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juushikaAncient (2007) review of the entire series here (do not click) (I mean, you can, but I abhor my old reviews), but I'd never before reviewed them individually. I had a pretty similar rereading experience—still got pulled in by the same section—but appreciated breaking down the individual books in order to see more clearly what I find memorable (turns out it's largely the atmosphere built in the first book and propagated in the second and third combined with the gut-punch tonal shift/crying-a-lot character arc in the fourth). FLB showed me my first ever trans character (I think in Girl Goddess #9, and that the same couple reappears in Missing Angel Juan? probably something I should add to my reread queue), and nothing will quite meet that subversive, wondrous feeling, that sense of awakening—this thing framed as a mystery, as a secret (and which was, of course, culturally taboo), but also celebrated, a gift, literally in the narrative a source of ability, of possibility; but I can see that ethos throughout her work, even if some of it (see: magical Native American) hasn't aged particularly well.
Title: Weetzie Bat (Weetzie Bat Book 1)
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Published: HarperTeen, 2009 (1989)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 105
Total Page Count: 394,275
Text Number: 1491
Read Because: reread, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Weetzie Bat meets her best friend in high school, and together they begin of the rest of their lives in Los Angeles. Sometimes I have the urge to reread Block and nothing else will do, but with each reread comes doubt: is the writing simplistic? is the setting of fading plastic & palm trees too much, or not at all my style? But it was the same passage, now and in my 2007 reread, that dispelled my concerns:
This is a dream, glances into a messy fairytale life rich with heady emotions. It's deceptive YA, with a voice that feels too young and content that feels too old. It rereads beautifully, because the content ages up (I certainly appreciate the depictions of grief and of the AIDS crisis more now than I ever did) but mostly because there's nothing else quite like it: nothing but this series quite fulfills the craving for this series, and it can still invoke in me that sense of wonder that I find so memorable.
Title: Witch Baby (Weetzie Bat Book 2)
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Published: HarperTeen, 1991
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 110
Total Page Count: 395,170
Text Number: 1495
Read Because: rereading the series, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Once found on the doorstep, young Witch Baby seethes with emotion and struggles to find her place in Weetzie Bat's family. I like her characterization a lot—very prickly, very intense; it's relatable and creates interesting contrast against the whimsy of Block's world and voice. Witch Baby also feels more like a child, which ages down this book. That's not a problem: I like how this series plays with age and time scale over the generations. But it makes for a too-easy resolution and, as a result, a less memorable book. (Relatively speaking—I did still cry!)
Title: Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys (Weetzie Bat Book 3)
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Published: HarperTeen, 1993
Rating: 2.5 of 5
Page Count: 130
Total Page Count: 397,495
Text Number: 1502
Read Because: continuing the series
Review: Cherokee gives strange gifts to her bandmates, freeing them from their respective anxieties but diving them deep into the party scene. The magical Native American is probably Block's most visible flaw, and it's out in full force here. A pity, as the rest of the book is quite good: I like that much of Cherokee's narrative is turned outward, her characterization defined by her relationships; I like the book's feral, dangerous beauty. But the appropriation is so closely tied to the plot that it's impossible to look past it.
Title: Missing Angel Juan (Weetzie Bat Book 4)
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Published: HarperTeen, 1995 (1993)
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Page Count: 145
Total Page Count: 398,875
Text Number: 1507
Read Because: rereading the series, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Witch Baby trails Angel Juan to New York, and finds Charlie Bat's empty apartment and lonely ghost. This is my favorite book in the series. Witch Baby is the best character, of course, and the switch into her first person is beautiful—a coming-of-age story about holding on and letting go which is well-suited to her prickly personality. I like Block's New York and the textural contrast it offers to LA; diversity is a running theme in this series (albeit imperfectly rendered) and it's in joyful profusion here. I'm a sucker for a Jewish backstory. Beautiful, brokenhearted, evocative; the antagonist I find less necessary, but that's a minor part.
Title: Baby Be-Bop (Weetzie Bat Book 5)
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Published: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2019
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 110
Total Page Count: 405,710
Text Number: 1526
Read Because: rereading the series, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: A young Dirk, struggling and still in the closet, meets his family past and future. This one is ... fine. I like Dirk as a character, and I like his story conceptually—but in practice the breadth, the pacing, the fluid dream sequences all come to feel a little distant. I also don't appreciate that cruising is framed as a symptom of homophobia, but this is probably nitpicking when Block's depiction of queer characters was so revolutionary and formative for its time. So I'm a little ambivalent, but that's okay: in view of the series entire, this serves a purpose; and I still love the series.
