You all have that girl in your family, the niece or cousin or little sister who recently discovered black, needs to discover Reality Bites if only so she can be annoyed like Janene Garafolo at life in general and really really wishes everyone would stop asking her what was wrong.
Nothing is wrong. Really.
Her mother tells her to "get that look off your face" and her father sends her out to do yardwork ("if you're going to be miserable at least you can rake leaves while you're at it"). It is your job to see her for who she is - bored, lost, confused, angry, half Wednesday Addams and half Jo March up in the attic desperate to write and terrified of the blank page.
It isn't easy being a teenage girl - honestly. The best thing to do is find your way in movies, music or books. I found myself in books when I was 13 ("Is Colleen reading again?!") and here are some recent ones that I can recommend highly for all those teens (and older) chasing after their inner goth.
Agnes Quill sees dead people - lots of dead people - and in the Victorian city of Legerdemain she is a detective for the dead. Agnes Quill: An Anthology of Mystery is a great graphic novel about a very dark and cool teen detective. Consider Veronica Mars working for the undead or Harriet the Spy with a whole different neighborhood. Agnes is smart and sassy and funny and this new story collection is a great way to get to know her.
Another favorite girl detective is Courtney Crumrin. Start with Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things and see the goblin filled world that little Courtney must navigate on a daily basis. Her parents are vacant headed idiots but her great uncle (who has a great stand alone comic of his own) belongs in Hogwarts. Courtney sizes things up around the family digs and figures out that all is most certainly not what it seems. She is one pint-sized pissed off individual and she takes her attitude out on every living thing in her path - no matter what the creepiness factor. Buffy wishes she was this tough. Courtney is great for the 10 and over set - no blood, but lots of atmosphere.
For the teenagers, introduce the world of Gloom Cookie. This is a romance comic for demons and the undead (and other odd creatures including uber geeks) and when you aren't yelling "run run run!" you are laughing your head off. There's a big bad, a supposedly doomed couple (who refuse to give up) and a circus for the demented. The series is a monthly comic but it is out in four trade collections right now. This is Addams family living, just way way hipper.
Juniper, Gentian and Rosemary is about stopping time, a vampire of sorts and a very cool bunch of girls. Our heroine, Gentian, is a thirteen year old obsessed with astronomy. She has the best telescope - I'm telling you these parents are amazing for getting her this thing - and she's trying to find her way in the world. Things get exciting when a most mysterious family moves in next door and Gentian and her two sisters become more than a bit intrigued by the young man. You read this wondering just what might happen - what will happen - but Dean is never obvious (which is what makes her perfect for goths). As a side benefit to reading this one, girls will turn to star gazing and Shakespeare - how cool is that?
The Blue Girl by Charles de Lint. Okay, it's de Lint which means it is fantasy, but of the "just out of the corner of your eye" sort. Imogene is tough and punk and just moved to a new town and new high school. She makes one good friend but finds herself the target of the local bullies and a group of mean little fairies (literally). She also meets a dead boy who could use a helping hand. The story is tight and Imogene is fearless. She's okay with a dead boy - of course she's meeting a dead boy! - and the way she handles all her problems is perfect. De Lint doesn't write a lot of YA fiction but your readers love this, send them in the direction of his short stories and let them go on from there. He is one of the best at voicing the thoughts of the disillusioned and depressed. He lifts you up and shouldn't be missed.
Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City by Kirsten Miller. Okay, I reviewed this over at Bookslut and wrote about it here also. I loved it, Leila loved it and it's pretty damn impossible to resist. A group of hardcore somewhat demented but incredibly wicked girl scout types who explore the hidden city below New York. They are brilliant to the extreme, hot on the trail of more than one mystery and led by the very bizarre Kiki Strike. She is proof that goths will one day rule the world. Read her book and wish you could join her gang.
