Rating: 
Summary: Wasteful
Review: "Your whole life you can be told something is wrong and so you believe it. Why should you question it? But then slowly seeds are planted inside of you, one by one, by a touch or a look or a day skateboarding in a park, and they start to unfurl uncurl little green shoots and they start to burst out of old hulls shells and they start to sprout. And pretty soon there are so many of them. They are named Love and Trust and Kindness and Joy and Desire and Wonder and Spirit and Soulmate. They grow into a garden so dense and thick that it starts to invade your brain where the old things you were once told are dying. By the time this garden reaches your brain the old things are dead. They make no sense. The logic of the seeds sprouted inside of you is the only real thing."Francesca Lia Block pushes the moral limitations of the love between a brother and sister in her latest novel, Wasteland. This love provides both intense pleasure and extreme pain to Lex and Marina. When their mother realizes that her children's love for one another is stronger than that of a sibling, she becomes distant. This pushes Marina closer to her brother and father figure. As they come into adolescents Lex becomes almost obsessively protective of Marina who does all she can to ensure his acceptance The two try to deny their sexual attraction by becoming interested in other boys and girls. But one night they cross the boundaries. When Lex realizes the immorality of their attraction he betrays his sister and then takes his own life. Marina is devastated with her brother's death. She turns to a friend of her brothers to help her search for answers to the questions that she has about his unexpected death. Block's readers are forced out of their comfort zones when they begin her book, Wasteland. Reading the quotes inside the cover, I would have never thought this book was going to be about incest. Had I known this, I would have never bought this overpriced book. I found the abrupt switching from Lex's journal entries to Marina to a third person narrative significantly confusing along with the use of exerts from T. S. Eliot's poem. Until page 19, I was baffled by the use of the word "you" as a term of endearment. Furthermore, the surprise ending is a weakness. I think Block might have meant for it to provide a justification for those who were closed-minded to incest. But she left me feeling like it was an unnecessary addition to the book. Maybe this book will shed some constructive light on this situation but it was disturbing to me.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing!
Review: As most of you know, if you've read Francesca Lia Block before, you sort of know what to expect. This one was a little different then quite a few of her books because there wasn't really any fantasy element in it. This book, however, was still magical. The way it is written is amazing. I loved how there where narration shifts. It kept it interesting and you get to see what's sort of going on in everybody's head which is something you don't usually get with 3rd person or 1st person where you only get one view point. It was relatively short which was upsetting simply because this book was so good I wanted to keep reading it. I've now read 10 of her books and, in my opinion, this was the best.
Rating: 
Summary: Just not the same
Review: Don't get me wrong, I am one of the biggest block fans out there.. and I liked this book, but i didn't LOVE it, y'know? it didn't grow on me like Echo or I was a Teenage Fairy did. It was missing something, though I'm not too entirely sure what. I waited months for this book, and was a tiny bit let down.
Rating:
Summary: You know what to expect
Review: For anybody who has read other books by Francesca Lia Block, you will know what to expect - a haunting story with beautiful characters in a world of sex, drugs, and love. She paints vivid pictures, and though this story doesn't deal with fantasy, the whole book is imbued with an ethereal feeling. Readers can only hold on tight while they wind through the world of Marina and Lex, the brother and sister that loved each other as more than family. Their story is doomed before it begins, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. However, there are always a couple problems. The first of which has nothing to do with the quality of writing at all, but rather that the book is quite short, and is a quick read. Despite the fact that this was a hardcover book (and therefore more expensive), I purchased it. When I got it, I was able to read it in one evening, even factoring in homework and dinner time. Now I'm upset that I just didn't check it out from the library, because unless I read this book two more times, it really wasn't worth the money. The only other thing I'm going to mention is my initial confusion at her frequent narration shifts. Sometimes Marina is narrating, and sometimes it is Lex. Some chapters are in the third person. Both Marina and Lex refer to themselves as "I" and they seem to be writing to each other, saying "you". For the first few chapters, I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but before long the lightbulb in my head went on and it all straightened itself out. Overall, a good book to read, but I'd advise a visit to your local library instead of buying it.
