Weetzie Bat (Weetzie Bat, 1)

by Francesca Lia Block

Book Overview

"Transcendent." --New York Times Book Review"Magnificent." --Village Voice"Sparkling." --Publishers WeeklyFrancesca Lia Block's dazzling debut novel, Weetzie Bat, is not only a genre-shattering,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060736259
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.1" x 0.3" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

One of the best books

I loved this book, it tells about places I will possibly never go and experience. It was very descriptive and the imagery was breathtaking. I wanted to crawl inside the book and live in each situation that she describes in the story.

Wonderful Surprise

Last spring break I read I Was a Teenage Fairy while in Ireland and thought it was amazing. Although Weetzie Bat was mentioned on the back cover, I must admit that I was wary of reading it because of its ridiculous sounding name! Eventually I came around, which is lucky, because Weetzie Bat was a life changing experience. Weetzie Bat is an amazing book. Its like being high/having a really good trip. Reading it made me want to be IN the story, and to write one just as enchanting as it. Weetzie and her magical menagerie have earned a permanent place not only on my bedside table, but also in my heart! (Cheesy.) Weetzie Bat is amazing partly because it is a novel about serious issues disguised as a light, easy read. Do not be fooled by the pink cover or the whimsical characters, issues in the book include, but are not limited to, : AIDs, homosexuality, death, and drug addiction/alcoholism. READ WEETZIE BAT!

Read it in an hour

I absolutely love Block. I read this book in one hour. Block has a talent for weaving the supernatural with the modern world. It's like you know this magic could never happen, yet her writing keeps you believing it's happening as you are turning the pages. This novel allowed me to escape to a world that could never be, and I absolutely loved it!

Brilliant and Bizarre

Block's Weetzie Bat books are the ultimate in teenage rebellion, and have won all kinds of "best for reluctant readers" awards. They're modern-day Los Angeles magical realism, simultaneously gritty, au courant, absurdly impossible---and beautiful. And funny. And tragic. I'm always cautious about recommending them unless the parents are involved in the reading process, because of certain could-be-threatening plot twists (babies out of wedlock, gay heroes, Wiccan references), but they're terrifically interesting and accessible books, once you get into Block's flowing, lyrical, off-the-wall writing style. One of the strong underlying themes of the entire series is the seeking out and assembling of alternative families, in place of the dysfunctioning genetic family. And there are a great many conservative adults out there who don't really want teenagers to become aware that this is possible...

a fun wacked-out feminist fairy tale

What a bizarre read! I had no idea that young adult fiction like this existed when I was a teenager, but I'm really glad to know that it does. Homosexuality, single parenthood, non-traditional families...how this book could make it onto the bookshelves in these conservative times of ours is beyond me, but it gives me hope, and really makes me admire the courage of the author. While I think that other readers in their twenties, like me, would enjoy the whimsical writing style and charming story, I think this would be a great book for younger readers (probably grades 6 and up). It conveyed the messages of acceptance, unconditional love, compassion for others, and the bonds of love and family that we create with our friends more beautifully than a lot of more serious texts I have read. Fabulous!

so it's not Sweet Valley High...get over it...

I first read Weetzie Bat in 9th grade....and I was almost shocked by how good it was. I know the book's not especially realistic, but it was one of the first I'd ever read that dared to be honest enough to say that sex can be both an enjoyable, natural thing, as well as an incredibly scary, dangerous thing...that someone who's gay could be a kind, funny, foolish normal person...things I'd always sort of suspected, but that no one had ever told me. Besides, even if all that stuff still bothers you, Francesca Lia Block's style is just to incredible to pass up....I don't know how to describe it, but her prose is just so rich and original, you can almost taste it...