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Weetzie Bat (Weetzie Bat #1)

by Francesca Lia Block (Goodreads Author)

3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 · rating details · 6,847 ratings · 630 reviews

Fifteen years ago Francesca Lia Block made a dazzling entrance into the literary scene with what would become one of the most talked-about books of the decade; Weetzie Bat. This poetic roller coaster swoop has a sleek new design to match its new sister and brother books, Goat Girls and Beautiful Boys. Rediscover the magic of Weetzie Bat, Ms. Blocks sophisticated, slinkste

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Paperback, 128 pages

Published July 6th 2004 by HarperTeen (first published 1989)

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Sep 30, 2012 Ben Loory rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

really hated this book for the first couple pages, couldn't believe i was supposed to read an entire bookful of this happy hippie treacly bullshit, then i abruptly burst into tears at the end of the first chapter and loved it from there on out. reminds me a little bit of hemingway in the way that complaints about it seem to center around a perceived lack of emotional depth, whereas all i see (after those first few pages) is a constant battle against darkness and pain. it's mystifying. anyway, i...more

15 likes · like · see review

Jan 24, 2008 Susan rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one

Shelves: young-adult

The disclaimer here is that everyone else I know who read this book liked it, but I felt so strongly about this book after I read it I had to put my two cents in anyway, even knowing that I may be going against the grain here. It's difficult to say what age I would ever consider recommending this book to because the message and subject matter here seems a bit mature for young teens, yet the entire thing feels like it's written at about a fourth grade reading level. The characters exist in a sort...more The disclaimer here is that everyone else I know who read this book liked it, but I felt so strongly about this book after I read it I had to put my two cents in anyway, even knowing that I may be going against the grain here. It's difficult to say what age I would ever consider recommending this book to because the message and subject matter here seems a bit mature for young teens, yet the entire thing feels like it's written at about a fourth grade reading level. The characters exist in a sort of shimmery fantasyfied L.A. that (if you've read up even a little bit on Old Hollywood history) didn't even exist in the days of Marilyn, James Dean, Jayne Mansfield and the other movie icons Weetzie and her friends idolize. There are sporadic tears in the gauze curtain through which we can glimpse the darker and seedier side: there are hints that a friend of a friend found out they had AIDS, someone's close relative dies from a drug overdose. Still, these glimpses end up coming across like the line of fine print on a cigarette package--cautionary bits stamped on out of some sort of afterthought or imposed obligation, without sincerity or compassion, and as such, they are quickly passed over. To be fair though, at least the glossed over Barbie Dream Home fairy tale shimmeriness is consistent. After all, in Weetzie's world, everyone finds their ideal matches, ready-made with the same cutesy nicknames that she and her best friend came up with when they were even younger and sillier, everyone lives together on their own without any trouble or financial worry, and even an impulsive and ill-devised baby-making scheme involving a threesome with a best friend and his significant other can turn out hunky-dory. The babies themselves seem to be regarded as little doll-like beings, and the entire thing is dealt with in such a precious manner readers might find it advisable to keep an insulin shot at the ready. Add to this the fact that everything (dialogue and narrative) is written in an odd stuttery style that I suppose could be found either whimsical or deeply irritating, depending on the sort of person you are. (Example: "Vixanne is evil,' My Secret Agent Lover Man said. 'I've got to give the baby back.' 'If she is evil, we can't do that," Weetzie said, 'We have to take care of the baby.' 'Yeah, we can call her Witch Baby,' Dirk said."' Or, from another section: "I am the genie of the lamp, and I am here to grant you three wishes," the man said.)

Weetzie is quirky without depth. There's no road map here for dealing with any of the problems she does encounter because she never deals with them. She denies them or ignores them until a convenient magical solution manifests itself or else she runs away from them, and the other characters aren't really much more than pretty shiny accessories. Overall the book is definitely unusual and original, but that is really the only thing that can be said for it. I expected to be blown away and it was an utter disappointment.(less)

40 likes · like · see review

Sep 03, 2008 brian rated it 4 of 5 stars

this book would have changed my life had i been given it when i was stuck in long island and forced to hang around fuckhead fratguys who alternated between blowing bong-hits to bob marley and working out repressed homosexuality by pummelling pale skinny weak kids. perhaps this book would have forced all the self-loathing (due to the conflict between wondering why i wasn’t like said fuckheads and the deep repulsion i felt toward them) to turn outward and i might’ve pulled some kind of columbine d...more

