I should have found these books when I was 15, but since I didn't, I will have to settle for loving them at 35.

Perhaps to today's audience saturated by TV shows like Glee or Gossip Girls and teen novels that cover everything from abusive-human-vampire-werewolf-love-triangles to drugs, what Francesca Lia Block did in this series may not seem revolutionary, but she originally published these books in the 1990s. Her books were banned in libraries because she was brave enough to explore issues around sex and sexual orientation, things that preoccupy teen brains but for which they get few safe outlets to addr...

I know without a doubt that I would have loved the Weetzie Bat books if I'd read them in high school or college when I was an alterna-chick who scoured thrift stores for cool vintage clothes and went to underground clubs every night with gorgeous gay boys who loved me, but not the way I loved them. Back then, I might have sworn Francesca Lia Block had based her contemporary fairy tales on the everyday lives of my friends and me. But I tried to read these books a couple of years ago, and found al...

This omnibus collects all 5 YA books in the Weetzie Bat series. These are fabulous books, although not every book will appeal to every reader equally, of course. The stories follow Weetzie Bat (yes, that's her name) from high school through mid-to-late 20s as she and her beau and their assortment of bohemian, artsy friends grow up and make lives for themselves in and around Hollywood.Throughout, Weetzie maintains a wild and magical view of the universe. Characters don't get names, they get descr...

I'm sure there are a number of reasons I didn't enjoy this book, among them the fact that I have a penis, I'm straight, I am not some kind of Valley-Girl-Hipster hybrid, and I hate California - especially Southern California - with a firey passion. This author's writing is too aggressively and pretentiously precious, the plots (such as they were) all felt tremendously contrived, and the so-called "insights"...well, again, I have a penis, I'm straight, I'm not some kind of Valley-Girl-Hipster hyb...

I don’t know how I’d feel about this collection of books now. But how I felt about them as a gay teen in the 90s? Life changing. Affirming. Hopeful. So that’s where I stand. I own them all and hope to read them again. Even if they don’t stand up, I will not change this review.

I was introduced to Weetzie in college during my children's writing class and it was the best return on investment of those college loans. Never thinking that I would be a fan of L.A., and never really caring... I completely fell for Francesca's version of it. Not just in these books, but also in her others... I think using Houdini's mansion is wonderful. This changed how I approached my own writing. I know that they label it as young adult, but I feel that anyone with this mindset could fall in...

Weetzie is interesting and often inspiring, and I enjoyed the fairytale-like quality of these stories. But for the most part they just left me feeling oh so sad. Sad that these characters seem to find happiness primarily in Romantic Love, that their lives are on hold until they find The One. Sad that they all go through such incredibly painful explorations to get there. Sad that sexuality/intimacy seems to be how all of them search for connection and meaning; there are no alternatives offered. S...

I seem to be one of the only men to write a comment about this book, but I tell you this; this book not only changed my attitudes about my own writing style, it changed my heart. I can't tell you how many times I broke into tears while reading this book. There were passages that I would read over and over... gosh, now I'm gushing. Sorry... If you have ever spent time in L.A. the visuals alone are worth the time. If you've ever been in love or want to be in love... these characters and these stor...

surfing, frosted pink lip gloss, good tunes, old cars, cute bungalows in Los Angeles, Witch Babies, gay best friends, platinum blond hair, good food, great friends, the best of times, the worst of times. i couldn't believe it when i was done reading and there was no more.... ::sniff::

this book could save the life left in any lingering remnants of your childhood (as well as clearing up eyes bruised purple by dammed-up tears). if only several of the books comprising francesca lia block’s dangerous angels collection would have secretly slithered into my bedroom when i was twelve or thirteen... (by fourteen the walls were already much too high.) i am reading this now (and have only so far read the first, second, and final stories), at twenty-six, after initially assessing it to

I tuely adore this book. I recall the first time I read this book was some years ago when my mom rushed into my room clutching a tattered book. she thrust it at me saying "you have to read this book! it's my new favorite book now!" seeing how much my mom loved that book (love itself may be even insuffiencent so much as adored), I delved straight into it. I've read it several times over now, the pages of our favorite book worn and stained with finger-grease. It now sits in a place of honor on our...

This is quite possibly the worst book I've ever read in my life. It's actually a collection of books by the same author, with the same characters and overlapping storylines. To be fair, I only read three of the five books included. Maybe the two I skipped were phenomenal. But I doubt it. Good grief, these books were bad. There are about two dozen characters and I swear there isn't one fully developed character between the lot of them. They seriously are all the same person. You can take any line...

I think The Weetzie Bat Books are of the WORST books I ever read. In my very personal opinion, the problem’s not the story per se, but the way it’s written with conceptual language and descriptively what makes it terrible. It’s a book where they want to take youth and understand topics like: homosexuality, VIH and different relation frames. The point is that the story’s language and the way it’s narrated sucks. It is my understanding as an educator that youngsters can be able to understand a mes...

I am completely in love with the Weetzie Bat books. Francesca Lia Block's writing is breathtakingly gorgeous, profoundly quirky, and lush with sensory detail without being overwhelming. In many places, it reads like a sort of distilled beat poetry suffused with the perfume of California blossoms.Block's short Weetzie Bat novels aren't fairy tale retellings in the classic sense. Their connections to folklore are both more elusive and far-ranging, and no one story seems to be a straight-up retelli...

Lanky Lizards, I love the Weetzie Bat books! Quoting the Wiki entry for this series: "The novel is set in a world not without pain, but seemingly without prejudice. Issues such as blended families, pre-marital sex, homosexuality and AIDS are described freely and without apology."(Yeah, there's been some backlash. Predictably from rabid Evangelicals and other Christian fundamentalist watchdog groups. Thbbbpptt!)These characters, while not particularly deeply drawn, are endearing and inclusive, wh...

I really wanted to like this book, because I know that a friend is very fond of it -- but I just could NOT keep reading it. This is where I have to admit that I am not the least bit "slinkster-cool," because I just do. not. get. Weetzie. Bat. I don't get the stupid nicknames. I don't get why it's written at a "See Spot Run" reading level, but completely inappropriate for anyone who actually reads at that level. And I was willing to TRY to get it, but by the time I got to "Weetzie Wants a Baby,"

One of the most original things I have ever read, unique and evocative. When I finished the first book, my impression was of a charming bohemian fantasy world on crack, not very realistic, but totally wonderful.As the books progress, issues are explored in greater depth and we see the fallout from the bohemian fantasy world. Block writes with such truth, beauty, and insight, I love how she focuses on the essence of what makes us human; eating, playing, loving, making the world better, trying to

These books are pure escapism, set in a pseudo-L.A. where magic is real, actions have no consequences as long as you really believe in them, and everyone lives happily ever after. Block is cross-marketed to teens and adults, probably because she doesn't really fit very well into either category--her writing reads like imaginative high-school poetry written by a grown-up new-age hipster. Yeah, OK, maybe this sounds awful. But for me, it comes off as endearing (kinda like Miranda July). If nothing...

I can't be properly objective about these stories since they were so instrumental to the heart of teenaged Candace, but reading them again as a 39 year old was quite something. I still liked them, I think there is a lot that doesn't fully translate into 2021 cultural awareness, but also the heart is there in its pure dreamy state. Reading people's negative reviews is also hilarious because indeed, if the writing style is not someone's cup of tea, that is very understandable. Witch Baby is my fav...