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11th out of 55 books
—
37 voters
Girl Goddess #9: Nine Stories
by
Francesca Lia Block (Goodreads Author),
Steve Scott
Meet Tweetie Sweet Pea and Peachy Pie, Jacaranda and Rave and Desiree...
Meet Lady Ivory and Alabaster Dutchess, who interview their favorite rock star, Nick Agate, only to discover the magic and power in themselves. Meet Tuck Budd, who is happy living in Manhattan with her two moms, Izzy and Anastasia, until she begins to wonder who her father is. Meet La, who faces the lo...more
Meet Lady Ivory and Alabaster Dutchess, who interview their favorite rock star, Nick Agate, only to discover the magic and power in themselves. Meet Tuck Budd, who is happy living in Manhattan with her two moms, Izzy and Anastasia, until she begins to wonder who her father is. Meet La, who faces the lo...more
Paperback, 192 pages
Published
February 6th 1998
by HarperCollins
(first published February 6th 1996)
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I couldn't connect well to the book. All of the characters were so very different from me. I read this because of the author's other book which I totally adore.
Just because i couldnt relate doesnt mean i didnt enjoy the book. Nine stories and i like only three.
Im not really the best kind of reviewer but i think peeps are just giving too much praise for this book. Lyrical? What? No offense. I would understand if this was her other book entitled psyche in a dress which was VERY lyrical (or somethi...more
Just because i couldnt relate doesnt mean i didnt enjoy the book. Nine stories and i like only three.
Im not really the best kind of reviewer but i think peeps are just giving too much praise for this book. Lyrical? What? No offense. I would understand if this was her other book entitled psyche in a dress which was VERY lyrical (or somethi...more
Growing up as a teenager in the 90s, I was a voracious reader of Sassy magazine. Through Sassy, I learned of two female authors who forever helped shape my imagination: Poppy Z. Brite and Francesca Lia Block. Their work utterly transported me to imaginary landscapes so rich and varied that I can truly say that these books helped to shape me into the person I am today. I grew up without a computer in the house, forget the Internet (I didn't have that until college), a weird kid in Olathe, Kansas....more
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Meet La, whose mom commit suicide when La was really little. Meet Tuck, who doesn't know who her dad is but knows both of her moms. Meet Pony and Pixie, girls who are closer than sisters who aren't even best friends. Meet Winnie, who is in love with Cubby. Meet Cubby, who doesn't know how to deal with his issues in an honest way. I met all of these people (and more) in Girl Goddess #9, a book about all the Goddesses among the random world. Girls of all ages with all sorts of problems. From nine
...more
As usual, I loved this book for the language. FLB uses such beautiful, lyrical prose. I wish I could write like her. She can find magic and beauty in such ordinary, everyday things.
This was a sweet collection of short stories about coming of age and the pains of growing up. I like that some of the stories focus on more and more open issues that in the past were ignored or shunned--I particularly liked "Dragons in Manhattan" about Tuck's two moms, "Blue" about a girl dealing with her mom's death...more
This was a sweet collection of short stories about coming of age and the pains of growing up. I like that some of the stories focus on more and more open issues that in the past were ignored or shunned--I particularly liked "Dragons in Manhattan" about Tuck's two moms, "Blue" about a girl dealing with her mom's death...more
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Block delivers a collection of stories about girl goddesses in their various forms.
The stories in this collection are just beautifully written. Block has a quirky prose style that is a joy to read. All the characters were so vivid and interesting. The only complaint I have is that I wish for just one of the stories she had written a more traditional romance (though I suppose the Devil Dogs story was mostly traditional). It seemed a bit like she was trying to prove that non-traditional romance ha...more
The stories in this collection are just beautifully written. Block has a quirky prose style that is a joy to read. All the characters were so vivid and interesting. The only complaint I have is that I wish for just one of the stories she had written a more traditional romance (though I suppose the Devil Dogs story was mostly traditional). It seemed a bit like she was trying to prove that non-traditional romance ha...more
I woke up with an overwhelming desire to reread the Weetzie Bat books earlier this week, except I think my copies are packed up in a box in my parents' attic. I decided this was a perfect time to order myself a copy of Dangerous Angels (since I own the individual books), and while waiting for that to arrive, I pulled my copy of Girl Goddess #9 off my shelf.
I still loved the stories just as much as I did when I first read this in high school. Block's writing still touches me deeply, and I think i...more
I still loved the stories just as much as I did when I first read this in high school. Block's writing still touches me deeply, and I think i...more
You've got me wrapped around your finger, Block. I demand to know what you're going to do about it.
Like autographs.
Like autographs.
