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Weetzie Bat #6
Necklace of Kisses
Where were the kisses? Weetzie Bat wondered.
And so behind a magical journey of discovery. As she turns forty and the relationship with her secret-agent lover-man Max falls apart, Weetzie packs up her lime green and bright orange bikini, orange suede sneakers,and Pucci tunic, jumps in her '65 mint green Thunderbird, and leaves.
Weetzie finds herself at the enchanted pink hotel in sparkling Los Angeles, where she once shied away from a kiss that may have led her to the love of her life. Now she returns, perhaps in search of her lost passion, and meets an otherworldy cast of characters, among them a blue-skinned receptionist, an invisible cleaning lady, a seductive fawn, and a sushi-eating mermaid who gives her a kiss that sets the wheel of self-discovery in motion.
Block invests every scene with equal shots of magic and realism, rendering her heroine and supporting players in vivid, poetic detail. In Necklace of Kisses the fans that have grown up with Weetzie Bat will be able to meet her in adulthood and find that life is still no less trying and no less full of wonder.
And so behind a magical journey of discovery. As she turns forty and the relationship with her secret-agent lover-man Max falls apart, Weetzie packs up her lime green and bright orange bikini, orange suede sneakers,and Pucci tunic, jumps in her '65 mint green Thunderbird, and leaves.
Weetzie finds herself at the enchanted pink hotel in sparkling Los Angeles, where she once shied away from a kiss that may have led her to the love of her life. Now she returns, perhaps in search of her lost passion, and meets an otherworldy cast of characters, among them a blue-skinned receptionist, an invisible cleaning lady, a seductive fawn, and a sushi-eating mermaid who gives her a kiss that sets the wheel of self-discovery in motion.
Block invests every scene with equal shots of magic and realism, rendering her heroine and supporting players in vivid, poetic detail. In Necklace of Kisses the fans that have grown up with Weetzie Bat will be able to meet her in adulthood and find that life is still no less trying and no less full of wonder.
227 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
24 people are currently reading
1249 people want to read
About the author
Francesca Lia Block
99 books3,382 followersFrancesca Lia Block is the author of more than twenty-five books of fiction, non-fiction, short stories and poetry. She received the Spectrum Award, the Phoenix Award, the ALA Rainbow Award and the 2005 Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as other citations from the American Library Association and from the New York Times Book Review, School Library Journal and Publisher’s Weekly. She was named Writer-in-Residence at Pasadena City College in 2014. Her work has been translated into Italian, French, German Japanese, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and Portuguese. Francesca has also published stories, poems, essays and interviews in The Los Angeles Times, The L.A. Review of Books, Spin, Nylon, Black Clock and Rattle among others. In addition to writing, she teaches creative writing at University of Redlands, UCLA Extension, Antioch University, and privately in Los Angeles where she was born, raised and currently still lives.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 209 reviews
January 1, 2008
i don't think that cherokee bat would wear juicy couture.
November 26, 2007
hurray, i didn't have to borrow this from the library after all1: shveta lent it to me.
it's brave and good. i feel as if the prose rhythms are in some ways more awkward than in block's earlier weetzie bat stories. but what that implies to me is that she may have had difficulty writing it, but pushed through anyway. the story is good and i feel like it's very important, at least to this reader, that block got around at some point to addressing how a "young adult 'magical-realist'" character like weetzie might start to feel as she got older, and "no longer sylph-like and utterly charming." especially living in l.a. and working in the film industry, my god!
seriously, i'd like to see her come back to this. i wish she would return to weetzie at forty-five, at fifty, at sixty. i also wish that she'd do a serious examination, someday, at some time, of the relationship between goodness, happiness, and beauty in her worlds. all her positive characters always have been intensely attractive, just by their nature, and naturally skinny. only bad, older, vicious, decadent people ever get fat in her magical l.a.. and people who feel bad about themselves because they're not blonde need to discover their inner beauty, but, um, none of them were ever actually handed a homely exterior to begin with. (the exotically sexy witch baby, who is tiny, muscular, caramel-colored, and has high cheekbones and 'tilty purple eyes,' but who feels bad about herself because she has curly dark hair instead of straight blonde hair, is a case in point.