34 likes · like · see review

Oct 28, 2010 karen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: and-so-this-is-grad-school, why-yes-i-ya

it is so awesome being me. every day is a contradiction, every opinion is unpredictable and inconsistent. i surprise myself daily: i love the coen brothers, but i hate the big lebowski. how is this possible?? i hate cutie-pie whimsical movies, but i loved amelie. wuuh?

the excitement of living my life is that i am always surprised by how i will respond; the world is a big exciting oyster of possibility.

this book has everything going against my expected tastes: slick language, "cool" protagonist...more

48 likes · like · see review

Apr 25, 2007 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: criminally-under-read, fast-fun-and-fabulous, kids-books-for-adults, ya

Weezie is something of a geration-X Holly Golightly, without the tragedy; she's everything a mixed up, affected, over-the-top poetry-and-creative-writing highschool student from the late 90s who was raised on too much Molly Ringwald and Duckie wanted to be. The story is breezy and fun, with Weezie, Dirk, and Secret Angent Lover Man tripping lightly from one adventure to the next, learning to live, love, and make successful underground movies in a Hollywood that actually has all the glitz and gla...more

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Oct 12, 2011 Katie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-library, young-adult-literature, magical-realism

I know of many people who really enjoyed this book a lot, but I personally found it confusing, short-sighted, and almost pointless. It tells the fantastical story of Weetzie Bat and her friends who live happily in a fantasy-land California, seemingly dreamlike state. Everything that occurs is very far-fetched to me, and even if it were a fairy tale, I could not find or come up with a theme for this really ambiguous novella.

The characters are extremely one-dimensional,and all the problems that th...more

7 likes · like · see review

Jan 02, 2008 Jennie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: yaliterature

Plot: When Dirk meets Weetzie in high school, they hit it off immediately; they wear the coolest clothes and they drive around Los Angeles in their "slinkster cool" car. They form an unconventional family when Duck and My Secret Agent Lover Man come into the picture. As a family they create movies and then one day, Weetzie decides to have a baby. She has the baby with Duck and Dirk, which upsets My Secret Agent Lover Man, but he gets over it and brings his child, Witch Baby, in order to live wit...more Plot: When Dirk meets Weetzie in high school, they hit it off immediately; they wear the coolest clothes and they drive around Los Angeles in their "slinkster cool" car. They form an unconventional family when Duck and My Secret Agent Lover Man come into the picture. As a family they create movies and then one day, Weetzie decides to have a baby. She has the baby with Duck and Dirk, which upsets My Secret Agent Lover Man, but he gets over it and brings his child, Witch Baby, in order to live with them as well. It's a happy ending for all the characters involved.

Evaluation: When Dirk's grandma Fifi dies, she leaves Weetzie a "golden thing," which Weetzie rubs and a genie comes out, and he grants her three wishes. It's elements like these that make the novel fantastical and attracts readers. I enjoyed the fact that all of a sudden she had all these wishes granted and Dirk found the love of his life and she found her own love. The book showed an unconventional family that accepts and supports each other. When Duck runs away because he is overwhelmed by his friend's death, Dirk doesn't give up on him, he searches for his partner and brings him back to the family and continues to love him. Similarly, when Secret Agent Lover Man leaves Weetzie because she decided to have a baby with Duck and Dirk, she still welcomes him back into her life and loves him even though he had an affair that produced a child. Perhaps none of these things would happen in real life, but it's kind of cool to see that Block has created this loving utopia within her novel. It's different and sweet and I think that's what drew me into reading the novel even though it was assigned reading. ;-)

Personally, I enjoyed Block's little details in the story because she painted the characters of Weetzie and Dirk so clearly. For example, they love Jayne Mansfield movies, such as The Girl Can't Help It. The outfits that they wear fascinated me when I read the book. Weetzie wears pink Harlequin sunglasses, an old fifties' taffeta dress covered with poetry written in glitter or dresses made from kids' sheets that have Disney characters on them. I think I want to wear those outfits myself! I loved how Block used tackiness and the styles of old Hollywood to create characters that have original styles - I wanted to meet them.

