Tithe by Holly Black

Kaye is not like other teenage girls. Her mother, Ellen, is a guitarist in a rock band. Kaye often spends her nights at hole-in-the-wall bars where her mother plays. She often lives in run-down apartments with her mother and whatever loser boyfriend Ellen is with at the moment. Eventually things turn sour and they end up moving in with Kaye's grandmother, where Kaye spent most of her youth. As a child, Kaye distinctly remembers seeing and playing with faeries, despite everyone's claim that her perception of "faeries" are actually imaginary friends. As fate would have it, one night, Kaye ends up saving a faerie knight Roiben. After which, Kaye discovers that there are more than just faeries roaming the earth. In fact there is an entire enchanted realm, which Kaye has stronger ties too than she realizes...

I rather enjoyed Tithe. I read it several days ago in just a few short sittings. I enjoy Black's use of various supernatural creatures other than vampires and witches. It seems a little strange to me that this is considered a YA novel. It seems a bit more mature than that to me, but that is just my opinion. There is nothing specifically graphic of anything, it's just more of the language and the smoking. Black could have made it a bit more explicit I suppose and targeted a more general audience, but again, that is just my opinion. I am sure she had a reason for targeting a more specific age group, which didn't keep me from reading it. :P A good read for anyone looking for a fun escape from reality.