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There are books that never seem to belong entirely to children, but they're not strictly grown-up novels either. Philip Pullman's fantasy novels fall into this category, as does Francesca Lia Block's nutty Weetzie Bat series. For those who love books that can be witty, knowing, and innocent all at once, Diane Leslie has created young Fleur de Leigh. We met her first in Fleur de Leigh's Life of... More

There are books that never seem to belong entirely to children, but they're not strictly grown-up novels either. Philip Pullman's fantasy novels fall into this category, as does Francesca Lia Block's nutty Weetzie Bat series. For those who love books that can be witty, knowing, and innocent all at once, Diane Leslie has created young Fleur de Leigh. We met her first in Fleur de Leigh's Life of Crime, and now she's gotten herself a sequel, Fleur de Leigh in Exile. A 1950s Hollywood brat with an over-the-top radio star mom, Fleur de Leigh is a narrator of deadpan formality and quicksilver goofiness. In Fleur de Leigh in Exile, she's landed in, really, the ultimate exile: Tuscon. No sooner does she arrive at the Rancho Cambridge West boarding school school than she encounters her former best friend, Daisy, who now goes by Twyla. In proper Boarding School Fiction fashion, the novel is deeply episodic, with pranks galore, adventure-filled forays into the real world, and of course some lessons learned. All through this slightly shambling and messy plot, Fleur de Leigh observes the world around her with her customary aplomb. Of one of her teachers: "His chin seemed to form its own hairless goatee." These novels are all about an eccentric, smart young girl's voice, and Leslie maintains it seamlessly. --Claire Dederer

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