i mean, come on: i do know what it feels like to have tangly dark hair when everyone else is a straight caucasian blonde, but at the same time, it's not too hard to find media images glamorizing this version of "exotic" beauty. what's harder to deal with is that some of us actually do have body fat, big asses and pimples. did that make me inherently a less deserving or magical pre-teenager than the girl who lived next door, who had higher cheekbones and slender thighs? would she have been admitted to the company of jacaranda, fairies and self-actualization in block's shangri-l.a., while i would have been relegated to a villain or a jealous sidekick? rereading these stories as an adult,
i'd really like to understand how that works in block's worlds.
it's brave and good. i feel as if the prose rhythms are in some ways more awkward than in block's earlier weetzie bat stories. but what that implies to me is that she may have had difficulty writing it, but pushed through anyway. the story is good and i feel like it's very important, at least to this reader, that block got around at some point to addressing how a "young adult 'magical-realist'" character like weetzie might start to feel as she got older, and "no longer sylph-like and utterly charming." especially living in l.a. and working in the film industry, my god!
seriously, i'd like to see her come back to this. i wish she would return to weetzie at forty-five, at fifty, at sixty. i also wish that she'd do a serious examination, someday, at some time, of the relationship between goodness, happiness, and beauty in her worlds. all her positive characters always have been intensely attractive, just by their nature, and naturally skinny. only bad, older, vicious, decadent people ever get fat in her magical l.a.. and people who feel bad about themselves because they're not blonde need to discover their inner beauty, but, um, none of them were ever actually handed a homely exterior to begin with. (the exotically sexy witch baby, who is tiny, muscular, caramel-colored, and has high cheekbones and 'tilty purple eyes,' but who feels bad about herself because she has curly dark hair instead of straight blonde hair, is a case in point.
i mean, come on: i do know what it feels like to have tangly dark hair when everyone else is a straight caucasian blonde, but at the same time, it's not too hard to find media images glamorizing this version of "exotic" beauty. what's harder to deal with is that some of us actually do have body fat, big asses and pimples. did that make me inherently a less deserving or magical pre-teenager than the girl who lived next door, who had higher cheekbones and slender thighs? would she have been admitted to the company of jacaranda, fairies and self-actualization in block's shangri-l.a., while i would have been relegated to a villain or a jealous sidekick? rereading these stories as an adult,
i'd really like to understand how that works in block's worlds.
January 5, 2010
Francesca Lia Block books are portals into the shifting, magical, dangerous world of the thirteen-year-old girl, where she is simultaneously letting go of fairy tales and accepting her remarkable transformation into a woman. Boys are confusing and mesmerizing, parents fail, fame supplants storybooks. All this thirteen-year-old girl needs is to be Special, and this Specialness is usually marked by thinness, funky hair, and a kick-ass wardrobe—all good things are possible with the right dress.
If you are a thirteen year old girl, these books are seductive. They are filled with Truth and Beauty in a Baz Luhrman kind of way. If you are not a thirteen year old girl, then they are… not, shall we say.
If my tone is mixed, it’s because I was once a thirteen year old girl, listening to the Smiths, full of angst, wearing head-to-toe black (which, in Hawaii, ain’t easy or comfortable). However, I grew up, but I feel like Block didn’t—every so often I would see a new book of hers had come out, and I would peruse it, but find it was pretty much the same book, in the same style, in the same world, with the same language, motifs, characters as the Weetzie Bat books. Sigh.
So… Necklace of Kisses is disappointing—it reads like an adolescent trying to imagine what a forty year old thinks like. Weetzie’s internal life is vague, which is charming and rather true when you’re fifteen but at forty comes across rather like someone on Prozac. Weetzie is exactly the same, internally and externally, as she was as an adolescent. I could go on and on about the stuntedness of this character, and how unrealistic (even for a magical realism kind of book) this book is, but why bother, really. It’s not worth the energy to discuss.
What I will mention is what put this book up to three stars instead of two: the smooth interweaving of 9/11 into the lives of the characters, and Weetzie’s personal history described through her wardrobe—those concrete details that describe a life lived, a history experienced. They anchor what is otherwise a Lush Bath Bomb of a book—glittery, foamy, dissolves into sweet-smelling nothing.
