BOOK REVIEW: WEETZIE BAT
Monday, September 7, 2009 at 2:39PM | Erica Scime 
Weetzie Bat
Released: 1989
Written By: Francesca Lia Block
By the time I’d finished the first page of Francesca Lia Block’s 1989 novel, Weetzie Bat, I desperately wanted to move to its fictional city of Shangri-L.A., to know the story’s enchanting characters and share in their wild lifestyles. It is as though Francesca Lia Block has managed to tap into the dazzling and surreal fantasies not only of myself, but of most of her young adult audience. The result is an enthralling read adored by all ages.
To summarize, Weetzie Bat follows the lives of an eccentric young girl named Weetzie and her best friend Dirk, along with the multitude of friends and lovers that they meet along the way. With Block’s dazzling, magical version of Los Angeles as the story’s backdrop, Weetzie and Dirk search for “love at first sight” and “happily ever after."
However, in the midst of their starry-eyed search for romance, the book’s characters come face to face with some serious issues, including HIV/AIDS, homophobia, drug abuse and abortion - issues that are far from fiction in today’s world. In addition to these things, the author portrays sex in a realistic, unapologetic manner. Being that Weetzie Bat is categorized as young adult or teen fiction, controversy remains over whether or not this true-to-life content is suitable for its readers. Several groups have even banned the book, deeming it not in accordance with their values and opinions, thus disallowing readers from forming their own ideas.
But, controversy aside, one thing that is undeniable about Francesca Lia Block’s Weetzie Bat is its imaginative, literary brilliance. Though written in a once-upon-a-time type of narrative, Block’s writing feels like poetry in that it is peculiarly descriptive and idiosyncratic. Her illustrations are sparkling and surreal, her dialogue flirtatious and full of slang. She not only creates an extraordinary world of glamour and grit, but she is so attentive to detail that the reader does more than believe in the story – they feel as though they are a part of it. But perhaps the best way to understand the allure of Francesca Lia Block’s writing is simply to experience it. The following is an excerpt from chapter one of Weetzie Bat.
“Then they went into the clubs dressed to kill in sunglasses and leather, jewels and skeletons, rosaries and fur and silver. They held on like waltzers and plunged in slamming around the pit below the stage. Weetzie spat on any skinhead who was too rough, but she always got away with it by batting her eyelashes and blowing a bubble with her gum.”
The remainder of the book is just as fun and cheeky, even in its darker moments. Its cheerful attitude in the face of hardship and its eventual happy ending leaves its reader with lifted spirits and a renewed sense of optimism. Weetzie Bat is a fantastic indulgence for the imagination and a reminder of the importance of family – whatever kind of family it may be.
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