Title: Weetzie Bat (Weetzie Bat Book 1)
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Published: HarperTeen, 2009 (1989)
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 105
Total Page Count: 394,275
Text Number: 1491
Read Because: reread, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Weetzie Bat meets her best friend in high school, and together they begin of the rest of their lives in Los Angeles. Sometimes I have the urge to reread Block and nothing else will do, but with each reread comes doubt: is the writing simplistic? is the setting of fading plastic & palm trees too much, or not at all my style? But it was the same passage, now and in my 2007 reread, that dispelled my concerns:
Fifi's house was a Hollywood cottage with one of those fairy-tale roofs that looked like someone has spilled silly sand. There were roses and lemon trees in the garden and two bedrooms inside the house—one painted rose and the other aqua. The house was filled with plaster Jesus statues, glass butterfly ashtrays, paintings of clowns, and many kinds of coasters. Weetzie and Dirk had always loved the house.
This is a dream, glances into a messy fairytale life rich with heady emotions. It's deceptive YA, with a voice that feels too young and content that feels too old. It rereads beautifully, because the content ages up (I certainly appreciate the depictions of grief and of the AIDS crisis more now than I ever did) but mostly because there's nothing else quite like it: nothing but this series quite fulfills the craving for this series, and it can still invoke in me that sense of wonder that I find so memorable.
Title: Witch Baby (Weetzie Bat Book 2)
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Published: HarperTeen, 1991
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 110
Total Page Count: 395,170
Text Number: 1495
Read Because: rereading the series, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Once found on the doorstep, young Witch Baby seethes with emotion and struggles to find her place in Weetzie Bat's family. I like her characterization a lot—very prickly, very intense; it's relatable and creates interesting contrast against the whimsy of Block's world and voice. Witch Baby also feels more like a child, which ages down this book. That's not a problem: I like how this series plays with age and time scale over the generations. But it makes for a too-easy resolution and, as a result, a less memorable book. (Relatively speaking—I did still cry!)
Title: Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys (Weetzie Bat Book 3)
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Published: HarperTeen, 1993
Rating: 2.5 of 5
Page Count: 130
Total Page Count: 397,495
Text Number: 1502
Read Because: continuing the series
Review: Cherokee gives strange gifts to her bandmates, freeing them from their respective anxieties but diving them deep into the party scene. The magical Native American is probably Block's most visible flaw, and it's out in full force here. A pity, as the rest of the book is quite good: I like that much of Cherokee's narrative is turned outward, her characterization defined by her relationships; I like the book's feral, dangerous beauty. But the appropriation is so closely tied to the plot that it's impossible to look past it.
Title: Missing Angel Juan (Weetzie Bat Book 4)
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Published: HarperTeen, 1995 (1993)
Rating: 4.5 of 5
Page Count: 145
Total Page Count: 398,875
Text Number: 1507
Read Because: rereading the series, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: Witch Baby trails Angel Juan to New York, and finds Charlie Bat's empty apartment and lonely ghost. This is my favorite book in the series. Witch Baby is the best character, of course, and the switch into her first person is beautiful—a coming-of-age story about holding on and letting go which is well-suited to her prickly personality. I like Block's New York and the textural contrast it offers to LA; diversity is a running theme in this series (albeit imperfectly rendered) and it's in joyful profusion here. I'm a sucker for a Jewish backstory. Beautiful, brokenhearted, evocative; the antagonist I find less necessary, but that's a minor part.
Title: Baby Be-Bop (Weetzie Bat Book 5)
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Published: Simon & Schuster Audio, 2019
Rating: 3 of 5
Page Count: 110
Total Page Count: 405,710
Text Number: 1526
Read Because: rereading the series, ebook borrowed from the Multnomah County Library
Review: A young Dirk, struggling and still in the closet, meets his family past and future. This one is ... fine. I like Dirk as a character, and I like his story conceptually—but in practice the breadth, the pacing, the fluid dream sequences all come to feel a little distant. I also don't appreciate that cruising is framed as a symptom of homophobia, but this is probably nitpicking when Block's depiction of queer characters was so revolutionary and formative for its time. So I'm a little ambivalent, but that's okay: in view of the series entire, this serves a purpose; and I still love the series.