If you are a thirteen year old girl, these books are seductive. They are filled with Truth and Beauty in a Baz Luhrman kind of way. If you are not a thirteen year old girl, then they are… not, shall we say.
If my tone is mixed, it’s because I was once a thirteen year old girl, listening to the Smiths, full of angst, wearing head-to-toe black (which, in Hawaii, ain’t easy or comfortable). However, I grew up, but I feel like Block didn’t—every so often I would see a new book of hers had come out, and I would peruse it, but find it was pretty much the same book, in the same style, in the same world, with the same language, motifs, characters as the Weetzie Bat books. Sigh.
So… Necklace of Kisses is disappointing—it reads like an adolescent trying to imagine what a forty year old thinks like. Weetzie’s internal life is vague, which is charming and rather true when you’re fifteen but at forty comes across rather like someone on Prozac. Weetzie is exactly the same, internally and externally, as she was as an adolescent. I could go on and on about the stuntedness of this character, and how unrealistic (even for a magical realism kind of book) this book is, but why bother, really. It’s not worth the energy to discuss.
What I will mention is what put this book up to three stars instead of two: the smooth interweaving of 9/11 into the lives of the characters, and Weetzie’s personal history described through her wardrobe—those concrete details that describe a life lived, a history experienced. They anchor what is otherwise a Lush Bath Bomb of a book—glittery, foamy, dissolves into sweet-smelling nothing.
December 9, 2014
Major, major disappointment, and reminded me why I grew out of Block's work - unlike Weetzie, our heroine, who, though 40+, is still more preoccupied with her clothes and diet than with maturity. There were brief moments of clarity in this book and a few stand-out chapters, but both had nothing to do with Weetzie; when Weetzie's daughter, Cherokee, realizes she is on the track to becoming a shallow flighty hipster like her mother, and when Coyote, the semi-medicine man, acknowledges the arrogance of his decision to become a born-again Native American (as if that were a thing one could do anyway). Weetzie, however, spends the entire book getting mani-pedis, snacking on vegan delights (except for the one oh-so-sinful Milky Way! OMG!), and kissing beautiful mystical oddly-named men and women, aka the cast of Block's complete works. Just like Weetzie, Block's writing has not aged gracefully - all characters are introduced by their wardrobe, the dialogue is stilted, and Block makes references so pretentious and insane (HD & Ezra Pound? 9/11? Come on) as if desperate to elevate the book from mundane and maudlin to, I don't know, actual literature.
October 8, 2008
Meh. I guess you can't go home again. When I was younger, I loved the Weetzie Bat series. It was tailor-made for melodramatic alternateens, and I could overlook the grotesque whimsy. This new-ish book, which gives us a 40-yr old Weetzie with several grown children and a slumping relationship with her significant other, was a total disappointment. Feeling oppressed and unloved, and hoping to reconnect with some never-before-mentioned dude who took her to prom (I swear this never happened in the original series), she flees her cutesy cottage for a mysterious pink hotel. There's some stuff involving an actual mermaid and a glamorous lounge singer and a lot of other twee nonsense. I think that at some point, she sees the prom guy, but I'm not sure because I stopped reading after the 4th chapter. Phooey. What a bunch of twee dreck.
September 1, 2010
I love Weetzie. I adore her!! I'm so happy that I discovered Francesca Lia Block because omg she makes me feel young again.
I originally thought that this book was going to be Secret Agent Lover Man's. It seemed like his tale would be next considering we've heard from the rest of the cast. But I was wrong. In this book Weetzie turned 40 and realized she needed to find herself before she went on through the next stage of her life.
I really wish that I had read this book last week over my birthday. It would have made me cry more :) Good tears what make you look back... but tears none the less.
This book was amazing. It filled in blanks that had been left out of the books before and then opened up new tales that could be added onto if FLB decided she wanted to keep going.
What made me sniffle and snot the most was Weetzie being told she finally grew up. I feel that way too. I'm 32 and still feel as immature as 12. I wonder if it will take me 4 decades to feel like a Mam and not a Miss. Will I realize that I'm not immortal in 8 short years?
One thing that stood out to me was how my library shelved this book. The Weetzie Bat series before have all been shelved in YA. This one was shelved in ADULT. I wonder if that was planned or if it was just my library.
