Devil and the Bluebird by Jennifer Mason-Black (review)

Since Blue’s beloved mother died, her only family is her wandering sister, Cass. After Cass fails to call when promised to, Blue makes a rash deal at a crossroads with a woman in a red dress. In the bargain, she loses her voice but gets a limited amount of time to win it back and find her sister—not a terrific deal in exchange for the promise of her soul, but Blue’s desperate. On her way with a guitar, a notebook, and magical boots that tell her if she’s headed in the right direction to find her sibling, she quickly discovers that deals made with supernatural forces are never as simple as they appear. Not only do the rules keep shifting, so does her understanding of who she actually made her deal with (and what other beings, good and evil, are out there). There’s intense poignancy in this story, as Blue learns about her mother, her mother’s lesbian partner who she believed abandoned them years before, and herself, suddenly silent while also newly brimming with questions and stories. Old-school Weetzie Bat fans will be enthralled with this musical, meandering book brimming with magical realism and all sorts of ways to find and give love.