This novel really went into a direction that I didn't expect. When I first started reading it, I didn't think there would be a magic genie involved. The relationships between the characters are kind and loving, and it almost seems as if the reader is only getting Weetzie's perspective on her life. In other words, maybe she is creating this perfect world for herself in order to protect herself from the outside world, which is filled with sadness. The death of Weetzie's father is a pretty devastating moment for Weetzie, but it shows that she probably isn't acknowledging all the problems in her life. It's quite clear that her father is depressed, but Weetzie doesn't really do anything to save him besides trying to convince him to come back to Hollywood, a place that he hated to begin with. It seems that Weetzie lives a kind of life that has fluffiness and sugar coated happiness just like Hollywood movies, whereas her father didn't view Hollywood in the same vein and was probably more in touch with reality.

I really had never read a book like this before, so I don't know if I can compare it to anything. Some novels are just originals and I think that's probably why Weetzie Bat was snapped up and published rather quickly. I also think I'll probably go on to read the other Weetzie Bat books that are out there because this narrative just fascinated me.(less)

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Sep 21, 2008 Scoobs rated it 4 of 5 stars

Charlie Bat
Weetzie Bat
Cherokee
Lily (Witch Baby)
Brandy-Lynn
My Secret Agent Lover Man
Dirk
Duck
Jerry
Slinkster Dog
Go-Go Girl
Pee Wee
Wee Wee
Teenie Wee
Tiki Tee
Tee Pee
Valentine Jah-Love
Ping Chong
Raphael Chong Jah-Love
and just for good measure
Iggy Pop

All these crazy cool character names...makes Scoobs sound soo...

5 likes · like · see review

Jan 27, 2013 LaRaie rated it 3 of 5 stars

I would have loved this book when it was first published. I wasn't much of a reader then, but this book would have drawn me in with its poetic, post-modern, quirky, strange flighty-ness. While the characters are underdeveloped and the plot is shaky at best, the spirit of the book, with its California vibe and punk rock sensibility is charming and gorgeous. It is a coming-of-age story, a story about an outsider family and gay culture, a love story with fairy-tale elements. I wish I would have rea...more

1 like · like · see review

Mar 07, 2008 Megan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My sister gave me her copy of this book as I prepared my move to Los Angeles. In its simplest for it is a fairy tale. Ms. Block coated the Los Angeles of the 80's and 90's in a thick coat of glitter and filled it with characters that seem to float on each page. The names alone give the idea of how twee this book can get. Our heroine's name is Weetzie and she is every woman: artist, designer, waitress, punk, mother. Her counterbalance boyfriend is My Secret Agent Lover Man who dresses in black an...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Rebekah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Weetzie Bat has one wish---to fall in love and live happily ever after. She's not afraid to look for love off the beaten path, amongst the "plastic palm tree wallets" of the Los Angeles Farmer's Market, at all-night potato knishes, or the Tick Tock Tea room. Just when she thinks she will never find her Secret Agent Lover Man, Weetzie receives a magical gift and finds that love is sometimes just around the corner. She learns that her family--the ones she loves best--are people who may go unloved...more

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Jan 21, 2009 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

This is my favorite young adult novel of all time. It is short, highly poetic, and very unusual for a YA novel. The main character, Weetzie, is free-spirited and flamboyantly creative. She and her homosexual best friend, Dirk, share a great sense of style and terrible luck with dating. When Dirk's grandma Fifi gives Weetzie a magic lamp, Weetzie's three wishes come true: boyfriends for Dirk and herself and a beautiful house for the four of them to live in happily ever after. The characters don't...more

3 likes · like · see review

Jan 06, 2009 Eileen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fairy-tales, ya-romance, ya-glbqt

