Valiant

"Valiant"
Holly Black
Simon Pulse, 2005
ISBN 9-780689-868238

Valerie, betrayed by the people she was closest to, tries to disappear in New York City. When a chance encounter with two other runaway teens leads her to the dark and dangerous world of street life, she finds out there's more living in the dark tunnels of the subway than she ever imagined. Val tries to understand the world of the Faeries, not the average Tinkerbells found in stories, and her connection with a troll may very well be the key back to her life.

Pegged as "A Modern Tale of Faerie", "Valiant" is absolutely creepy. It's a retelling of "Beauty and the Beast", kinda, but it's the first retelling I've ever read where the Beauty is not so self-sacrificing and nauseating. Val is undeniably human, and acts foolishly and impulsively. It makes her a much more sympathetic characters. The cast of street urchins is just as creepy as the Fair Folk they interact with, and Holly Black has a very vivid imagination. Definitely worth a read if you want a little edge to your fairy tales.