“Weetzie Bat”, by Francesca Lia Block

Weetzie Bat is set in Los Angeles, which is the perfect setting for the fantasy tone it invokes. Weetzie Bat starts out as a teenager who hates high school, and we follow her life over several years, as she creates a family for herself, interacts with a magical genie, and deals with her father’s death. In the beginning of the book, we are introduced to Weetzie’s best friend, Dirk. They make an awesome duo, as they ride around LA in their “slinkster cool” car, and watch Jayne Mansfield movies. First Dirk falls in love with Duck, and later Weetzie picks up My Secret Agent Lover Man. The four of them make up a surrogate family, especially when Weetzie decides to have a baby with Dirk and Duck, and My Secret Agent Lover Man brings back his daughter, Witch Baby. All of the action takes place in a fantasy version of LA (which isn’t really that far off from the real Hollywoodland), but beneath all of the glitz, these characters deal with some very real issues.

This was a quick and entertaining read, and I loved how the setting contributed to the fantasy aspect of it. Plus, I used to live in LA, so I could picture the characters going to the restaurants and places they named, and the entire tone of the book made sense to me. Weetzie and her friends are untraditional and march to the tune of their own drums, which was refreshing and fun to read. I loved how unapologetic Block is about including controversial themes and stories, and Weetzie’s love for life shows her ability to roll with the punches. It’s as if Block is telling teens, “Sometimes you have to deal with crap in life… it doesn’t mean you have to be dramatic about it.” However, it is interesting how, much like in “Boy Meets Boy,” Block set her action in a fantasy world, perhaps so she could get away with what otherwise would have been Major Issues. The 1989 publication date also makes this book unique in it’s treatment of things like homosexuality and AIDS.

Book talk hook: The decriptions of Weetzie’s outfits and LA geography or famous landmarks.

Block, Francesca Lia (1989). Weetzie Bat. NY: Harper Collins. 109 pages.