Weetzie Bat is a fairy-tale Los Angeles princess, unconventional even by LA standards (I think?). Then she meets Dirk and her life changes. Weetzie is granted three wishes and they all come true. Dirk meets Duck; Weetzie meets My Secret Agent Lover Man and they all live together wonderfully in Grandma Fifi’s cottage. Could life be anything other than happily ever after when you live in a Hollywood cottage with a fairy tale roof that looks like someone has spilled silly sand? Near the middle of t...more Weetzie Bat is a fairy-tale Los Angeles princess, unconventional even by LA standards (I think?). Then she meets Dirk and her life changes. Weetzie is granted three wishes and they all come true. Dirk meets Duck; Weetzie meets My Secret Agent Lover Man and they all live together wonderfully in Grandma Fifi’s cottage. Could life be anything other than happily ever after when you live in a Hollywood cottage with a fairy tale roof that looks like someone has spilled silly sand? Near the middle of the book, the characters seemed poised to live that happily ever after fairy-tale life (p.46). But what is happily ever after? Weetzie wonders about this a lot. Weetzie wants a baby, but My Secret Agent Lover Man does not. Weetzie’s dad, who lives in New York, dies of a drug overdose and the specter of AIDS truly does make love a dangerous angel. Through the strength of her family Weetzie decides life can be lived happily, though perhaps not ever after.

I can’t recall reading a book where a city plays such a major role. Weetzie sees Los Angeles as a fairy-tale world. From the very first page with the wonderful descriptions of Weetzie’s LA – “They didn’t care that Marilyn’s prints were practically in their backyard at Graumann’s” – the importance of the setting is clear. She even believes that LA can save her father, if only he would return. Sadly, Weetzie’s Los Angeles is changing. So many of the quirky places Weetzie loved are gone – Elvis Land, the Jetson- style Tiny Naylors with the roller skating waitresses. She notes “Now it was gone-turned into one of the restaurants that lined Ventura Boulevard with valets in red jackets sitting out in the heat all day waiting for BMWs.” There is also a wonderful description of NYC – “The Chrysler Building looked like an art-deco rocket that had caught fans of stars on its way up, and the Statue of Liberty looked like a creature risen green and magical from the sea and everything looked at peace in the blue, clear day.” The wonderful writing contributes much to the magic of this magical story. Loved this book!!
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Apr 13, 2013 Nicola rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: glbt, kidsyoungadult, lis566

Reading Weetzie Bat was so bittersweet to me. I loved every minute of it, but at the same time I was so sad that this couldn't be my life, that everything couldn't be so bright and colorful and full of hope. Because of this, I am pretty glad I didn't read it as a teenager, because in my naivete I am sure I would have thought that my life could be like that (well, without the genie, of course).

The story works best as a parable about love and tolerance. It is not heavy on plot or language, but tha...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Laura Anthony rated it 2 of 5 stars

For all of it's hipster, funky, coolness and edgy topics, "Weetzie Bat" is essentially shallow and smarmy, not to mention badly written. I did not get the poetic, roller coaster, but I get the stilted and insipid dialogue. The book would have been much better if she had dropped all attempts at dialogue. And the silly names just got tedious,especially My Secret Agent Lover Man.

Now for the contemporary issues presented by Block. She some how made everything seem slightly inconsequential. She trie...more

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Dec 24, 2012 Kaitlin Mooney rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: re-read, own

This is one of my most hated books. I rented it from the library when I was in middleschool looking for a punk rock love story, instead what I got was 88 pages of disjointed glittery LA imagery that I couldn't follow. I felt very strongly about it. I found it at a garage sale and was so surprised to see it that I bought it. It only takes about 40 minutes to read so every couple of years I'll reread it just to remind myself how much I can hate a book.

Except, I just reread it and I loved it. I ab...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Merinde rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, fiction

I was expecting something amazing. This book didn't just let me down, it actually vaguely disgusted me on many, many levels. Yeah, I get that it is a fairy tale of sorts and so doesn't have any obligation to be realistic. That doesn't excuse badly written characters, forced plot turns and badly written conversations though. I mean, just compare this to anything by Gaiman - Anansi Boys and American Gods are also fairytales happening in modern day USA, but manage not to be completely awful. I unde...more

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Sep 03, 2012 Gina rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. ***may be spoilers***

To be perfectly honest in my rating of this book, I had to give it one star, because I genuinely did not like it. This is not because it's a bad book - in fact, it may very well be a spectacular book - for someone else. It was not my cup of tea.

