Jennifer Strange is your average 16-year-old (or she will be in two weeks) orphan. If, that is, your idea of "average" involves owning a fearsome Quarkbeast, managing a squad of aging sorcerers as they use their magic to rewire houses and unclog pipes, and, oh yeah, being the last dragon slayer in a line stretching back over 400 years. This is Fforde's first young adult novel (released last year in the U.S., though it's been available for quite some time in the U.K.), and I was relieved to discover that Fforde's hallmark silly intelligence is on full display here, without talking down to a younger audience. True, there aren't any of the sly references to classic literature that pepper his Thursday Next series, but Jennifer's story is just as complex as any of Thursday's plotlines. I could see this serving as a good introduction into Fforde's instant immersion style of writing. It's silly, it's fun, it's 100% Fforde, and that is a GREAT thing.
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