WASTELAND
Francesca Lia Block, . . HarperCollins/Cotler, $7.99 (150pp) ISBN 978-0-06-440839-4
Teenaged Marina must come to terms with her brother's death. In a starred review,
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Reviewed on: 10/18/2004
Genre: Children's
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- Necklace of KissesFrancesca Lia BlockReaders who remember Weetzie Bat and My Secret Agent Lover Man's first kiss (a "kiss about apple pie à la mode with the vanilla creaminess melting in the pie heat") from their Continue reading »
- RubyFrancesca Lia Block, Carmen StatonYA author Block (the Weetzie Bat books) collaborates on a novel yet maintains her trademarks: fairy tale simplicity combined with wrenching emotional realism, served with a hefty side of Continue reading »
- Psyche in a DressFrancesca Lia BlockNarrated in luminous free verse, Block's (Weetzie Bat ) magically compassionate novel traces a girl's sinuous path through love, into adulthood and Continue reading »
- QuakelandFrancesca Lia BlockBeloved YA author Block, creator of Weetzie Bat and other indelible characters, returns to her familiar Venice, Calif., setting for this set of four adult short stories and title novella. They Continue reading »
- Blood RosesFrancesca Lia BlockThis imaginative but uneven short story collection blends fantasy and reality in Block's (Weetzie Bat ) characteristic style. A schizophrenic girl explains Continue reading »
- How to (Un)Cage a GirlFrancesca Lia BlockIn what reads like confessional verse, Block (Weetzie Bat ) explores her trademark themes (like not feeling pretty “in [a] city of movie-star Continue reading »
- The Waters & the WildFrancesca Lia BlockAwash in a bruised and aching adolescent sensibility, Weetzie Bat author Block's new novel doesn't waste a word. Doubles abound: doppelgängers, Continue reading »
- Pretty DeadFrancesca Lia BlockKnown for lyrical, intoxicating prose and magical realism, Block delves into the vampire mythos with a racy story that sizzles and satisfies. While the story she spins (century-old vampire lives Continue reading »
- House of DollsFrancesca Lia BlockFans of Block's edgy novels and admirers of McClintock's traditional artwork will be equally surprised by this unusual yet successful pairing. Turning away from her usual subject matter and Continue reading »
- The FrenzyFrancesca Lia BlockHaving offered her twist on the vampire mythos in Pretty Dead, Block sets her sights on lycanthropy. When Liv turned 13, she knew she had changed, but not "what I had become." The hair that grows all Continue reading »
- Missing Angel JuanFrancesca Lia BlockIn this sequel to Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys, Witch Baby goes to New York City in search of her boyfriend; ``seamlessly artless text drifts from the concrete to the surreal and back again,'' said Continue reading »
- The Hanged ManFrancesca Lia Block, Block""Block's novel is structured upon the conventions of a tarot reading, adding another layer of meaning and mystery to the hypnotic prose,"" said PW's starred review of this tale of a girl grappling Continue reading »
- I Was a Teenage FairyFrancesca Lia BlockIn a postmodern fairy tale, a teen model's friendship with a fairy helps her overcome abuse. ""The prose sustains steady crescendos of insight,"" said PW's starred review. Ages 12-up. (May) Continue reading »
- Weetzie BatFrancesca Lia BlockAn offbeat heroine shares a Hollywood cottage with three equally quirky companions; in PW 's words, ``Block's first book is related in a breezy, knowing voice; her strange and sparkling tribute to Continue reading »
- Violet & ClaireFrancesca Lia BlockBlock (the Weetzie Bat novels) sets herself new challenges and meets them with consummate grace in this resonant novel. Violet and Claire, best friends, are polar opposites: Violet is angry and Continue reading »
- Girl Goddess: Nine StoriesFrancesca Lia BlockWriting with the same sense of wonder that gives such magic to Weetzie Bat and her other novels, Block turns out nine short stories that share a similar theme. Here, as in her previous work, the Continue reading »
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- The Rose and the Beast: Fairy Tales RetoldFrancesca Lia BlockBlock's (Weetzie Bat) contemporary novels have invariably borrowed elements from classic fairy tales; this time, the author pulls a switch. Setting out to revisit nine fairy tales, she fills her Continue reading »
- Goat Girls: Two Weetzie Bat BooksFrancesca Lia BlockFrancesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat books divide down gender lines in two paperback collections: Beautiful Boys (which contains Missing Angel Juan and Baby Be-Bop) and Goat Girls (which consists of Continue reading »
- Beautiful BoysFrancesca Lia BlockFrancesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat books divide down gender lines in two paperback collections: Beautiful Boys (which contains Missing Angel Juan and Baby Be-Bop) and Goat Girls (which consists of Continue reading »
- Witch BabyFrancesca Lia BlockReaders of Weetzie Bat , Block's effervescent first novel, will recall that Witch Baby is the daughter of My Secret Agent Lover Man and the villainess Vixanne Wigg--leader of the sinister Jayne Continue reading »
- Cherokee Bat and the Goat GuysFrancesca Lia BlockFans of Weetzie Bat and Witch Baby will be delighted with this latest opportunity to reenter Block's magical vision of Los Angeles. With the grown-ups who make up the Bat household off making a film Continue reading »
- Baby Be-BopFrancesca Lia BlockEmbroidering her prose with lushly romantic imagery, Block returns to the world of Weetzie Bat for this keenly felt story. A prequel of sorts to Weetzie Bat, the novel opens while Weetzie's best Continue reading »
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PW Talks with Francesca Lia Block Continue reading »
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