I like to have a sense of what time a story is set in, how much time has passed. In the first chapter, Weetzie is implied to be in high school and then suddenly she and her friend Dirk have inherited a house from Grandma Fifi. It was...more

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Aug 10, 2012 Jade rated it 4 of 5 stars

I won't make very long review for that one, seeing as Rookie Mag has pretty much covered every aspect of it. I'll just share a few personal impressions.
Full disclosure: I've never been to Los Angeles. Or to California. Or to the US for that matter. Like many (most) Europeans though, I've been flooded with dream visions of those places. Reading Weetzie Bat felt exactly like living in the most fun and the most colourful of those.
I almost read it in one sitting. It's a very short book and the style...more

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Jul 25, 2012 Katherine rated it 5 of 5 stars

I just re-read this the other night, for the first time since I was a young teen in the early '90s. I remember it as a Book That Made Me Want To Write Books. It expanded my vision of what was possible, bookwise.

It pretty much holds up. If anything, it's even *more* impressive to me, now, that someone was able to publish a lush but spare novel (I think it should be called a novel, even though it must clock in at not much more than 10,000 words) for tweens that deals with topics like gay love, AID...more

2 likes · like · see review

Jul 09, 2012 Landice Leigh Anderson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

This is not a book one should go into expecting phenomenal writing or insight. It's a perfect beach or rainy day read; cute, quirky, and a short escape from reality.

So far as I can tell people either adore or despise this book, so I can't tell you what to feel. However, at 70 pages it's not going to waste much of your time if you dislike it.

Weetzie's world is magical and helps you forget your troubles for an hour or so. I'd recommend it to my friends, not because the writing is prolific (it's n...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Erin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-books, classics

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Set in L.A. during the 1980’s, the story follows Weetzie Bat and her gay best friend Dirk. Weetzie and Dirk hang out together every day, they often go to nightclubs duck hunting (looking for boyfriends). One day while Dirk and Weetzie are visiting Dirk’s grandmother Fifi, she gives Weetzie a special present. Weetzie soon discovers that this present houses a magic genie who will grant her three wishes. Weetzie decides to wish for a Duck for Dirk, a Secret Agent Lover Man for herself, and for a ho...more Set in L.A. during the 1980’s, the story follows Weetzie Bat and her gay best friend Dirk. Weetzie and Dirk hang out together every day, they often go to nightclubs duck hunting (looking for boyfriends). One day while Dirk and Weetzie are visiting Dirk’s grandmother Fifi, she gives Weetzie a special present. Weetzie soon discovers that this present houses a magic genie who will grant her three wishes. Weetzie decides to wish for a Duck for Dirk, a Secret Agent Lover Man for herself, and for a home for them to live in together. Almost immediately Weetzie’s wishes come true, Dirk meets and falls in love with a surfer named Duck, and Weetzie meets and falls in love with a filmmaker who introduces himself as My Secret Agent Lover Man to her one day while she’s waiting tables at work. Weetzie’s final wish is granted when Fifi passes away and leaves Dirk and Weetzie her cottage.

Weetzie, Dirk, Duck, and My Secret Agent Lover Man all live in the cottage together and everything seems perfect, except Weetzie wants a baby now too. My Secret Agent Lover Man doesn’t want a baby, so Weetzie, Dirk, and Duck come up with the idea to all have a baby together. When Weetzie tells My Secret Agent Lover Man she is pregnant, he is furious from her deceit and leaves her. Nine months later Weetzie gives birth to a baby girl she names Cherokee. My Secret Agent Lover Man returns to the cottage after Cherokee is born and reunites with Weetzie. With no knowledge of who Cherokee’s real father is Dirk, Duck, and My Secret Agent Lover Man all consider Cherokee their daughter collectively.

One day a Lanka witch shows up on their doorstep claiming to be pregnant with Max’s (My Secret Agent Lover Man) child; and she wants money for an abortion. My Secret Agent Lover Man had sex with the Lanka witch when he was estranged from Weetzie, and so he gives her money for an abortion in hopes of being rid of her for good. Several months later a baby is left on their doorstep along with two voodoo dolls that look like Weetzie and My Secret Agent Lover Man. It is the Lanka witch and My Secret Agent Lover Man’s baby, My Secret Agent Lover Man says he will give her back to her mother but Weetzie insists on raising her as her own, she calls her Witch Baby.

