AJ L. (pyrajane) reviewed Weetzie Bat (Weetzie Bat, Bk 1) (10th Anniversary Edition) on + 69 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
How do you describe this book? It's like ADHD in print and it's been banned in so many schools because of (gasp) drugs, sex, homosexuality, drinking, and because if you read it, you'll become a horrible person.
I love this book.
Weetzie is a free spirit who wants to create beauty, listen to real music and eat great food, fall in love, and some day play drums in front of a gigantic crowd while wearing the most beautiful pajamas.
The book tries to capture her life as she moves through it, but you feel like Francesca Lia Block is just barely able to keep up and is hanging on for the ride (and dear life), which is why I love this so. Block's job is to get as many words down on paper to describe what's happening before Weetzie bops off to the next thing.
Yes, I know Weetzie isn't real and Block created her, but it feels like once Weetzie was given a name, she took over the book.
Read it and support banned books every where!
I love this book.
Weetzie is a free spirit who wants to create beauty, listen to real music and eat great food, fall in love, and some day play drums in front of a gigantic crowd while wearing the most beautiful pajamas.
The book tries to capture her life as she moves through it, but you feel like Francesca Lia Block is just barely able to keep up and is hanging on for the ride (and dear life), which is why I love this so. Block's job is to get as many words down on paper to describe what's happening before Weetzie bops off to the next thing.
Yes, I know Weetzie isn't real and Block created her, but it feels like once Weetzie was given a name, she took over the book.
Read it and support banned books every where!
Sarah H. reviewed Weetzie Bat (Weetzie Bat, Bk 1) (10th Anniversary Edition) on + 8 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Block's top book, about a spirited girl, her best friends, her dog and her life in a little pink and blue cottage. Weetzie Bat is easy to relate with and is truely a great read.
Rose T. (WhiskeyBat) -
Helpful Score: 2
Love this author, first read this in jr high an it's still one of my favorite quick reads when i need something to lift my spirits!
Karen U. (editorgrrl) reviewed Weetzie Bat (Weetzie Bat, Bk 1) (10th Anniversary Edition) on + 255 more book reviews
A PoMo fairy tale, full of hipster cool. Lanky lizards! A tiny trade paperback (6.3 x 4.2 x .4 inches, 3.4 oz, 113 pgs.). Read more at atombooks.co.uk. Reader's guide available at harperchildrens.com.
From Publishers Weekly
An offbeat heroine shares a Hollywood cottage with three equally quirky companions; in PW 's words, "Block's first book is related in a breezy, knowing voice; her strange and sparkling tribute to growing up in L.A. is a rare treat for those sophisticated enough to appreciate it."
Ages 12-up.
From School Library Journal
Grade 10-Up
A brief, off-beat tale that has great charm, poignancy, and touches of fantasy. Weetzie, now 23, is a child of Hollywood who hated high school but loves the memories of Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin, plastic palm-tree wallets, and the roller-skating waitresses at Tiny Naylor's. She wears a bleached-blond flattop and Harlequin sunglasses, covers her '50s taffeta dresses in glittery poetry, and sews fringe down the sides of her minis in sympathy with the plight of the Indian. Nobody understands her, least of all her divorced bicoastal parents, until she meets Dirk, who takes her slamdancing at the hot clubs in L.A. in his red '55 Pontiac. When he tells her he's gay, they decide to go "duck-hunting" together. He meets his ideal blond surfer, and Weetzie finds her Secret Agent Lover Man. They all move in together, make movies that become underground successes, and have a baby. This recreates the ambiance of Hollywood with no cynicism, from the viewpoint of denizens who treasure its unique qualities. Weetzie and her friends live like the lillies of the field, yet their responsibility to each other and their love for the baby show a sweet grasp of the realities that matter. As in Rosemary Wells' None of the Above (Dial, 1974), these kids spend no time considering college or career. Their only priority is finding love and keeping it once they find it. "'I don't know about happily ever after. . . but I know about happily,' Weetzie Bat thought."
From Publishers Weekly
An offbeat heroine shares a Hollywood cottage with three equally quirky companions; in PW 's words, "Block's first book is related in a breezy, knowing voice; her strange and sparkling tribute to growing up in L.A. is a rare treat for those sophisticated enough to appreciate it."
Ages 12-up.
From School Library Journal
Grade 10-Up
A brief, off-beat tale that has great charm, poignancy, and touches of fantasy. Weetzie, now 23, is a child of Hollywood who hated high school but loves the memories of Marilyn Monroe and Charlie Chaplin, plastic palm-tree wallets, and the roller-skating waitresses at Tiny Naylor's. She wears a bleached-blond flattop and Harlequin sunglasses, covers her '50s taffeta dresses in glittery poetry, and sews fringe down the sides of her minis in sympathy with the plight of the Indian. Nobody understands her, least of all her divorced bicoastal parents, until she meets Dirk, who takes her slamdancing at the hot clubs in L.A. in his red '55 Pontiac. When he tells her he's gay, they decide to go "duck-hunting" together. He meets his ideal blond surfer, and Weetzie finds her Secret Agent Lover Man. They all move in together, make movies that become underground successes, and have a baby. This recreates the ambiance of Hollywood with no cynicism, from the viewpoint of denizens who treasure its unique qualities. Weetzie and her friends live like the lillies of the field, yet their responsibility to each other and their love for the baby show a sweet grasp of the realities that matter. As in Rosemary Wells' None of the Above (Dial, 1974), these kids spend no time considering college or career. Their only priority is finding love and keeping it once they find it. "'I don't know about happily ever after. . . but I know about happily,' Weetzie Bat thought."