There is a very interesting chapter at the end that tells about the history of Weetzie's fashion. It lined everything up for me. What I thought was being told years later was actually being told years in advance.
I seriously love it that FLB aged Weetzie. LOVED IT!! I love how even WItch Baby (who now goes by the name Lily) and Cherokee think they know everything there is to learn but realize that they are their mother's daughter. There's no running away from that. - Brilliant!
I totally recommend this book to all you dreamers out there. For anyone who believes that life is starting to pass them by. And to those out there who look at thier husband and stop seeing the boy you fell in love with and start to wonder -- where has that boy gone off to? This book will help you find all of those answers.
Like I said... LOVES IT!
I am foever Team Weetzie!
I originally thought that this book was going to be Secret Agent Lover Man's. It seemed like his tale would be next considering we've heard from the rest of the cast. But I was wrong. In this book Weetzie turned 40 and realized she needed to find herself before she went on through the next stage of her life.
I really wish that I had read this book last week over my birthday. It would have made me cry more :) Good tears what make you look back... but tears none the less.
This book was amazing. It filled in blanks that had been left out of the books before and then opened up new tales that could be added onto if FLB decided she wanted to keep going.
What made me sniffle and snot the most was Weetzie being told she finally grew up. I feel that way too. I'm 32 and still feel as immature as 12. I wonder if it will take me 4 decades to feel like a Mam and not a Miss. Will I realize that I'm not immortal in 8 short years?
One thing that stood out to me was how my library shelved this book. The Weetzie Bat series before have all been shelved in YA. This one was shelved in ADULT. I wonder if that was planned or if it was just my library.
There is a very interesting chapter at the end that tells about the history of Weetzie's fashion. It lined everything up for me. What I thought was being told years later was actually being told years in advance.
I seriously love it that FLB aged Weetzie. LOVED IT!! I love how even WItch Baby (who now goes by the name Lily) and Cherokee think they know everything there is to learn but realize that they are their mother's daughter. There's no running away from that. - Brilliant!
I totally recommend this book to all you dreamers out there. For anyone who believes that life is starting to pass them by. And to those out there who look at thier husband and stop seeing the boy you fell in love with and start to wonder -- where has that boy gone off to? This book will help you find all of those answers.
Like I said... LOVES IT!
I am foever Team Weetzie!
August 16, 2020
This was a perfect ending to the series, and I hope to never outgrow Weetzie Bat. Francesca Lia Block is not going to be everyone's cup of tea, she's weird and her writing it poetic. She's not the author for you if you haven't come home after a dreadful day, made a fairy ring and laid in the middle until the ick cleared.
June 18, 2023
Block has long been my wife's favorite author. I bought this book for her during our first Christmas together in 2005. We were 20.
We're 38 now.
It was a little surreal to read this so soon after finishing the audiobook "The Body Keeps the Score." Even more surreal was experiencing the story of the protagonist's husband, Max: a man so broken by the 9/11 attacks that he becomes incapable of feeling or seeing anything else but the horrors of the world -- a story similar to my own except that I compounded my trauma by joining the US Army.
Block's writing is dense with color and vision which, for me, made this a difficult read. I struggle mightily with visualizing places, clothing, etc. in books. My mind tends to skip over these details by default.
As I undergo EMDR therapy, however, this bit will continue to stand out to me:
"Your animus isn't supposed to be interested in you. He's supposed to be integrated into you. That way you won't go chasing some idealized dream lover for the rest of your days."
We're 38 now.
It was a little surreal to read this so soon after finishing the audiobook "The Body Keeps the Score." Even more surreal was experiencing the story of the protagonist's husband, Max: a man so broken by the 9/11 attacks that he becomes incapable of feeling or seeing anything else but the horrors of the world -- a story similar to my own except that I compounded my trauma by joining the US Army.
Block's writing is dense with color and vision which, for me, made this a difficult read. I struggle mightily with visualizing places, clothing, etc. in books. My mind tends to skip over these details by default.
As I undergo EMDR therapy, however, this bit will continue to stand out to me:
"Your animus isn't supposed to be interested in you. He's supposed to be integrated into you. That way you won't go chasing some idealized dream lover for the rest of your days."