# 1
2.5 *s
#2
2 *s
#3
2 *s
#4
2 *s
#5
3 *s
#6
2.5 *s
#7
3 *s
Over all rating: 2.5 *s, C
Now to get to the good stuff. I feel a bit sad I didn't really connect to this book. I had a thought while I was reading it maybe I should stop while I'm ahead and books like I Once Was a Teenage Fairy can stay forever unstained by memory, but then I thought I love the few times FB hits home too much even if they are a bit far between.
The thing is you don't read Francessca Block for her stories or settings or even her ch...more
2.5 *s
#2
2 *s
#3
2 *s
#4
2 *s
#5
3 *s
#6
2.5 *s
#7
3 *s
Over all rating: 2.5 *s, C
Now to get to the good stuff. I feel a bit sad I didn't really connect to this book. I had a thought while I was reading it maybe I should stop while I'm ahead and books like I Once Was a Teenage Fairy can stay forever unstained by memory, but then I thought I love the few times FB hits home too much even if they are a bit far between.
The thing is you don't read Francessca Block for her stories or settings or even her ch...more
Block either gets it very right or very wrong and that is why this is the second collection of her's that has received a middle-of-the-way rating from me . There are pieces that are amazing and then there are snoozefests.
Block reminds me of what it felt like to be a teen; how first loves and difficult topics made me feel. She does this through her expressive language. I have never read another author who writes like Block. Others have described her writing as magical and I can't say that I disa...more
Block reminds me of what it felt like to be a teen; how first loves and difficult topics made me feel. She does this through her expressive language. I have never read another author who writes like Block. Others have described her writing as magical and I can't say that I disa...more
Nine stories about girls who are lost in the world but find themselves as goddesses. Not in the literal meaning of Goddess, but they find that each of them are wonderful in their own way and they each have a place in the world.
This book is full of short stories about being a girl. Every type of girl. From a small girl that doesn't want to grow up, to girls that run a zine. Another great work for young girls by Francesca Lia Block. When I was introduced to her books, back when I first started rea...more
This book is full of short stories about being a girl. Every type of girl. From a small girl that doesn't want to grow up, to girls that run a zine. Another great work for young girls by Francesca Lia Block. When I was introduced to her books, back when I first started rea...more
I can't remember which Francesca Lia Block book I got first, but I know that I liked Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books better.
The Weetzie Bat Books were better than Girl Goddes. They were longer and more involving, but going back, and understanding a lot better what was going on than an 11 year old did, I certainly appreciated it more.
Block's books are something I've gone back to year after year, and therefore spent a lot of time reconsidering and critiquing.
Girl Goddess is an exploratio...more
The Weetzie Bat Books were better than Girl Goddes. They were longer and more involving, but going back, and understanding a lot better what was going on than an 11 year old did, I certainly appreciated it more.
Block's books are something I've gone back to year after year, and therefore spent a lot of time reconsidering and critiquing.
Girl Goddess is an exploratio...more
Girl Goddess #9 is a collection of short stories by Ms. Block. All of them are about girls who are very special in some way. "Tweetie Sweet Pea" is a story about a young baby and her life with her sister, Peachy Pie. "Blue" is about La, and her imaginary (or is she?) friend Blue, and her mother's role in her life of feeling unpopular. "Dragons in Manhattan" is about Tuck Budd and her confusion over who her dad is in her parents' relationship, since they both appear to be female. "Girl Goddess #9...more
If you enjoy "magical reality" short stories about that period between girlhood and puberty, I think you will really enjoy this book. The stories capture that milieu well, and take you into that paradoxical realm which introspection and exploration meet.
For some people, this is charming. But this is not my area of especial interest, so I let it slide after reading half the book.
If this *is* your thing, I encourage you to pick it up anyway. It is well written and you may genuinely enjoy it.
For some people, this is charming. But this is not my area of especial interest, so I let it slide after reading half the book.
If this *is* your thing, I encourage you to pick it up anyway. It is well written and you may genuinely enjoy it.
This book contains one of my favorite short stories of all time 'Dragons in Manhattan.' The story follows a girl on a search to find her father, only to discover that her father is who she least expected. Both Manhattan and Los Angeles are described beautifully in Block's lyrical language. I always enjoy her writing, but this is one of those short stories that I always remember, and I always tell people to read. I've read it many times since its publication in 1996, and never get tired of it.
Francesca Lia Block is a hero in my eyes for her story on Tuck Budd, who has two mothers and goes on a search to discover who her father is. It was the first story I ever read that explored queer/trans issues. I'm sure it got her banned in a lot of libraries. It is really mindblowing how brave she was to write on these issues in the 90s when even today so few young adult books are willing to address sex, something that preoccupies so many teenage mind, straight and queer.
