Not bad but expensive for what you get...

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	• Little (Grrl) Lost Charles de Lint Viking Juvenile, 2007 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 7 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great CdL book for Middle School readers

I've been reading Charles de Lint novels and short stories for nearly as long as he's been writing them. And in that time I've recommended various books to people of a variety of ages. However, as fun as his books can be, not nearly enough of them were appropriate for younger readers.

I was very excited to see this title added to his small, but growing list of books geared towards younger readers. I think that this book is the first that would be appropriate for upper middle school readers.

Some of the complaints of one of the other reviewers are, to me, some of the strengths of this book for a younger audience. The narration stays fairly tightly focused on the two main characters: TJ & Elizabeth. The secondary characters are developed based on the amount of interaction TJ and Elizabeth have with them. And while both girls do change to varying degrees within the short time period of the book, the changes do not seem entirely implausible if you consider all that happens in that time.

This is a fine tale of how friends can change your life and yourself when you let them. And it is a fun entry into the rather large fantasy world of Charles de Lint.

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Amazing

Absolutly one of the best books I've ever read. I love how the author combines reality with the world of the fey.

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Fun romp in a Littles world

Who hasn't wondered if others live among us? I know when I was a child I fantasized about fairies, elves, and other creatures living close by. Okay, I admit, I always had a very vivid imagination. But what would you do if you actually did see one?

One such girl does in the book LITTLE (GRRL) LOST.

T.J.'s family has to relocate to the suburbs after a recent stock market crash. T.J. hates her new home. She's lonely for her friends and especially her horse Red, who she had to leave behind.

After hearing noises in the wall of her new home, out pops Elizabeth a 'little' who's 6 inches tall. But don't let Elizabeth's size fool you. She's packed with mega 'tude.

Both T.J. and Elizabeth forge a friendship. Everything is okay, in a rocky sort of way. Elizabeth's family has moved on but T.J. finds an author who has written stories about 'littles' that are uncannily real. Both agree to go to a booksigning in order to ask the author if she can help Elizabeth know where her parents have gone. While on the way, T.J. is bullied by a group of boys who steal her backpack, where Elizabeth is hiding.

Elizabeth is not so tough when she finds herself out in the open where things like cats can prove deadly. She runs into a 'Ranger' who shares secrets of her family. Elizabeth goes out searching for the truth.

T.J. in the meantime is sick with worrying about Elizabeth. She ends up looking for the author who has written stories about littles, hoping she might be able to help her find Elizabeth.

Once again Charles De Lint doesn't disappoint. I enjoyed following T.J.'s adventures trying to find Elizabeth. At first T.J. is timid but later she learns to trust her instincts on who to trust and what to do in order to help her 'little' friend. Elizabeth also learns along her own path in our world. This tale has a little bit of something for everyone. The reality of our world seen through the eyes of a 'little' is believable. Also I liked how T.J.'s character grew throughout the story.

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Not bad but expensive for what you get...

I don't know I've been reading CDL for decades now and this story while cute was so light and unsubstantial that I felt a touch ripped off.
It was not badly written but this story seems more appropriate as part of an anthology than a stand alone.
It also seems like someone was asking him to write a story that teens could read so it was missing a lot of what makes CDL so interesting, the dark side of his storys. Not that this is neccessarily a kids book but it was so close to being one I was suprised and how the dark plot points were pretty much glossed over.
I've started "Dingo" the CDL book I ordered but it has already become apparant it the same kind of book and I'm just not all that sure I care for this lighter, shorter and less mature style CDL story unless it is within a larger volume of stories. As it is I actually regret paying for these books only and feel short changed.

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vivid and magical

"Little (Grrl) Lost" is Charles De Lint's latest novel set in the fictitious city of Newford, the setting for much of De Lint's work that helped to establish the urban fantasy genre. "The Blue Girl" from 2006 is another novel set in Newford (Cliff note plot to that book: Punky teen Imogen wants to start fresh, and mistake-free, when her family moves to Newford. She makes friends with Maxine, straight-laced girl with an overprotective mother. As time passes the girls observe strange happenings at their school and wind up matching wits with some very mean fairies among other things.)