August 8, 2007
I was surprised that I didn't like Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Collection. That book should have been just my thing: Former alternative-club kid who had several gay quasi boyfriends? Eighties setting? Lots of descriptions of clothes and accessories and hairstyles and rooms? Appreciation for fantasy fiction and young adult fiction? Check, check, check, and check.
But maybe I was just too old when I read Dangerous Angels, because the book annoyed me so much I found myself scowling and rolling my eyes a lot while I read it, so I gave it away when I was more than halfway through it. See my review of it for a little more on what bugged me about it.
Nevertheless, I did like this one about Weetzie all grown up and going through a mid-life crisis better, even though I still found myself rolling my eyes at Weetzie and at FLB at times.
But maybe I was just too old when I read Dangerous Angels, because the book annoyed me so much I found myself scowling and rolling my eyes a lot while I read it, so I gave it away when I was more than halfway through it. See my review of it for a little more on what bugged me about it.
Nevertheless, I did like this one about Weetzie all grown up and going through a mid-life crisis better, even though I still found myself rolling my eyes at Weetzie and at FLB at times.
July 1, 2014
There is some YA fiction I would read again and again in a heartbeat without worrying that it would be a disappointment rather than a pleasure as it was in my youth. After reading the sixth Weetzie Bat book for the first time, I can honestly say I have no intention of re-reading Dangerous Angels, as this book has shown me that some writers are not well suited for an adult audience. Block's writing enthralled me as a teen, her heavy descriptions painted vivid pictures and it read like a movie- now it seems overly descriptive, and the descriptions are a dead weight that take up half a page; it reads so much like a list that I found it rather ironic to see there was indeed a list of Weetzie's suitcase belongings. I'd rather stick with my memories of a well written series that I loved, rather than ruin it by re-reading in order to satisfy this demand that nostalgia is not sufficient.
December 5, 2023
Just a quick note: I don't remember being particularly fond of this book when it first came out but it was so good this time. It's a beautiful world, with all of the characters I love figuring things out and whenever I looked up from reading it felt like I was teleporting out of that world. Beautiful.
November 11, 2024
J'adore.
August 25, 2015
Necklace of Kisses is the sixth book in Francesca Lia Block’s Weetzie Bat series. I read the first five books in the Dangerous Angels collection and loved every minute of it. While Necklace of Kisses differs from those books, in my opinion, Block’s writing is just as captivating.
As I said, I found this book to have a different feel than the rest of the Weetzie Bat books, though this wasn’t a thing that turned me off. One thing that made this change (that I’m not really sure I can accurately put into words) feel natural is that Weetzie is now 40. She’s grown up. She’s a mother of college kids. And she is just now finding herself. As readers, we’ve aged with Weetzie, as well. And behind the beautiful language, magical characters, and otherworldly experiences Weetzie has in this book, there is a story that we can all relate to. I may not be Weetzie’s age, but we all have a time in our life when we need to go out and find ourselves. For her, it just happened a little later in a magical, crazy life.
I’m not going to come out and say this was my favorite book of the series. I think the first book will always hold that place for me for many reasons. However, the fact that Block has shared this cast of characters’ lives with us over many years, and still can keep the magic in her books, that’s what’ll keep me reading her work. It’s also what’ll keep me coming back to this series (I still have the prequel, Pink Smog, to read next) for as long as it may go on. I wouldn’t be opposed to reading about Weetzie, Max, Dirk, and Duck all in rockers watching grandchildren grow up before their eyes.
As I said, I found this book to have a different feel than the rest of the Weetzie Bat books, though this wasn’t a thing that turned me off. One thing that made this change (that I’m not really sure I can accurately put into words) feel natural is that Weetzie is now 40. She’s grown up. She’s a mother of college kids. And she is just now finding herself. As readers, we’ve aged with Weetzie, as well. And behind the beautiful language, magical characters, and otherworldly experiences Weetzie has in this book, there is a story that we can all relate to. I may not be Weetzie’s age, but we all have a time in our life when we need to go out and find ourselves. For her, it just happened a little later in a magical, crazy life.
