Little (Grrl) Lost

Reader reviewed by mlecompt

T.J. and her family have moved from their rural farmhouse to the suburbs. She hates it, misses her horse, and is having trouble making new friends. One day she swears she can hear shouting coming from inside her walls. She stays up late and discovers a six-inch tall, 17-year-old girl named Elizabeth running away from home. T.J. decides to look out for her, even though Elizabeth has a bit of an attitude. Things get hairy when T.J. tries to take Elizabeth to a book store to visit an author who has written stories about Littles. A gang of boys steals T.J.'s backpack with Elizabeth inside. Now split up, T.J. continues to try to find the author and Elizabeth has an adventure trying to get into the city to meet up with someone who may be able to help her transform into a bird.

I felt like this book was not up to the quality level of The Blue Girl. T.J. and Elizabeth were interesting characters, but after they are split up, the shifting between viewpoints is jarring. I liked the idea about a Big befriending a Little and there was a lot interesting back story, but the main plot was a bit plodding. I also had a problem with the way T.J. treated Geoff, an employee at the book store. He helps her when the gang of boys attack her and drives her to another of the author's book signings, but when T.J. tells him about Elizabeth he thinks she's a little crazy and wants to take her home. She leaves the car and tells people that he's following her around, basically stalking her. Geoff may be a bit of a tool, but I don't see how T.J. is justified in treating him this way. Her behavior seems to be condoned by De Lint since none of the other characters call her on this. Overall I think this book has some very good points, but is too flawed for more than three stars.