue Girl" is a stand-alone story in de Lint's canon of Newford tales, although one recurring Newford character does make a few appearances and a handful of others are mentioned in passing. While the lead characters sometimes suffer from "Dawson's Creek" syndrome -- their vocabularies and mannerisms are a bit more mature than their supposed 17 years -- the book largely reads true. And, to be honest, the elevated maturity of the young protagonists makes the book far more readable to its adult audience while not pushing it past the ken of its younger target crowd.
"The Blue Girl" is an excellent starting point for newcomers to Newford, and for long-time fans it's a welcome addition to the Newford mythology. While it's always a pleasure to read about the new adventures of Jilly, Geordie and other Newford regulars, it's a treat to be introduced to new, fully realized characters in this exciting, mystical city.
Unexpected pleasure! October 15, 2005
Andi (Daly City, CA USA)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
I wasn't expecting too much from this, since it is a young adult book, but boy was I wrong! This can be for all ages! De Lint tells a wonderfully detailed and rich story set in his already established world of Newford, but not reliant on it. I'd never read any of his work before and I fell right into it. This is a book about two female high school students who encounter a ghost...who then opens the door to all kinds of things that children hope for, yet fear at the same time. Not exactly women, but not children either, I believe De Lint captures the feeling of being a high schooler very well- at least as I remember it. DeLint also does a very good job of writing the feelings of an overprotected girl- something I'm also very familiar with. Far from being full of sweetness and light, the world of Faerie is very gritty and real in 'The Blue Girl'. I am stoked to have found a new author who is so entertaining and socially relevant. To paraphrase one professional reviewer, "DeLint celebrates fantasy, and instead of using it as an escape, uses it as a vehicle to explore many issues that are relevant for everyday life." If you like books with strong female characters, ghosts, odd otherworldly happenings, and the Fae (not the modern tall ones, but the authentic 'Wee Folk'), this is for you. Heck, even if you don't like any of these things but just enjoy good fantasy- ditto!
Go for this one! It's money well spent! (And I dont have alot to spend!)
Another Great Story from Charles DeLint August 29, 2005
Beth J. Freeman (New York)
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
The Blue Girl is another of Charles DeLint's Newford stories. He makes you feel that Newford is a real place and that you would like to visit there, possibly even live there. The author is rather secretive about where Newford is. It could be in Canada or the U. S. I think that adds to the mythic quality of the story.
The Blue Girl is about the new girl in town and her problems finding friends and getting harassed just for being different. There are many elements in the story that almost everyone can relate to, the cliques of kids in high school, the feeling of isolation because your different from the other students, and the happiness of finding that special friend who accepts you for who you are.
Although many of the regular characters you come to associate with Newford don't appear in the story (Jilly Coppercorn is mentioned. I don't think Charles DeLint could write a Newford story without mentioning her, at least), Christy Riddell appears as that special adult, a person a teenager can confide in. Of course it takes a little while for Imogene, the title character to decide whether Christy is that special adult.
Underneath all the universal truths and things we can identify with is that element of the supernatural and other world that permeates Charles DeLint's work. It's part of what makes his stories special.
If you've read DeLint's other stories, you'll want to read this one as well, especially if you like the Newford stories.
Classic deLint August 2, 2005
J. Williford (Miami, FL)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
If you're already a Charles de Lint fan, just go ahead and buy the book. Even though it's marketed towards the Young Adult crowd, it's a wonderful addition to de Lint's body of 'Newford' tales and more than adult enough for any reader.
If you've never read any Charles de Lint, this might be a good place to start. He is a master of depicting settings and characters that are very real and very familiar then adding a touch of Magic (whether it be ghosts, fairies, timetravel or just plain strangeness) that is never too much to overtax your willingness to go along with it. He writes frequently about themes of love, loyalty, friendship, acceptance, and, on the other side, loneliness, anger, and despair. Feelings we've all had to deal with from time to time. Without being preachy or overly moralizing, de Lint lets you hitch a ride with one or more characters as they work their way from darkness towards the light.
I won't bother to synopsize the book, other reviewer have done a good job of that already. But I will give it my enthusiastic recommendation to anyone who'd like to spend a few hours in a magical place, just around the corner.
 Interesting piece of work July 22, 2005
Neker (Duson, Louisiana United States)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
First off, I want to point out that I would not recommend this book to a young reader. I don't think they would "get it." Even a young teenager. I think it would require someone with a bit of maturity to grasp the depth of the book. I also would not recommend it to anyone who does not read and enjoy fantasy, because I don't think they would "get it," either. Sorry if that offends anyone.
For all those others out there, I think you would enjoy this book. DeLint uses a first person format switching between Imogine, Maxine, and Adrian (Ghost). You get the impression that Imogine is the focus character in that, well, everything and everyone focuses around her. Imogine is a new student at her school. She purposely befriends an outcast of her school, named Maxine. This high school is like many schools in that everyone has a clique. However, it is also different in that the bullies at this school are abnormally more agressive than you could imagine. This is not important, though, it is simply a side story to the story. The main part of the story is about Imogine discovering Ghost. A boy who committed "suicide" at the school in '98. Imogine makes it her mission to discover why this Ghost seems to be following her around. When she does, even stranger things begin to happen.
It was a good book, I finished it within two night because I was anxious to see how the problem would be solved. I'm definitely reading more from De Lint.
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