I’m not going to come out and say this was my favorite book of the series. I think the first book will always hold that place for me for many reasons. However, the fact that Block has shared this cast of characters’ lives with us over many years, and still can keep the magic in her books, that’s what’ll keep me reading her work. It’s also what’ll keep me coming back to this series (I still have the prequel, Pink Smog, to read next) for as long as it may go on. I wouldn’t be opposed to reading about Weetzie, Max, Dirk, and Duck all in rockers watching grandchildren grow up before their eyes.
October 9, 2013
***3 Sweet-Magical Stars***
My dear friend Alexandra lend me this book ages ago, she is a big fan of the magical realism genre and I wanted to expand my literary horizons and try something new.
This is book six of the Weetzie Bat series and even though it can be read as a standalone, I feel that I couldn't connect with the story enough because I never read the other books. In Necklace of Kisses (super cute name BTW) we fallow the character of Weetzie Bat, she's been married to her secret agent husband for a long time now, but after the events of 9/11 he's been very cold and distant and not paying much attention to his wife, feeling lost and confused about what to do Weetzie stars to question everything and decides to run away to the Pink Hotel. She then spends the book obsessing about fashion, getting mani-pedis and kissing magical creatures. Eventually her husband Max finds her and despite all, they are ready to reunite.
While I thought this book was extremely cute and entertaining, I don't think this genre is for me. I'm happy I read it and experienced something completely different from my usual; it was definitely refreshing.
Thank you sweet Alexandra for introducing me to your beloved Weetzie <3
My dear friend Alexandra lend me this book ages ago, she is a big fan of the magical realism genre and I wanted to expand my literary horizons and try something new.
This is book six of the Weetzie Bat series and even though it can be read as a standalone, I feel that I couldn't connect with the story enough because I never read the other books. In Necklace of Kisses (super cute name BTW) we fallow the character of Weetzie Bat, she's been married to her secret agent husband for a long time now, but after the events of 9/11 he's been very cold and distant and not paying much attention to his wife, feeling lost and confused about what to do Weetzie stars to question everything and decides to run away to the Pink Hotel. She then spends the book obsessing about fashion, getting mani-pedis and kissing magical creatures. Eventually her husband Max finds her and despite all, they are ready to reunite.
While I thought this book was extremely cute and entertaining, I don't think this genre is for me. I'm happy I read it and experienced something completely different from my usual; it was definitely refreshing.
Thank you sweet Alexandra for introducing me to your beloved Weetzie <3
May 22, 2007
Necklace of Kisses continues the stories and characters Block created in the Dangerous Angels series. In this follow-up story, Weetzie Bat and Max have grown up and come to a stall in their relationship. Weetzie runs away to the pink hotel where she meets an assortment of mythical characters that bring her to an acceptance of the imperfection of her relationship with Max.
Marked by Block's signature lyrical style, Necklace of Kisses examines the post-happily ever after condition and offers hopefulness in its acceptance of imperfect relationships.
Marked by Block's signature lyrical style, Necklace of Kisses examines the post-happily ever after condition and offers hopefulness in its acceptance of imperfect relationships.
November 4, 2007
All in all, I found the writing style terribly annoying, and Weetzie, while definitely a "character," is a very irritating character. I think this foray into magic realism was not terrible successful -- it reads like my stories of randomness that I wrote when I was 12.
That said, I really wanted Weetzie to get it on with the seductive faun, but she never did. Lately no one is getting it on with the people I am expecting.
That said, I really wanted Weetzie to get it on with the seductive faun, but she never did. Lately no one is getting it on with the people I am expecting.
May 14, 2011
Weetzie Bat's tremendous superficiality was I guess tolerable when she was a teenager in the 80s. Now in the 2000s and in her 40s, it's just irritating and sad to read about the endless pampering and and glorified twee consumerism of middle-aged Weetzie and her equally idiotic friends. But there were two good things about Necklace of Kisses. One, the soft pink binding is lovely. Two, it was nice to see my favorite character, Witch Baby finally happy and in college.
March 9, 2013
oh i loved this. i loved it more than the orginal weetzie bat books... the setting is a magical LA -warm, perfumed, pink, full of misfits and strange beings. i love the descriptions of clothes and food, and i love that even though when two people kiss they may float slightly above the floor or little hearts might circle around their heads, or if someone cries they might cry diamonds... it all feels very real.
