Baby Be-Bop

Rating:
Summary: It was a wonderfully described, uncommon, story of struggle.
Review: I love Baby Be Bop because it beautifully confronts a subject that most people are afraid to touch. Lia Block describes the struggle of a boy from L.A., during what is assumed to be recent times, and how he is having trouble coming to terms with his homosexuality. My favorite aspect of Lia Block's writing is her avante-garde description. I am normally a person who hates reading, but I was unable to put down Baby Be Bop, as well as the preceeding four books of the Weetzie Bat series. The entire Weetzie Bat series is outstanding but only those who can appreciate the subject matter will get a full appreciation of it.

Rating:
Summary: I LOVE THIS BOOK
Review: I LOVE everything Block has ever written. She is my idol. I read her books over and over because there is nothing else like them (If you know od anything e-mail me at: [e-mail]) When I grow up I want to make movies that are exactly like the books and I wouldn't change a thing. My favorite is Weetzie bat just because it is so classic but I also really like Cheroke Bat and the goat guys!

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Summary: Doesn't get better than this...
Review: I love everything Francesca Lia Block has written (except maybe The Hanged Man), but this one has to be my favorite. I could read it forever. Aboslutely heartbreaking and soul-wrenching. Dirk and Duck were my favorites in the Weetzie Bat series, and this was the story I always wanted to hear, exactly the way and wanted to hear it.

Rating:
Summary: Very good!
Review: I loved this book. It was so sad and I felt sorry for Dirk. I liked Pup at first, then didn't like him when he abandoned Dirk. That was somewhat rotten. I was mad when those guys at the rock concert beat him up, too. Very sad, but good.

Rating:
Summary: Modern Fairy Tale
Review: I read the entire collection of Weezie Bat Books (under the volume title of Dangerous Angels) and I couldn't put it down. Block finds a way to deal with true human emotion in such an imaginative and creative way that it becomes almost sureal. She portrays the thoughts and ideas in a non threatening, almost fairytail like way. Yet still, she draws emotion and feeling and captivates her readers. And in the process, teaches them something about themselves. I hope anyone who is afraid to pick up a young adult book and truly enjoy it will like this one.

Rating:
Summary: Sort-of weird... sort-of interesting....
Review: I thought this book was going to be a love story... it's not! I guess that kind of disappointed me. The first half is about Dirk growing up, some of it's really sad, it made me cry. The second half of the book, where "ghosts of Dirk's ancestors, including the mother and father he never knew, share tales of his past, present, and future through magical images, setting him free to know that true love in any form is right" is really confusing. The characters have a lot of hallucinations which I found to be really weird, and the simple message is kind-of hard to grasp through the writing. The 12 and up age recommendation for the book is crazy, I would say at least ages 15 and up. The writing is filled with flowery descriptions, but at the same time I feel like she could have showed more instead of telling the story. And I feel like the story isn't finished.

Rating:
Summary: A Curious Venture
Review: In Block's latest venture, she explores the very core of human sexuality through the story of the embracable Dirk. His stunning pride and unshatterable spirit propel him through his confrontation of his homosexual self. Dirk is an amazing character and captures the reader's heart immeadiatly. His heartbreaking loss of his love interest, Pup, his turn to a "punk" nature and his suicide attempt guide the audience through a startlingly beautiful sureal journey as Dirk's ancestors come to his aid to help him accept who he is. The frightening veins of fantasy collide with stark (in)humanity through his confrontations with homophobics, hate and the neo-nazi. This is possibly Block's most triumphant work, encasing skillful characterization artfully blended with a lightspeed plot. For any fanatics of the highly reccommended Baby Be Bop, try Flemming's Mind's Eye.

Rating:
Summary: A Curious Venture
Review: In Block's latest venture, she explores the very core of human sexuality through the story of the embracable Dirk. His stunning pride and unshatterable spirit propel him through his confrontation of his homosexual self. Dirk is an amazing character and captures the reader's heart immeadiatly. His heartbreaking loss of his love interest, Pup, his turn to a "punk" nature and his suicide attempt guide the audience through a startlingly beautiful sureal journey as Dirk's ancestors come to his aid to help him accept who he is. The frightening veins of fantasy collide with stark (in)humanity through his confrontations with homophobics, hate and the neo-nazi. This is possibly Block's most triumphant work, encasing skillful characterization artfully blended with a lightspeed plot. For any fanatics of the highly reccommended Baby Be Bop, try Flemming's Mind's Eye.

Rating:
Summary: Good plot...if only the writing were better.
Review: The book is about a boy coming to terms with the fact that he is gay. Or rather, that he wishes the world could come to terms with this. Fair enough. But is it too much to ask that a book be grammatically correct and that syntax and diction make sense? Yes, I can understand that dealing with a "different" sexual orientation in a world that is mostly intolerant and abusive is hard, and that there are worse sins than choppy incoherent sentences. And please do both of us (you and me) a favor and do not accuse me of being homophobic, because I am not. Trust me, I am no more merciful than this with heterosexual protagonists.

There are just plain too many teenager-aimed books nowadays that have this sort of choppy, half-conscious, half-delirious, not quite stream of consciousness style (if you can call it that) of writing. It's been done so often, starting from years ago, that it is no longer shocking, surprising, dynamic, breathtaking, etc. It's just bad writing. I'll have to disagree with any of the reviews on this page that say that Block's writing is beautiful imagery or prose, etc. It's not.

There are a great many coming-of-age books that deal with people and sexuality that actually have intelligence and heart, and still manage to have good grammar and sentences that flow logically from one to the next. Read one of those instead.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Story With Whimsical Writing~~~
Review: This book is one jiven' story with a bunch of other stories in it to reveal secrets and emotions of the wonderfully thought out characters. I can see the main character as one who has to go through alot of misery to accept the truth about himself. The writing, in many parts was kind of fantastical but realistic at the same time so it made for a book with great variety. You want to find out if my ideas a right? Find out for yourself and read this cool book :)