Valerie O. Patterson (Children's Literature)
Trying to leave behind her troubles at her previous high school, seventeen-year-old Imogene vows that she will fit in and be good at her new high school. She seeks out and becomes friends with another outsider, a straight-A student named Maxine. Their friendship blossoms, as Maxine’s studiousness rubs off on Imogene, and Imogene helps Maxine becomes less uptight and more self-confident. Despite Imogene’s new life, however, trouble still seems to find her. If dealing with high school bullies was not bad enough, Imogene also has to cope with her imaginary childhood friend, Pelly, who comes to life. She also has to deal with being able to see and communicate with the high school’s resident ghost, a former student named Adrian, and his mischief-making fairy sidekicks. Told in shifting points of view between Imogene, Maxine, and Adrian, the tale builds to a comeuppance for the high school bully and a climactic fight for survival with the dreaded “anamithim”--other worldly creatures that come after Imogene’s soul. Imogene and Maxine are fully-drawn characters, and the plot builds steadily toward the end. De Lint, called the creator of contemporary urban fantasy received the World Fantasy Award in 2000 for a collection of short stories, entitled Moonlight and Vines. 2004, Viking, $17.99. Ages 14 up.

CCBC (Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices, 2005)
When Imogene moves to a new town, she decides to leave her tough gang-member image behind. She keeps the look, with her punk hair, tattoos, and thrift store attire, but follows the lead of her new friend Maxine by attending high school regularly and even studying for exams. The popular cheerleader clique and their football player cohort try to bully Imogene into conforming, but she defuses their small-minded tactics. Life is smooth sailing, until Pelly, Imogene’s imaginary childhood friend, appears as a living, decidedly inhuman, being. On top of that, the geeky boy who’s been following Imogene around school turns out to be a ghost. The ordinary world begins to slip further into an ominous fantasy mode, and it is up to Imogene and Maxine to discover a way to right the balance once again. More than just one-dimensional heroines, these two young women are well-developed characters -- real teenagers with strengths and weaknesses who just happen to be surfing the Net for tried-and-true strategies against the supernatural. A rousing Halloween climax involving blue paint, vervain poisoning, and soul-eating anamithim offers everything a fantasy reader could desire. CCBC categories: Fiction for Young Adults. 2004, Viking, 368 pages, $17.99. Ages 13-16.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2004 (Vol. 72, No. 19))
Readers always know what to expect in a de Lint fantasy: supple, sinuous writing in a contemporary setting laced with fantasy neatly hardwired in place. Set in de Lint's fictional locale of Newford, the first-person narration trades off among three protagonists: Imogene, Maxine, and Adrian. Imogene had been hoping for a fresh start at a new high school after a dangerous past that included sex, drugs, and gangs: she's smart, funny, and knows how to work the odds. Maxine, under her overprotective mother's thumb, follows the rules but longs for just a little freedom. She and Imogene bond right away when their school's head cheerleader marks them for persecution. Adrian is the nerdy ghost of a dork who died at school and can't quite leave yet. Fairies like the evil twins of the wee free men, Imogene's not so imaginary childhood friend Pelly, and a shadow world impinging on this one conjure up satisfying elements of Buffy the Vampire Slayer--there's even a helpful British librarian named Ms. Giles. And yes, the tattooed and pierced Imogene does turn spectacularly blue in one of the many page-turning plot points. 2004, Viking, 368p, $19.99. Category: Fantasy. Ages 13 up. © 2004 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Janis Flint-Ferguson (KLIATT Review, November 2004 (Vol. 38, No. 6))
Redding High School is filled with bullies and fairies and one lonely ghost. Imogene is a new girl in school. She has left her reputation and her switchblade behind and is making an effort to fit into her new setting. She makes friends with Maxine, a self-described smart kid who the popular kids love to hate. The popular kids also love to hate Imogene, so the two new friends work to stay out of the way of the bullies. Although small in stature, Imogene has a mouth and an attitude that allow her to maintain a survival mode, but Maxine is an easy target. The bullies are only half the problem at Redding High School. The other problem is that the school is home to faeries, not the pretty kind but the kind of troublesome creatures found in Irish legends. The faeries are living in the school with Adrian Dumbrell, the ghost of a student who fell to his death outside the building. Adrian was also bullied by students and he hangs out in the hallways, too afraid to move on to the next world. Imogene and her quick wit have attracted the notice of the ghost, the faeries and the anathimim, soul-stealing creatures of the darkness. It takes Maxine and Adrian along with Imogene's family members, boyfriend, and imaginary childhood friend to save Imogene from the supernatural bad guys. Category: Hardcover Fiction. KLIATT Codes: J--Recommended for junior high school students. 2004, Penguin Putnam, Viking, 384p., $19.99. Ages 12 to 15.