In the beginning, I was afraid it would be terribly dated and I wouldn't like it because it was my oldest sister's favorite author, after all, and she was so angsty and misunderstood (weren't we all) but never in the same way as I was. It was terribly dated but it was like reading a time capsule of the best, worst, confused, hushed parts of the 90s and teenhood in general. The second half of the book really spoke to me where I am right now and I guess now I'll have to stop calling my sister's pa...more
Every character in this assemblage of short stories is instantly someone I would want to know in real life. I love Francesca Lia Block's quirky descriptions, which feel so honest and true. I was enchanted by the opening story about Tweetie Sweet Pea, and her hesitancy to let her childhood days fade away. I was delighted. Truly. By all of it.
My favorite story in this collection was "Blue," a story about a fifth-grade girl with an imaginary friend called Blue who has an androgynous body and helps her to work out her confusion about whether she wants a boyfriend or a girlfriend. It's a very respectfully told story and it's one that I imagine many LGBTQ folks could relate to.
For me this was the book that started it all, and I was fortunate enough to tell Francesca about it nearly fifteen years after I read it the first tine Inspired by Lady Ivory and Alabaster Duchess, my best friend and I resolved to write our own zine, or at the very least, write, write all the time with reckless abandon.
I only made it through 4 or 5, possibly, stories and then decided that the book in general was too weird and that I just couldn't connect to any of the characters or their lives. I'm really glad this wasn't the first book of the author's I picked up because I can't imagine wanting to read anything else of hers. These stories just aren't for me.
Reread of a favorite book of short stories from my adolescence, and it's every bit as good as I remember. I love all the stories, but Dragons in Manhattan and Winnie and Cubby are favorites. And Blue! And Pixie and Pony! Yeah, I love this book.
Some stories are better than others, but the prose and images stay with you long after you've read the last sentence. I really love FLB's luscious writing style. My favorites are "Rave", "Dragons in Manhattan", and "Winnie and Cubby".
Some of the stories in this book were really cute. In the first three I really enjoyed how Block makes it so believable that it's from the perspective of a little kid. My favourite stories in this book were "Dragons in Manhattan" and "Pixie and Pony". I love Francesca Lia Block's writing style, however I sometimes feel less-than-comfortable reading her works that have so much content related to unhealthy lifestyles. I love the fantasy and social aspects and I love her imagery, but the only thing...more
Jul 28, 2007
Mark Fullmer
added it
In a random mood, I found Francesca Lia Block on a random friend's bookshelf, and while the story plots are nothing special -- a girl whose poet mother committed suicide gets an imaginary friend, writes a story about her mother and thus loses said imaginary friend; a young girl plays with her barbie doll and realizes she's growing up-- there is a certain style to the way she writes that I admire. And the seed of sexuality which is omnipresent in Lia Block's work goes beyond just mere titillation...more
Girl Goddess #9 was the first book that I've ever read by Francesca Lia Block and I'm glad I did. The book was interesting and the stories in the book kept me entertained.
Why did I read this? "Dragons in Manhattan" stands out in my lousy memory as the most remarkable in the book - but it also follows the Weetzie book pattern pretty closely. There's something about Block's writing that's infectious, though - it's fun, it's ridiculous, it's overtly emotional (this is YA after all) - reminds me, weirdly, why I do what I do.
this book inspired my whole life. each story is lovingly crafted and lingered in my memory long after i put the book down. FLB is the ultimate girl goddess
I love all the girls in each of these stories for different reasons. Each snippet is enticing, making me wish she wrote novels for each of the characters.
May 30, 2011
Miranda Moore
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Reluctant readers, LGBT community, young girls
Shelves:
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I can't say this enough--love, love, love LOVE these stories! I could read them again and again. Francesca Lia Block has descriptions like no one else.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| randomly wondering about the "#9" bit | 1 | 7 | Mar 21, 2012 01:29pm |
Francesca Lia Block was born in Los Angeles to a poet and a painter, their creativity an obvious influence on her writing. Another influence was her childhood love of Greek mythology and fairy tales.
She has lived in the city all her life, and still resides there with her daughter, Jasmine Angelina (about whom she wrote her book Guarding the Moon), her son Samuel Alexander, and her two dogs: a spr...more
More about Francesca Lia Block...
She has lived in the city all her life, and still resides there with her daughter, Jasmine Angelina (about whom she wrote her book Guarding the Moon), her son Samuel Alexander, and her two dogs: a spr...more
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“No matter where I am, I am always loving you.”
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