The Onion Girl (Newford, #8) in Beyond Reality

Aug 10, 2007 Wealhtheow rated it it was ok

Shelves: urban-fantasy, fantasy

The problem with De Lint is he's just not nearly as imaginative as he thinks he is. His "flights of fancy" are flat and derivative at best. Even worse, in my mind; he can't write believable dialog, friendships, or young people. At all. ...more

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Nov 06, 2024 Duffy Pratt rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Finally, in Newford's eighth book, Jilly Coppercorn is the main character. And this was as good as any book in the series so far, and better than most. For those new to DeLint and Newford, I would not suggest starting with this book. If you have at least three books behind you, this would probably work as a standalone. That said, there may be some references here to earlier characters/works that I didn't quite catch. Although this would probably work as a very good stand alone, my sense is that Finally, in Newford's eighth book, Jilly Coppercorn is the main character. And this was as good as any book in the series so far, and better than most. For those new to DeLint and Newford, I would not suggest starting with this book. If you have at least three books behind you, this would probably work as a standalone. That said, there may be some references here to earlier characters/works that I didn't quite catch. Although this would probably work as a very good stand alone, my sense is that there is much more emotional content that comes through here because of its resonance with earlier books.

The rest of this review is likely to contain spoilers, so read no further if you don't want to know.

Jilly, the perpetual optimist, takes a very dark turn in this book. It opens with her as the victim of a hit and run, paralyzed on one side of her body and from the hips down. This coincides with her having recently discovered the ability to enter the world of Faerie in her dreams. The story revolves around whether she will give up her real life and just vanish into the other world (which would spell her doom).

Also, for reasons that are never exactly clear, before she can heal her body, she has to deal with some longstanding, deep trauma that stems from her family. This book takes a very stark look at child abuse, and while those sections are riveting, they aren't pretty. It seems Jilly was the victim of abuse from her older brother, for which her mother blamed her, and that she finally escaped from it, which propelled her into her addiction and prostitution before she turned her life around. When she escaped, she left behind her younger sister (three or four at the time) who promptly became her older brother's next victim.

Now, her younger sister, Raylene, has heard about Jilly, the artist, and has come back to Newford for revenge -- on Jilly, not her older brother. She feels Jilly betrayed her, and Jilly's emotional scars largely come from guilt over the same thing. Both sisters have the ability to traipse through Faerie, Raylene as the leader of a pack of wolves who have recently taken pleasure in hunting and drinking the blood of unicorns.

I know this sounds weird, right? But deLint is at his best when he makes this sort of weirdness make sense. And I think he pulls it off really well.

Because Raylene is giving canids a bad name, the elder Canids, including Bone (one of my favorite characters in this series) have decided they have to end her killing spree, even if it means ending Raylene. At the same time, Jilly comes to learn that she needs to come to some sort of reconciliation with Raylene.

All this makes for an intricate and satisfying denouement. As always, the magic here seems truly magical, and thus is ultimately incomprehensible. And the magic is not used to solve any of the real world problems (a rule of deLints). But it makes the story richer, and there is a fairly compelling magical world problem here that coincides with the real world problems.

On top of that, deLint does his usual excellent job of characterization with some nice story arcs with rich character development. There's a bit less of the romanticizing of the homeless than deLint can be prone to, and also a little less of the overwhelming importance of art. Instead, I felt like he struck an excellent balance here, weaving a story that is both very dark, and hopeful at the same time. Probably the best book of his I've read so far. ...more

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Aug 22, 2020 Jenny T rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, urban-fantasy, read-in-2020

Man, this one really put me through the wringer. It was a story of healing and self-acceptance, but getting there was painful. Beautiful, in the end, and worth it.

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Oct 16, 2009 Carly Svamvour rated it it was amazing

I really liked that book.

http://wildcity.proboards.com/index.c...

I've read it twice. Have never heard an audio version of it, but don't need to - I absorbed everything in the first reading.

I recommend this writer to anyone who likes reading.

I think (not sure) it's appropriate for an advanced pre-teen too. I'd have to look it over again before I share it with my 10 year old granddaughter.

...more

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Feb 25, 2025 Maggie K rated it really liked it

Shelves: magical-realism

A beautiful entry into the world of Newford, where DeLint endeavors to pull back the layers of what makes up one of Newford's most central characters, Jilly Coppercorn. When the past she has put behind her comes back to haunt her, Jilly's friends rally around her to figure out the mystery behind her when life forces her to stop running from the past. ...more

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