One day Duck comes home in tears, he is inconsolable and will not speak to anyone. The next morning Dirk finds Duck is gone and has left a note, the note says that his friend is very sick and dying (presumably from AIDS) and he is going away for a while. Without hesitation Dirk sets off to find his Duck, not knowing where to look he ends up in San Francisco. Dirk finds Duck in a bar and the two reunite. Although he is overjoyed that Dirk has found him, Duck is still distraught over the AIDS epidemic sweeping through the gay community. Dirk and Duck return to the cottage and lovingly reunite with Weetzie, My Secret Agent Lover Man, Cherokee, and Witch Baby. The story ends with a thought from Weetzie, she doesn’t know about “happily ever after” but she definitely knows about “happily.”

The story mixes the 1980’s punk-era with the glamour of 1950’s Hollywood, of which L.A. is aptly referred to as Shangri-L.A. in the book. Although the novel touches on serious subjects such as drugs, sex, homosexuality, infidelity, children born out of wedlock, and the AIDS epidemic, Weetzie seems to look at the world through rose-colored glasses.

As the story progresses and Weetzie grows, she continues to hold a naivety and child-like view of the world even as she experiences loss and sadness along the way. The novel brings a unique entourage of characters which adds to the story’s surreal tone. Although the characters carry uncharacteristic names, they no doubt each bring their own very real human experience to the story. Weetzie Bat is a love story which manages to mix the fantastical with the real world in perfect harmony.
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Jun 04, 2012 Alyssa Cooper rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've never been a fan of Francesca Lia Block's plain and to-the-point writing style, but there is an undeniable fun and flair to her story lines that I simply can't deny. The first time that I tried to read Weetzie Bat, I actually put it down for a long time, just because of that writing style. When I picked it up again, determined to give the characters a second chance, I couldn't help but fall in love.

Set in what seems to be a typical universe, with real cities and food options, this realism i...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Nicole rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fantasy

I understand that this is one of the first works of fantastical realism in young adult literature; I understand that it plays on a poetic kind of fiction writing; I understand that it's Block's first work.

But damn it, it reads like bad fanfiction.

Simple (bordering on childish) sentence structure, weird plot points, absurd humor. Things that happen that should bring about some character development but instead are just used as a plot point to bring characters to another scene or another conclusio...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Penny Peck rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-ya

Weetzie Bat has a special place in my heart, because several of the characters reminded me of people I knew at the time it was published. When re-reading it over 20 years later, I am pleased that it is still unique, and still can resonate with teen readers.
The story involves an older teen girl and her gay best friend Dirk, and how they wish for a house, lifelong love, and happiness. Los Angeles is like another character; many places in L.A. serve as the backdrop to the action, and it is also a...more

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Nov 11, 2011 Rosa Folgar rated it 5 of 5 stars

The writting style is very unique and reads quickly, more like poetry than a novel. You either like it or hate it. I think it's different and I liked it. No, I wouldn't want ALL my books written like this, but it's the authors own distinctive flavor and it helps juxtapose some of the real topics with the ridiculous fairy tale she throws in. I come from LA and I love the familiar and nostalgic about the settings and location. I go to Rage (at least once or twice a month) and I walk down Hollywood...more

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Sep 12, 2011 Jenny rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: school, young-adult

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A short, strange, airy sort of novel, requiring a bit of willing suspension of disbelief - that is, for the reader to go with the flow, enter into Weetzie's world. The title character is in high school at the beginning of the book, but without any coverage of graduation or any discussion of college, she moves on into post-high school life. The grandmother of her best friend, Dirk, gives her an object that turns out to be a magic lamp; the requisite genie appears and offers three wishes, which, f...more A short, strange, airy sort of novel, requiring a bit of willing suspension of disbelief - that is, for the reader to go with the flow, enter into Weetzie's world. The title character is in high school at the beginning of the book, but without any coverage of graduation or any discussion of college, she moves on into post-high school life. The grandmother of her best friend, Dirk, gives her an object that turns out to be a magic lamp; the requisite genie appears and offers three wishes, which, for the most part, come true: Weetzie and Dirk inherit his grandmother's house when she dies; Dirk finds the perfect boyfriend, Duck; and My Secret Agent Lover Man enters Weetzie's life.

