Helpful Score: 5
horrible-cannot believe this is recommended for children twelve and up-definately skip it, unless you're into child molestation, drugs, smoking, drinking, and underage sex.
Helpful Score: 5
This book is about a young girl named Barbie blessed (or cursed) with beauty and forced into modeling by her controlling mom (an ex-model herself, living vicariously through her child). When she's 11 she meets Mab, a sarcastic fairy, who almost reluctantly becomes Barbie's friend. During this same time she's molested by a lecherous photographer. Her mother tells her not to cry, that life is full of problems and she had just better learn to deal with them.
Fast forward 5 years and Barbie's a rail thin, jaded model. Mab is still part of her life, encouraging her to have sex which I found bizarre seeing as she's only 16 . . .
This book was just "eh, so what" for me. I didn't connect with the character and the sparse writing style left me cold. The issues of molestation, teen sex, drugs, homosexuality, etc. seemed to be very glossed over but I guess that couldn't be helped seeing as the book was so short. Maybe I'm just getting too old for this stuff? Nah, that can't be it.
Fast forward 5 years and Barbie's a rail thin, jaded model. Mab is still part of her life, encouraging her to have sex which I found bizarre seeing as she's only 16 . . .
This book was just "eh, so what" for me. I didn't connect with the character and the sparse writing style left me cold. The issues of molestation, teen sex, drugs, homosexuality, etc. seemed to be very glossed over but I guess that couldn't be helped seeing as the book was so short. Maybe I'm just getting too old for this stuff? Nah, that can't be it.
Helpful Score: 3
I love Francesca Lia Block. She paints the most vivid pictures with her words. I highly recommend this.
Helpful Score: 2
Characteristically dark fairy story by Francesca Lia Block, incorporating magic and childhood abuse among other things.
Helpful Score: 2
This book provides a realistic view of modern Los Angeles. Mab is a fairy who may or may not be the figment of Barbie's imagination, Mab helps Barbie through a tough childhood of being put through the child modeling scene. Its pretty deep and definately not the book to be giving your teenager if your a protective parent without pre-reading it first, it deals with sexual themes and drugs.