Timnah Card (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, December 2004 (Vol. 58, No. 4))
Seventeen-year-old Imogene, determined to alter the downward spiral of her life, changes social allegiances when her family moves to a more urban area--de Lint's oft-revisited fictitious city of Newford. Ignoring the bullies who target her, Imogene focuses instead on negotiating a friendship with Maxine, a brainy, kind girl who was the lone outcast before Imogene got there. The two girls soon become involved with yet another outsider, the ghost of Adrian, a loner teen who died falling from the school roof years before in an unfortunate incident with some brownies (fairies, not food) gone bad. Intriguing as her friendship with Adrian is, it proves dangerous for Imogene, as his crush on her leads the still-resident brownies to lure Imogene into making herself a target for the soul-eating anamithim, voracious beings who stalk the boundaries between light and shadow. Each of the three likable primary characters in this tri-voiced narrative treads a path of self-discovery and growth, with Imogene giving the main focus and Maxine and Adrian providing background information and narrative tension as information is given and withheld. Though their slangy dialogue is a bit stilted, the self-aware characters are clever, witty, and wry, and the prose is otherwise quite smooth. The consistently attractive, shimmeringly dangerous environment, the sympathetic characterization, and the mirroring of the "real" world with the magical one will give readers plenty of incentive to immerse themselves in de Lint's peculiar brand of urban magical realism. Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2004, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2004, Viking, 368p, $17.99. Grades 8-12.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Spring 2005)
When seventeen-year-old Imogene moves with her mother and brother, she's determined to turn over a new leaf, and she resolves to help her new friend Maxine do the same. Imogene, Maxine, and the school ghost, Adrian, tell this supernatural story of unexpected friendship. The voices of the three protagonists are engaging from start to finish. Category: Older Fiction. 2004, Viking, 371pp, 17.99. Ages 12 to 14. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Kirstin Yeakel (The Kutztown University Book Review, Fall 2005)
Seventeen-year-old Imogene moves to a new town. She makes one new friend, a girl who is an outcast like her. She begins to hear all about the ghost of the school and then one day meets him for herself. So many things that seem make believe really turn out to be real; ghosts, fairies, even her imaginary friend, Pelly. Pelly is there to help her through all her troubles that she encounters with the house fairies of the school. This is the first book that I have ever read by Charles DeLint and I thought it was great. It was a captivating book right from the beginning. Each sentence brought you more and more into the book. It is one book that will be in my collection to stay. Category: . 2004, Viking, $17.99. Ages 13 to 18.

Elisabeth Hegerat (VOYA, December 2004 (Vol. 27, No. 5))
Imogene Yeck ran with a tough crowd at her last high school, but she has cleaned up her act since moving to Newford and befriending shy Maxine. None of it will help Imogene, however, when she starts having strange dreams about her imaginary childhood friend, Pell-mell or Pelly. Her problems start when a ghost, Adrian, falls in love with her. Adrian has haunted the school for a decade-rumor is that he was a bullied outcast who committed suicide. The truth is far stranger. Adrian died when the small, household spirits inhabiting the school tried to teach him how to fly. Now Adrian is fascinated by Imogene, who is willing to accept ghosts but not fairies. His friends' attempts to show her the other world that she denies results in Pelly's reappearance but also draws other, darker spirits to her. The shadows around her beg to come to life, and ultimately the existence of her soul is at stake. She is going to need a quick wit, Maxine's steadfast friendship, and a willingness to accept the impossible to save herself. The book combines the turmoil of high school intertwined with rich, detailed imagery drawn from traditional folklore and complex characters with realistic relationships. This reviewer was particularly impressed with Maxine's evolving relationship with her controlling mother. This book is not just another ghost story, but a novel infused with the true sense of wonder and magic that is De Lint at his best. It is strongly recommended. VOYA CODES: 5Q 4P J S (Hard to imagine it being any better written; Broad general YA appeal; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2004, Viking, 368p., $17.99. Ages 12 to 18.