Brother to Dragons, Companion to Owls, by Jane Lindskold. Orb Books, 1994

This engaging first novel by Jane Lindskold, who has since become a well loved fantasy writer, has some unusual elements and blends science fiction with it's fantasy. Living in what seems to be a near future Earth decaying urban center, cut backs have forced the release of Sarah from the institution she was raised in. Diagnosed as autistic, illiterate and retarded, she can speak only in quotes. And she carries a two headed rubber dragon around with her, talking to it, listening to it and feeding it. On the streets, she's one more crazy lady talking to herself- albeit in elegant language- and making sense to no one but herself.

By chance, she is taken in by a group of street kids, the Wolf Pack, who are led by a madman, Head Wolf. But the madman has had the sense to give structure, responsibility and loyalty to the group, and it's a reasonably safe place for Sarah. She finds a way to earn her keep that doesn't involve prostitution- a common way for the kids to earn a living-and that works fine for awhile. An arrest- I didn't say it was a legal way to earn a living!- leads to it becoming obvious that Sarah isn't insane at all. Inanimate objects really DO talk to her, allowing her to escape the police station. The Wolf Pack kids began to take her more seriously at this point.

Soon it becomes obvious that someone wants Sarah badly. She, the girl who took her into the Wolf Pack, and an old inmate from the institution go on the run. They're successful for awhile, living comfortably with Sarah being educated by the fellow inmate, a former professor, but soon enough she is taken prisoner. In this laboratory prison, she begins to find out the truth about herself and her powers. Held by people who use her powers for their own gain, she uncovers a hellish family history that she was mostly unaware of. Her fate is in the hands of someone who is both insanely jealous of Sarah, and, I think, just plain insane. Jealous of Sarah's power of hearing the inanimate. Insane enough to try and capture that power for herself.