Rating: 
Summary: book
Review: I am pleased with this book because it isn't as predictable as Blocks' other books. I am so sick of reading about: mermaids, oleanders, doughnuts, angels, faeries, and all that other make believe crap in her plots. However... the plot of this story goes Nowhere!!! Brother and sister have an incest relationship. The end. Boring. And the narration in this book goes back and forth... you don't know whether the brother or sister is talking ... cause they keeping saying I and you. Its so confusing. I reccomend: Violet and Claire or Echo and leave this book alone. flb books get better reading it a second or third time around.
Rating:
Summary: not standard prose
Review: i loved this book so much, it may actually be my favorite by francesca lia block, and i'm a huge fan of hers. those complaining about the lack of plot and confusion don't seen to get that this is really more poetry than prose. hence the "rambling".
Rating:
Summary: An emotionally rich novel.
Review: Incest is one of those subjects we just don't like to talk, or even think, about. In her latest novel, WASTELAND, Francesca Lia Block forces readers outside their comfort zones and into a story in which the love between a brother and sister provides both great joy and incredible anguish.
Lex and Marina have always been close. One of Lex's earliest memories was of his sister as a baby: "Then you reached out and curled your fingers around me, so tight, I knew you recognized me. That was the first time I knew I had a heart inside my body." The siblings' connections only grow deeper as they get older; Lex is obsessively protective of his baby sister, and Marina finds herself dressing and acting like Lex to ensure his acceptance of her. As they enter adolescence, both siblings become intensely aware of each other's bodies, until their attraction to each other comes to a crossroads one night.
As a result of their encounter, Lex betrays Marina and then commits suicide. Marina is torn apart by her own grief and her unanswered questions about her brother's death. She turns to Lex's friend West, who is willing to stand back while Marina searches for answers and wait for her to be able to love again.
It probably won't surprise anyone that this book is for mature teen audiences. Readers should be emotionally ready to deal with WASTELAND's complex subject matter. In addition, the rapidly switching narrators and points of view (including some chapters written from the perspective of the dead brother) require a sophisticated reader, as does the extended passage from T. S. Eliot's poem that inspired the novel's title.
One of the book's major weaknesses is the surprise ending, which is probably meant to provide dramatic irony but instead feels tacked on and unnecessary. Readers who are ready to grapple with Block's lyrical prose and challenging topic will be rewarded by an emotionally rich novel about a compelling and thought-provoking relationship.
--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl
Rating:
Summary: Almost There
Review: It felt like Block was getting back to her Weetzie-esque style. Unlike in 'Echo', the characters were more real and relateable, particularly West. Although I've always loved Block's creativity naming characters, I did enjoy that she used more "normal" names; it made the unusual story somehow more realistic.
Still, I felt like the story and characters were rushed. Did Francesca Lia Block's editor force her to meet a deadline before the story was really finished? This is particularly evident with regards to the ending of the novel. It undermines the main conflict and felt like a cop-out. Maybe Block wasn't sure how to end the novel and ran out of time. Also, she could have spent a little more time on the main characters, particularly Marina. I loved her characterizations of minor characters--Lex and Marina's schoolmates, kids at the club--but I felt like something was lacking in Marina.
I'm always thrilled when a new Francesca Lia Block book comes out, but I felt like this one could have used a little more work. I would have waited a month to see what Block could have come up with.
Rating:
Summary: reminds me of an anime...
Review: or maybe a good slash angst fanfic. girls who want draco malfoy to press harry potter against a wall somewhere and kiss him will likely devour this book. sometimes the narration gets confusing as the two people call each other you, but that's really only during one chapter. if you didn't like it as much as the other books it's probably because of the fact that it's much sadder than the other things she's written. you want things to end differently, but you know they can't. won't. still, try it anyway and you maybe pleasantly surprised.
Rating:
Summary: Wasteland-confusing? I think not.
Review: The traditional tragic story of unrequiented love. The twist? The object of Marina's LL (love/lust) is no other than her older brother, lex. Shocking? Maybe. Original? Defidently. Conservatives be forwarned, there is nothing shy about this book. Although the language might be percieved as "confusing" in the begining, I think of it as mysterious. What is he talking about? Where will this lead? A book you want to read agien, and believe me, the second time will be all the more satisfying. So take a break from those dishes and absorbe yourself in Blocks lush, poetic writing. You will be glad you did. -S
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