November 16, 2015
I loved the Weetzie Bat books when I was a teenager, so I was excited to read this new chronicle in her adventure. Unfortunately, it seems like the author was a lot more concerned with describing Weetzie's wardrobe than any kind of plot or character development. I gave up a few chapters in.
May 26, 2009
Weetzie Bat is all grown up. Having a midlife crisis she goes to the Pink Hotel and finds there strange folks who help help her understand her place in the world.
June 7, 2022
This is such a beautiful follow-up book to Dangerous Angels (the Weetzie Bat collection). It's grown up in the way that the Weetzie Bat books aren't, but the spirit is still the same.
August 2, 2013
I read this quickly several years ago, and remember nothing other than it wrapped up the Weetzie Bat series as an adult novel. The previous five books are more related and much stronger.
May 14, 2020
Loved Weetzie Bat as a kid, and while I enjoyed this conclusion to the series where we get to see Weetzie and Secret Agent Lover Man go through a bad period in their marriage (SALM is in a depression due to 9/11, and no longer kisses Weetzie enough. Remember back when Americans were sad when thousands of people died in a day? When it caused wars and people mourned about it? Seems almost quaint as wr live through this pandemic where 2-3k people die daily and we have assholes mad that they can't get haircuts and go bowling). , so Weetzie checks into a hotel amd a bunch of magical stuff happens. She meets a mermaid and a faun-centaur thing and a few other weirdos, plus a reunion with the genie from the very first book. Block fills us in on Witch Baby and Cherokee and devotes pages and pages to describing clothing and mourning the no-longer-so-cool city of Los Angeles. The book itself was satisfying and easy to read, and it was a good story- I am glad I finished the series, bit it doesn't strike the chords it did with me as a teenager, despite the characters all being adults now. Probably because cool doesn't matter much in this season of my life so its hard to relate to a main character who derives so much of herself from her clothing and collecting of cool weirdos. The book overall is kind of slow- easy to read a chapter here and there and put down, which I did, but still worth reading for fans. 3 stars.
December 10, 2019
Francesca Lia Block is a goddess of my childhood. Her novels (particularly "Missing Angel Juan") were the source of obsession for me in middle school. Her characters had perfect style, knew themselves, ate super interesting food like quinoa before it was a thing and were perfect for my Sassy Magazine reading, doc marten, 'zine, L7 world.
--- BUT. I'm not sure it's as fun to read about these characters in their 40s. As always, her language is enchanting, her love of LA makes me almost like it... the magical realism is great.
---BUT there's something weird awkward about Weetzie as an older person. I'm probably close to the same age as her. I still enjoy magic and love, but it's like viewing the world through YA glasses.
This sounds very jaded but there is something magical about being a tween/teen that just isn't the same when you get old and own a house and raise children. I guess that is what was off for me. Adulthood, middle age, etc. can be magical but it's not in the same way. This review probably doesn't make sense, and honestly I should have known I would be disappointed when I read the synopsis.
--- BUT. I'm not sure it's as fun to read about these characters in their 40s. As always, her language is enchanting, her love of LA makes me almost like it... the magical realism is great.
---BUT there's something weird awkward about Weetzie as an older person. I'm probably close to the same age as her. I still enjoy magic and love, but it's like viewing the world through YA glasses.
This sounds very jaded but there is something magical about being a tween/teen that just isn't the same when you get old and own a house and raise children. I guess that is what was off for me. Adulthood, middle age, etc. can be magical but it's not in the same way. This review probably doesn't make sense, and honestly I should have known I would be disappointed when I read the synopsis.
December 29, 2020
Like bubblegum for your brain, like stepping into a Will Cotton painting, the Weetzie Bat world is always a fun fairy tale romp. This time, Weetzie is 40 and having a mid-life crisis because My Secret Agent Lover Man never kisses her anymore. She escapes to the pink hotel where her high school prom was held and meets a whole crew of magical beings. Along the way, she grows up a bit herself. As usual, the shimmering imagery and neon vibes of L.A. are characters themselves.
By my calculations, today Weetzie would be 57. What kind of adventures is she having now?
