Here's another of my favorite authors, which I will undoubtedly do a longer write-up about sometime. De Lint pretty much defines urban fantasy as far as my tastes go, having a great sense of Mystery, Myth, and Magic, strong female heroines, lots of music interwoven (he even lists what he's been listening to in his author's notes!), and great philosophical insights. Throw in some silliness and some Faerie, and its a formula for success.
This is one of his young adult novels, which are a bit more spartan than his adult books, but still carry the same magic, if coming from a slightly different angle/perspective. It will definitely draw readers into his Newford universe...the fictitious Canadian city where this, and many of his other novels, is set.
This is a story of a punky little girl -- no, really, she's 6 inches tall -- who runs away from home, is befriended by a Big, finds out she's not the only "oddity" in the world, hears a story of Littles who can fly, and tries to find herself while swept along in increasingly bizarre events. It is also the story of the aforementioned Big, a bit of a goody-two-shoes, who recently had to move to the suburbs from a farm, leaving behind her horse in the process, and her teenage search for Self in an unfamiliar world that she's finding suddenly contains more than she ever knew.
Using an interesting blend of perspectives and narrative style, de Lint tells the story of two very strange days in these girl's (grrl's?) lives. The other characters in the novel are only in the story when interacting with the two main characters, which works well for the pared down plot in this book. I say pared down only in relation to his adult novels, which have much more intricate and multifaceted stories; you wouldn't think it lessened without that point of reference.
A quick read, with an engrossing and fast paced story...a great intro to de Lint & Newford for new readers, and a delightful little romp in familiar territory for long time fans!
Little (Grrl) Lost by Charles de Lint
(Oh yes...read time update: Finished King Rat and will write it up soon. Now just a few pages into book 2 from the Wolf series I previously reviewed book 1 of.)
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