Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books: Amazon.ca: Francesca L Block: Books

Product Description

From Amazon

Lanky lizards! The slinkster-cool novels in Francesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat series have finally been compiled into one delicious volume. All of the ethereal, mesmerizing titles are here--Weetzie Bat, Witch Baby, Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys, Missing Angel Juan, and Baby Be-Bop--together like the big, beautiful family described on their pages. Block's unique, poetic style immediately draws readers into an intoxicating magical-realist world populated by empathetic, original characters (as well as a few ghosts, fairies, and genies): "He kissed her. A kiss about apple pie à la mode with the vanilla creaminess melting in the pie heat. A kiss about chocolate, when you haven't eaten chocolate in a year. A kiss about palm trees speeding by, trailing pink clouds when you drive down the Strip sizzling with champagne. A kiss about spotlights fanning the sky and the swollen sea spilling like tears all over your legs."

We cheer for these young women and men as they struggle with the universal trials of growing up, finding love, and letting go--all within the vivid, glittering, urban embrace of Los Angeles. Block's stories about finding yourself, being true to your dreams, and believing in what might seem impossible will inspire teens and adults alike with the resounding messages of hope and the transformative power of love. --Brangien Davis --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Magic is everywhere in Block’s lyrical and resonant fables. At once modern and mythic, her series deserves as much space as it can command of daydream nation’s shrinking bookshelves.” (Village Voice )

“A poetic series of books celebrating love, art, and the imagination, all in hyper-lyrical language.” (Spin )

“Transcendent.” (New York Times Book Review )

“Ms. Block’s far-ranging free association has been controlled and shaped...with sensual characters. The language is inventive Californian hip, but the patterns are compactly folkloristic and the theme is transcendent.” (New York Times Book Review )

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Customer Reviews

118 Reviews

5 star:		(97)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (118 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fairy-tales of love...dangerous angels..., Nov 11 2003

By

"jessikarose" (sterling hts, mi) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dangerous Angels (Paperback)

Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block is a wonderful poetic fairytale. The people who bash it need to realize just that: it is a fairytale.
The simplistic sometimes irrelevantness of it adds to the fantasy world that Block wraps around Weetzie and her friends. I have read this book repeatedly and love it each time. Block knows exactly what audience she is aiming at and she caters to it. The creative minds of teenage girl crave fiction like this: fiction that can take them to a different place, and what teenage girl is not fascinated with the concept of falling in love.
Weetzie Bat is well written and conveys precisely what Block is trying to get across, that love is a "dangerous angel". The fairy tale aspect of the story is what makes it so appealing. Where else could one find characters named My Secret Agent Lover Man, Weetzie Bat, Dirk, or Duck?
This story, much like Blocks others, is a story of teenage love affairs and what it does to a girl trapped in a world of in-between. The fact that it is told, at a couple different times, from other characters point of view, instead of just Weetzie's, is interesting. Block is truly a magnificent writer. This book is full of clever quotes and language that will stick in the mind of a 16-year-old girl forever. It expresses the pains, fears, and heartbreaks of falling in love, as well as the elation, happiness, and hopefulness that love entails.
I also would not suggest this book to anyone younger than maybe 15. I can understand where some parental concerns may come from, but as long as the teenager knows the difference between real and fairy-tales, and knows that it is just a fairytale, it is all right to read.

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1.0 out of 5 stars Terribly Written, Jun 18 2003

By

Riki Lynn (ny, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dangerous Angels (Paperback)

I picked this book up because the cover intrigued me, and it sounded interesting. Yet within the first five pages, i realized that it is horribly written!!! I did read further then those pages, hoping it would get better, but it didn't. la Block writes in short sentences, and jumps around a lot. i would NOT recommend this book if you are used to more sophisticated styles of writing.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Lanky Lizards, it's a strange world!, Jan 10 2004

By

Jamie Smith (TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dangerous Angels (Paperback)

When I first set eyes on this in a mid-town book shop, I put myself under the impression that it was going to be a mystical fantasy type book. I bought it. A few pages in and i'm thinking "What have I gotten myself into?" but I continued on and next thing I know i've read the first two Weetzie Bat books and am in awe. It's a strange world Francesca Lia Block creates for us. It's a mixed scene of retro 80's punk glam and spiritual awakening. Very odd indeed. Not only that but she has an amazing way of describing things that at first make you go "Who the hell speaks like that?" and then you re-read and think "My God! That makes perfect sense". There is one particular description of the first time Weetzie Bat kisses My Secret Agent Lover Man that really just made me sort of melt and laugh at the same because really is that not how kisses are? I don't know how she does it but she manages to find the words that you would never think of to say and describe things.

My only small complaint is the lack of timeline. With each new book time has passed between since the last one but yet we are never told how many years, months or whatever it has been. We're only given a vague idea. That made it somewhat frustrating and confusing.

I have read in some places of the suggested reading age being 12 and up but I think I would probably raise it more to somewhere around 14-16 as a good starting age for Weetzie Bat books. Not graphic or anything but there still is sex, drug abuse, self-mutilation and other things that I think make it more appropriate for teenagers than pre-teens. And though designed for young adults I do think anyone older could read these and still be just as thrilled with the world of Weetzie Bat.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars beautifully different
some seem to think that this book is poorly written but its really just the poetic style of the book. everything is written to flow. Read more

Published on Oct 14 2004 by steph

4.0 out of 5 stars good
Well i havent quite finished this book yet... but so far it is kinda confusing. It is a really good book tho. It has love in different kinds of places. Read more

Published on July 16 2004 by Emily