"Weetzie, who never in her life had been short on things to say, realized that it was happening quite a lot lately." p. 64
"The trees were sparkling like green-glass chandeliers." p. 107
"'I love hotels,' Julie said. 'They are so empty and full at the same time.'" p. 148
"That was what clothing could do, Cherokee realized. It could seduce, soothe, enhance, disguise, protect. It could empower. Like magic." p. 155
"Find the goddess inside yourself instead of looking for the god in someone else." p. 192
"Sometimes you fall, spinning through space, grasping for the things that keep you here. Sometimes you catch them. Sometimes you don't. Sometimes they catch you." p. 220
By my calculations, today Weetzie would be 57. What kind of adventures is she having now?
"Weetzie, who never in her life had been short on things to say, realized that it was happening quite a lot lately." p. 64
"The trees were sparkling like green-glass chandeliers." p. 107
"'I love hotels,' Julie said. 'They are so empty and full at the same time.'" p. 148
"That was what clothing could do, Cherokee realized. It could seduce, soothe, enhance, disguise, protect. It could empower. Like magic." p. 155
"Find the goddess inside yourself instead of looking for the god in someone else." p. 192
"Sometimes you fall, spinning through space, grasping for the things that keep you here. Sometimes you catch them. Sometimes you don't. Sometimes they catch you." p. 220
April 7, 2025
If I were being nice, I’d rate this book a two and say that it represented the whole series being rounded up. But I don’t feel like being nice, so I’ll say that with the exception of Pink Smog (and some parts of Baby Be-Bop), I absolutely hated this series. I hated the lack of lesbians (but of course Francesca remembered gay boys and men who dress up as women); I hated the descriptions that had so many colors but felt so bland (the descriptions of clothes were especially egregious; they reminded me of a fanfic where the author spends a paragraph describing what a character is wearing); I hated the flat, annoying characters; I hated the try-hard quirkiness; I hated all the unnecessary adjectives; I hated how this book especially felt like a colossal waste of time.
Sarah McCarry’s Metamorphoses trilogy clearly took a lot of inspiration from this series, but did it so much better. Just go read that trilogy and don’t waste your time with this series.
Sarah McCarry’s Metamorphoses trilogy clearly took a lot of inspiration from this series, but did it so much better. Just go read that trilogy and don’t waste your time with this series.
June 20, 2017
I only found this book because I was fulfilling a hotel prompt for the pop sugar reading challenge. I wasn't expecting much out of it. I was happily wrong. You really see this character grow up while she has these fantastical experiences at this magic hotel. The cast of characters, the writing style, and messages were great. Considering I'm about to get married and many I the things Weezie Bat deals with are things I'm anxious about myself is comforting. Getting older is ok! You can still.be fabulous. Life can always be magical. But it shows the importance of taking time for yourself, even if you are partnered up, in order to grow. It also shows that you can always find the magic in your romance as we as your life.
March 26, 2019
Too much. Too real. Too sad. The start of this book made me hiss with annoyance that we’ve all grown up. The specific pop culture references were pushy and overtook the magic. Magical realism, right? Not realistic magic. The fantasy has to come first, at least- in Weetzie Bat’s world.
The pink hotel captured the essence of previous stories. The characters (as always) were numerous and beautifully written. THIS is what I need from a Weetzie Bat book.
Definitely a reality check for aging dreamers. Maybe Block wrote this for closure, idk. 9/11 affected everyone, and I can see this being a response to that discomfort. In all, it really made me want to go back and read the earlier stories for the billionth time. Maybe by the pool.
The pink hotel captured the essence of previous stories. The characters (as always) were numerous and beautifully written. THIS is what I need from a Weetzie Bat book.
Definitely a reality check for aging dreamers. Maybe Block wrote this for closure, idk. 9/11 affected everyone, and I can see this being a response to that discomfort. In all, it really made me want to go back and read the earlier stories for the billionth time. Maybe by the pool.
September 16, 2022
This felt like a very natural progression for Weetzie Bat. Still magical, still Weetzie, but also more adult. It was probably a good idea that I read this now, being an adult myself (even though still far from the midlife crisis) than back when I was first obsessed with these characters and the world. I loved the themes of this book, especially how the anima/animus idea was handled. Although it was quite predictable in some sense, it was the details that surprised me and made all the ideas fresh again.
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