Abuse issues, done very "dreamily", in the usual Block style. I think this was her first YA book published that wasn't in the Dangerous Angels/Weetzie Bat series.

One of the more mature and unabashed of Block's works (as far as her YA novels are concerned). The Hanged Man packs a sobering punch and a very candid, sobering look at the very real issues that many adolescents are forced to deal with. Lia Block leaves no stone unturned; no subject is too taboo for her to tackle with her quiet, poetic grace, which makes the subject matter easier to digest. I don't consider myself a very prudish person, especially with the novels that I was exposed to as a teen

This book stirred me...a whirlwind of imagery; I read it in one sitting, about two hours. Although my experience does not match that of the characters exactly, I felt a vicarious link with Laurel and her emotional plight...this book took me back to a time in my life that I felt this same roller coaster; out-of-control grief. Anorexia connected us; one way to deal with the pain is to stop living as much as possible for a time, hole up, develop a numbness. Your life is unrecognizable, changed irre...

did i mention that i have a tattoo because of this book? francesca lia block is the sophia coppola of young adult literature. she explores the inner workings of young women via dreamy, romantic, imaginative language that is potent and visceral. and while sometimes her tactics are heavy-handed --- ie, i find what her character emotes in this book is typical to most 14/15/16 year old girls, not sure that she necessarily needed to use incest as a means of achieving an emotional whollop of a point -...

I've been an avid Block fan since a friend had me read Violet & Claire in 2001, after which I went out and bought all the books on the shelf at Barnes & Noble. Hanged Man has always been one of my favorites. It's always struck me as odd, as it's one of the touchier subjects, centering around molestation and repressed memories, but I suppose I felt I could identify, and her writing is just incredible.As per usual with FLB books, her style is unique. Reality meats fantasy, poetry meets prose.Laure...

Meh. I really think she is overrated. Some of her writing is beautiful but mostly I think it’s overdone and trying too hard. I love symbolism but when I have to create that after every line is a bit heavy handed.

i loved this.

"I will be strength with her lion."A little bit dark, definitely intense and light as a feather! This was a beautiful read full of poetic prose. Francesca's writing is like a piece of art. You have to interpret what is before your eyes. I almost felt like I was walking through a gallery while reading this book. It was so vivid and colourful. The intense subject matter aside this story was told with such tenderness and passion. A magical journey of emotions that will lead you to triumph. This is

3.5 for this one. It was dark. Very dark. It was more like reading a stream-of-consciousness epic poem than a novel because there were so many metaphors and beautiful, startling imagery. I would read it again just for the imagery because the plot and characterization definitely leave you wanting more. However, because it is told from the POV of a troubled young woman, it makes sense that her perceptions of the people around her are kind of muddled. You feel like you're looking at everyone throug...

It would probably be too romanticized for me now, and the race and culturally appropriative bits make me flinch, but it does capture something of what adolescence was like for me as a girl in the 80s, this mix of desire and fear and the sexuality looming dangerous (men, rapists, AIDs). This is only barely hopeful, ending with something like the decision to try to heal rather than healing itself; the book itself is full of indirections and asides that tell the story, so perhaps it's fitting that

This book was so similar to other books by Block that I was in a constant state of deja vu. Tragic girl, check. Sexual dysfunction, check. Characters that may or may not exist, check. Los Angeles, artists, drugs, faerie references, check check check check. Although I did wish there was greater difference between The Hanged Man and others (Echo, I Was a Teenaged Fairy, etc.) I find it impossible not to appreciate Block's prose. The way she writes emotion is unmatched. Her use of symbolism and nev...

I read this book for the first time when I was a teenager and I remember it being far more powerful and moving than it actually is. I never realized it was so heavily centered around the AIDS crisis. While I remembered the storyline in broad strokes, there were a lot of details I'd forgotten. It seemed far too easily wrapped up and this book just doesn't sit right with me.

Favorite book of all time. Dark and lucid with its imagery, it is one of Francesca's best. I first read it when I was 13 years old and then I have always found myself returning to it. With each read the soft language of her words are peeled back to reveal something deeper. Francesca's writing is like antique lace, you think that there is only beauty and that it is something soft and light but then you realize that underneath the lyrical nature of her words there is something hidden and sensual.

I'm having so much trouble rating books these days, but I *think* I'm giving this one a three. I wish there were half stars - it would make things easier for me.I'm trying to work my through my vast collection of Francesca Lia Block's books, all of which I read in high school and am only just revisiting. If I remember correctly, many of her books have themes similiar to this one - that is themes relating to sexuality (and especially sexuality, love, and intimacy in the wake of some form of abuse...

This book was one among several in a lot I purchased, but it was the first one I read. I chose it because the description grabbed my attention, not because the book was short - which it was. I read it in a couple of hours. I was excited when I found out it would be a dark tale, and I was also intrigued by the poetic style. This is the first book I've read by Block, by the way, and I did not know of her beforehand. That said, I really wanted to like it more than I did. Some people might say that

This is the book that made me want to write nd draw ...its one of my favorite books , its such a surreal novel because of it I have been able to take painful experiences and put them into my fictional stories. Even more, I've learned that through this art of writing I can process, understand, and even transcend my experiences- I can heal through the characters and worlds I have created, that is a priceless gift.

This book was very descriptive and mature had a lot of graphic parts. It also had a lot of witch based ideas in it which was a little out of my element. This was not in my top 5 books read this year and it was a little hard to comprehend due to the strange language used.

This was sitting on my bookshelf for years. Girl Goddess #9 by Francesca Lia Block was one of my favorite novels as a youth and I'm sure I picked this up at some point just to explore her other work. As always, Block's writing is beautiful and though I won't go so far as to say she romanticizes dark issues, she has a way of exploring them beautifully. I had no expectations going into this novel, didn't really know what it was about. Very quickly though, you realize it's about the main character,...

I think that this book will be hard for some readers, it deals with a lot of uneasy topics. Death of a parent, eating disorders, father/daughter incest and a distant mother who may or may not have known on some level what was happening to her daughter.The story opens on the death of the protagonist's father and the start of her anorexia nervosa. It's unclear if this is her first bout with the disease or if it has been a coping mechanism of her's for years. There's evidence to support both in the...

Francesca Lia Block is always a beautiful, but someone difficult read. Both the subject matter and the kind of stream of consciousness flow tends to make this one a little more difficult than others. Given the theme, I really wouldn't suggest this for anyone under 16.Laurel is struggling through the death of her father. She was struggling before, but everything seems to become worse with his passing. She copes through her eating disorder and getting lost in a boy. Things that never really help,