The story in "Little (Grrl) Lost" is refreshingly straightforward for a fantasy: Fourteen-year-old T.J. is furious when her family has to leave their farm and move to Newford. To makes matter worse, T.J. has to leave behind her horse, Red, and her best friend. T.J. has a hard time adjusting to city life and making new friends--until she meets Elizabeth: a punky teenager who lives with her family in the walls of T.J.'s house. Elizabeth is a Little by name. And literally, standing only six inches tall.

As time passes, the girls form an unlikely friendship and begin an even more surprising adventure as they navigate their way through Little-lore and the urban streets of Newford as T.J. tries to help Elizabeth find her way in the Big world (and maybe find her own place in Newford at the same time).

This novel is extremely complicated stylistically. The story is told in multiple points-of-view with varying narration styles. The amazing thing about this technique is that De Lint still manages to create a seamless narration. He transitions between sections easily without being redundant or leaving the reader at a loss.

In order to better establish the difference between the narrations, De Lint writes T.J.'s section using the traditional third-person, past tense narration ("Jane walked to the store.") incorporating periods from Geoff or Jaime's perspective to flesh out certain events. Elizabeth's sections, on the other hand, are written in the first-person, present tense ("I walk to the store."), a style that is becoming very common in contemporary novels. (This style is also what makes Elizabeth's sections of the narration sound more like De Lint's other YA Newford novel, "The Blue Girl.")

Most of the novel is set in the course of two very eventful days for the girls. Nonetheless, the narrative feels expansive. De Lint takes his time, fleshing out the details of T.J. and Elizabeth's adventures. The story is also fairly light, maintaining a generally upbeat feel.

The important thing to remember about the story is that T.J. is fourteen while Elizabeth is sixteen or seventeen. For this reason, T.J.'s sections of the story read younger than the rest. And rightly so. In addition to creating very individual "voices" for the protagonist's, De Lint also makes their age difference (and personality differences) clear with the divergent focuses of their narrative segments. That's really hard to do without making the characters seem exaggerated or flat.

Unfortunately, for prolific authors like De Lint comparisons become inevitable. The most obvious one being between "Little (Grrl) Lost" and "The Blue Girl" because the novels are both YA and close together in terms of publications. To be clear, this is not a fair comparison. "The Blue Girl" is longer which means it has more space to deal with plot issues, and the characters are older which means they are not going to sound like T.J. In fact, beyond being set in Newford, the books have nothing in common.

"Little (Grrl) Lost" does, however, have the same character types as "The Blue Girl": punk "bad" girl (Elizabeth/Imogen) and normal "goody-two-shoes" girl (T.J./Maxine). The difference is that the "good girl" gets a chance to voice her own opinions instead of leaving all of the narration to her best friend. This narrative split does, of course, create a different kind of novel but it is used here to good effect.

Despite it's relatively short length, "Little (Grrl) Lost" is rich with detail, but the narrative is never over the top with description or explanation. Even with its numerous narrative voices, the story is never redundant. Basically, "Little (Grrl) Lost" gets everything right in terms of writing conventions. De Lint once again brings Newford and his characters (Big or Little) to life in this vivid and magical novel.

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reviews: page 1, 2

When fourteen-year-old TJ and her family are forced to move from their farm to the suburbs, she has to give up her beloved horse, Red?but she makes a surprising new friend. Elizabeth is a ?Little,? a six-inch-high punked-out teen with an attitude, who has run away from home to make her way in the world. TJ and Elizabeth?the Big and the Little?soon become friends, but each quickly finds herself in a truly life-threatening situation, and they are unable to help each other. Little (Grrl) Lost is a delightful combination of realism, magic, humor, and hope, and is sure to win Charles de Lint many new teen and adult fans.

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