First of all...the cover has nothing to do with the story and is a bit distracting.
Meanwhile, this, to me, is a very mature YA novel: there are refernces to sex--but without the salacious details; and there is, I think, 2 or 3 obscenities. Otherwise the book is good, clean story telling, with very few difficult/uncommon words. The story(ies) is (are) written with each chapter describing the viewpoint of one of about a half-dozen main characters. I found this a very entertaining narrative device which kept me interested in the various links to the main story.

The main story details the conflict between the native (earth/animal) fairies of American mythology and the celtic fairies brought over from the "old country". The many minor plots describe the antics of a few of the nastier fairies, the murder of a deer princess, a mistaken crime with its follow-on revenges, and a few different unacknowledged love interests...most of them taking place in the world just the other side of normal reality.

And then there are the serious homilies to the ravages of early sexual preditors, losing a love to murder, the benefit of non-violence, the justification of anger, and the need to appreciate true honor. All in all, it was a pleasant trip through almost 600 pages in a fairly short time. ( )

Recommended by Willow H., and Alex at Lilly

Some people - Jilly Coppercorn and Geordie Riddell, for instance - know that there is more to the world than most humans are willing to concede: there is an otherworld and the between, where cousins and fairies dwell. Fiddler Lizzie is unlucky enough to run into some bogans who are hunting outside of their territory; Lizzie's sympathy for their victim attracts powerful defenders against the bogans, including Grey and Walker. But this incident is merely a skirmish in an old feud between Odawa of the salmon people and so-called Grey (names are important) of the corbae. More and more people are drawn into the impending clash, and worldviews clash as well: pacific vs violent, connected or separate. Jilly and Lizzie are both spirited away, and Jilly must fight inner demons and powerful memories in order to return.

Perhaps better read in the context of some of de Lint's other books (e.g. The Onion Girl); it stands well on its own, but there are a LOT of characters to keep track of, and with narration rotating between them, it's difficult for any one story line to gain momentum.

See also: American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Quotes

"Names are everything. If you know the full, true name of a thing, it is at your mercy." (30)

The only truth was now. The past was clouded by memory; the future, in the end, forever a mystery. Even to a seer. (Galfreya, 47)

"Unfortunately, what we'd like to believe is true, and what actually is, can be two different things." (Geordie, 104)

"The otherworld...there is so much about it that remains unknown. On the one hand, it can seem as though anything is possible here, and yet it follows its own set of rules. The trouble is that no one seems to know what those rules are." (Jilly, 135)

It's an easier pretense to keep up than you'd think, because we help them in how we'll grasp at any rational explanation to account for whatever supernatural experiences we might have. (Geordie, 152)

Why does it have to be like that? Why does wishing we could all just get along and take care of each other have to be a naive, innocent hope instead of something we could all actually work toward? (Jilly, 222)

"There's no such thing as impossible; there's only not trying." (271)

"If you had half the heart you think you do, you'd understand that everything that happens is everybody's business. You see something wrong, you do something about it. You don't turn and walk away." (Joe to Minisino, 443)

Trouble was, if you didn't have a clear enough idea about your own identity, you could become what the people around you decided you were. (445)

"We all have our natures, but that doesn't mean we should use them to excuse what we do. We choose what we do." (Anwatan/Calm Water to Rabedy Collins, 478)

"Nobody remembers things the way they really happened, only how we think they happened." (Scarecrow to Jilly, 490)

"There are some things you need to decide with your head, and others that you can only decide with your heart." (514)

"The memory of what you didn't do can be the strength that lets you do the right thing, the next time you see somebody about to get hurt." (Jilly to Rabedy, 522) ( )

I really enjoyed this book. It's the first I've read by De Lint. I love the world he's created where faeries, Native American spirits and humans are all trying (or not) to coexist.

This is one of many books set in this world and apparently many of the characters show up on other books. However, I was fine reading this on it's own, although it has some spoilers to some earlier books.

Chapters are from different characters' points of view. I know some people don't like that, but it didn't bother me. What was strange to me was that some chapters were in first-person present tense while others were in third-person past tense.

All-in-all, the writing was good. So good that I'm intrigued and want to read more of De Lint's books. ( )

The latest in the Newford collection. Jilly takes a dangerous journey within while everyone else deals with the animosity between native spirits and the faerie who came over with the Europeans. Jilly's world devolved a little too far into stock horror for my taste and the difference between the Jack, Joe and Grey characters was a bit fuzzy to me, but I enjoyed it anyway. (August 27, 2006) ( )

A real grab bag that'll reward you more if you've read some of the earlier Newford stories. Why? Because the cast of characters is rather large, some have backstories or baggage introduced in past stories. Regardless of whether you've read other Newford stories, you'll need to pay attention to all of the characters because it's not so easy to predict who is going to be part of the action.

That's part of the fun here - this cast of major and minor players really moves around. Their adventures are unpredictable with a few story-driving exceptions .

[a:Charles de Lint|8185168|Charles de Lint|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1494881016p2/8185168.jpg] brings together archetypes and bit players from fairy tales, fables, North American, Native American and other legends to pull off this complicated set of stories within stories. He also interweaves the perspective of touring folk musicians all the way down to who's working the merchandise table, setting some of the scenes at gigs and formatting the book with section titles that borrow from traditional music.

It's a busy book that wont be a favorite read for everyone, if you're looking for a little Newford taste test, take a dip with [b:Our Lady of the Harbour (Newford, #1)|291910|Our Lady of the Harbour (Newford, #1) |Charles de Lint|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1233552176s/291910.jpg|283225] or [b:Timeskip|25064074|Timeskip|Charles de Lint|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1425421192s/25064074.jpg|44747979], or to start someplace aside from Newford that'll sorta still get you prepped for this one, maybe try [b:The Wind in His Heart|36049789|The Wind in His Heart|Charles de Lint|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1502863852s/36049789.jpg|57626422] .

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