Charles De Lint

Little Girl Lost

Sarah Sammis

Having so enjoyed three books by Charles de Lint, I decided to try one of his young adult books. I chose at random Little (Grrl) Lost.

TJ has been forced to move into the city of Newford from the country. She misses her horse and the freedom she had. On her first night in her new room she meets Elizabeth, a teenaged Little looking for the same freedoms as TJ, except that she's willing to runaway from home to get them.

With the introduction of Littles into the novel, I was at first excited. But my warm fuzzy feeling didn't last very long. The novel changes direction when Elizabeth's family abandons her. TJ now has to help Elizabeth find her family.

In the other de Lint books I've read when something fantastic happens the characters who live there take it in stride. There's usually someone who can mentor the main character in the legends and magic of the area. In Little (Grrl) Lost most of the other characters are openly hostile to the thought of magic existing in Newford.

Little (Grrl) Lost is the 20th book of the Newford series. I could understand magic being an unusual or unimaginable thing if it were the first book. But the 20th? Shouldn't Newford have a reputation by now? Or an explanation as to why it's magical properties haven't been known to the general public? Is it the Mist, a spell or a pact of silence?

The final blow for me though was how dependent TJ and Elizabeth were on male help. They are the most stereotypical damsels in distress I've read in years. All the other books I've read by de Lint have had strong, well rounded and believable female characters. They only difference is that they were in adult books. I hope this book is a fluke and not something he does on a regular basis in his young adult books.

Little Girl Lost

Reviews