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Weetzie Bat (10th Anniversary Edition)

Weetzie Bat (10th Anniversary Edition)

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.19
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Weird, but good
Review: This book tells the story of a older teenager, Wezzie Bat and her friends lifes. It is wrotten in an interesting, lyric way, yet the writing can be confusing. I thought that the writing did not include enough detail. Some parents may be against this book, as it includes homosexuality, very-alternative families, and witch-craft references. However, I think this is a good book, but not nearly as good as other books by Block. I would reccomeend this to high school students, looking for a quick, short read. I wish this book had been longer and more developed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Brilliant and Bizarre
Review: 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...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best and most original books out there!
Review: This book is one of the most original I've ever read! I'm a huge fan of Block's writings and I was really excited to read Weetzie Bat which has been called her best and most interesting book. So I read it. If you don't read this book you're missing out!

It's about Weetzie Bat who meets Dirk. But it's not what you would expect. Dirk is gay and longs for his perfect "duck." Weetzie and Dirk are best friends and when Dirk's Grandma Fifi gives Weetzie a magic lamp with a genie that's when things get interesting.

Weetzie is granted 3 wishes. She wishes for Dirk a "duck" and that's just what he gets. She wishes for herself a Secret Agent Lover Man and thats what she gets. And she wishes for a house for them all to live in. Then theres news that Grandma Fifi has passed away and left them the house.

Then Weetzie wants a baby. I'm not gonna say anymore! You need to read this book yourself! It is one of the best I've ever read! You're in for a read of your life!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Too short
Review: I finished this book in about an hour and a half. I really enjoyed it but it was WAY too short. I like almost all of Francesca's Weezie bat books, although they are all about the same length. I Reccomend "Dangerous Angels" to the NEW Francesca Lia Block Fans..because it has the whole series in one 500 page book. But Weeztie Bat itself, was really good. Read it!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Fair Debut... But Doesn't Compare With Later Works
Review: Alternative author Francesca Lia Block made her way to the center of the literary stage in 1989 with the first of her quintet of books, DANGEROUS ANGELS: THE WEETZIE BAT BOOKS. The first book, WEETZIE BAT, tells the story of a punk eighteen year-old from "Shangri-L.A." named Weetzie. She is skinny and pale with a bleach-blonde flat-top and it is not unusual for her to be dressed in a 1950's prom dress with combat boots. Weetzie Bat feels lost at high school, where her peers are either engrossed in their studies or obsessed with cliques. They are hopelessly oblivious to the small pleasures of life: cheese-been-pastrami-and-hot-dog burritos, plastic palm trees, and punk music. Except Dirk. Weetzie and Dirk ride around L.A. in Dirk's flashy red Pontiac named Jerry with Weetzie's Dog, Slinkster-Dog. Then, Dirk confesses to Weetzie that he is gay. Her response is simply, "Now we can go duck-hunting together!"

Weetzie and Dirk's romantic life is something of a flop at first, as they fall for all sorts of shady characters. Then, they decide to visit Dirk's grandmother, who lives in a beautiful house that looks like it comes from a confectionary shop. It is only when she gives Weetzie a small bottle-shaped lamp that everything changes. When Weetzie rubs the lamp, a genie appears and offers her 3 wishes. Weetzie wishes for a duck for her, a duck for Dirk, and a house like Dirk's grandmother's.

Almost immediately, Dirk calls and tells Weetzie that his aged grandmother has died and left the house to them. Soon after that, he informs her that he has met a Duck, who is incidentally named "Duck". Weetzie takes up a job waitressing at a cafe, where she meets a Chinese woman named Ping-Chong, her Jamaican husband, Valentine Jah-Love, and their small toast-colored son, Valentine Ping-Chong. She also meets an independent filmmaker named My Secret Agent Lover Man. The two fall instantly in love.

Soon, however, Weetzie Bat wants to have a baby. When My Secret Agent Lover Man will not oblige, Weetzie has group-sex with Duck and Dirk. Angry, My Secret Agent Lover Man vanishes. Weetzie gives birth to a beautiful little girl, who she names Cherokee Bat. Soon, My Secret Agent Lover Man returns. However, he falls mysteriously ill. When a Lanka Witch named Vixanne appears at the door, the truth comes out: My Secret Agent Lover Man cheated on Weetzie while he was away and is now the father of a Witch Baby, whom Vixanne is now surrendering to him. At first, Weetzie is understandably angry, but who can stay angry at the sight of a little witch baby with purple eyes and curled toes? Thus, Weetzie's family is assembled. Together, they must battle the dangerous yet beautiful world of love, lust, emotions, the ephemeral, of drugs, suicide, abuse, and AIDS and art, to make their way at least happily--if not ever after.

I liked WEETZIE BAT, but it is not nearly as good as some of Francesca Lia Block's later novels. Ms. Block's writing style over the years, and she has begun to tackle deeper issues with more seriousness. This was a very short book that focused more on flashy description rather than characters and depth. The plot covers an amazingly large amount of ground and topical issues for such a short book, but the characters are not fully developed and overshadowed by glitzy scenery. Overall, this was a fair debut, but I am happy that Francesca Lia Block has expanded her writing style beyond the breezy and light Weetzie Bat. If you did not like this book, don't give up on Block yet!!!
Try THE HANGED MAN, VIOLET AND CLAIRE, or I WAS A TEENAGE FAIRY, they are superb!!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: weetzie bat books
Review: i absolutely love it!! baby be bop wasnt as great as i thought it would be but the other ones are wonderful!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not your average book!
Review: It's sad that more people don't know about this one. Some people just can't follow or appreciate a book like this, but if you're open-minded and imaginative, and want something out of the ordinary, read this book. There is a sense of innocence to normally serious life events and issues, such as homosexuality, death, and "making babies." This kind of approach is a lesson to everyone, that life wasn't always made to take so seriously.
I'm also fascinated at how involved I got in the story. I felt like I was there, what it was like to be in L.A., in that house, with those people...
READ THIS!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: good
Review: in order for a person to enjoy this book, or in this case, any book by miss block, you must be into fantasy! i think all of her book are quite grand.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Can I give this book zero stars?
Review: This book sucked, pure and simple. I thought it might be good, but I couldn't get into the weird style of writing. A few parts made me laugh, like when the "My Secret Agent Man" she wished for actually turned up, and was named My Secret Agent Man. The rest of the book was hard to follow and pointless, but I do have to give the author credit for dealing with stuff like homosexuality, broken families, etc. If you like quirky teen books, then go for it, but I personally hated this book.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: ack.
Review: I opened this book with high expectations, maybe that was my first mistake. I was told that Ms. Block's style of writing was poetic and just absolutely wonderful. While reading it, I found that she tends to ramble and babble and is not very descriptive and uses 'and' in one sentence way too much. (<- an example of what I mean.)

The plot (if you REALLY want to call it that) was bloody boring and pointless. It just went on and on and then ubruptly ended, leaving me sort of unfulfilled, sitting there wondering what the point was and wishing I hadn't spent the hour reading it.

My initial rating would be 0 stars, but I had to give it at least one for keeping me turning the pages to see if the story would ever pick up.


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