They all live together happily until Weetzie decides she wants a baby and My (her) Secret Agent Lover Man isn't so sure; Weetzie instead gets pregnant with Dirk and Duck, and My Secret Agent Lover Man leaves her. However, he eventually returns after the birth of the baby, a girl named Cherokee Bat. It turns out that while MSALM was away, he got a witch pregnant, and she leaves the resulting Witch Baby (Lily, but the name doesn't stick) on their doorstep. The haphazard family takes in the Witch Baby, and all is mostly well, except for Duck's brief freak-out (about AIDS - though it's not mentioned as such - and death) and disappearance; Dirk goes off in search of him and eventually finds him in San Francisco and brings him home.

Weetzie's parents also play roles in the story; they are separated, with her mother Brandy-Lynn living in L.A. and her father Charlie Bat living in New York (he visits her when she is younger; she visits him when she is older). On her last visit, when she asks him to move back, Charlie says to her, "Weetzie...I love you more than everything. But I can't be in that city [L.A.]. Everything's an illusion; that's the whole things about it - illusion, imitation, a mirage...It makes me too sad. It's like having a good dream. You know you are going to wake up" (73). Upon Charlie's death, Weetzie is struck by grief: "Grief is not something you know if you grow up wearing feathers with a Charlie Chaplin boyfriend, a love-child papoose, a witch baby, a Dirk and a Duck, a Slinkster Dog, and a movie to dance in. You can feel sad and worse....but grief is different. Weetzie's heart cringed in her like a dying animal....She was suffocated by roses that no one else saw - only their shadows showed on her lips and around her eyes" (74-75).

The story seems more like a brief sketch or outline of a story than a fully fleshed-out novel: if it were a painting, it would be Impressionist, but in Kandinsky colors, full of glitter and feathers, blue sky and city lights at night, palm trees, dresses of gold and fur. I wouldn't say the reader comes to know the characters well, except that Weetzie is impulsive and unconventional and creative and you want the best for her and the friends she draws to her and makes into family. Sitting around the dinner table after Dirk and Duck's return, on the last page of the novel, Weetzie looks around and is filled with love for her makeshift family: "Weetzie's heart felt so full with love, so full, as if it could hardly fit in her chest. She knew they were all afraid. But love and disease are both like electricity, Weetzie thought. They are always there - you can't see or smell or hear, touch, or taste them, but you know they are there like a current in the air. We can choose, Weetzie thought, we can choose to plug into the love current instead....I don't know about happily ever after...but I know about happily, Weetzie Bat thought" (88).(less)

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Jun 27, 2011 Midnyte Reader rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I was in my twenties, my friend and I moved to L.A. It was a short lived move for me, since I got a job offer back home, but reading this book took me right back to the City of Angels. As I turned the pages, I felt like I was in that different and far away realm of sunshine, convertibles and movie magic where things didn’t seem quite so real to a fast paced New Yorker. Weetzie Bat’s description of her beloved city and her adventures brings Los Angeles to life with a lot of kitsch and glamou...more

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Jun 07, 2011 Charlynn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Weetzie Bat by Fransesca Lia Block is a strange little book. It's a quick, easy read, so, when I say little, I'm not speaking figuratively. However, despite its rather abbreviated length, Block manages to squeeze in plenty of content and her fair share of lessons. A free spirit child of two Hollywood alums with their own problems, Weetzie meets her best friend Dirk, and the two of them explore the L.A. world of sex, drugs, music, and whimsy together on their search for love, a home, and family....more

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May 28, 2011 Emily rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: booktalks-high-school

I really loved this the first time I read it. I wasn't a teenager, but if I had been this book would probably be an unshakeable favorite. As it is, I re-read the first chapter to do the booktalks, and kinda rolled my eyes a lot. I still like it, but man, these kids are kinda jerks? And appropriative too, with all the "oh I wear feathered headdresses so I can feel special and cool and talk about the Native Americans but not really seem to have any understanding of what the fuck I'm talking about"...more

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About Francesca Lia Block

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

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The Rose and the Beast: Fairy Tales Retold

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“You are in my blood. I cant help it. We can't be anywhere except together” — 435 people liked it

“What sexual preference do you hope she has?” “Happiness.” Isnt that cool?” — 96 people liked it

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