Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block

ISBN: 978-0-06-073625-5
Harper Collins, NY
1989
109 pages

Plot Summary

Weetzie Bat and her best friend Dirk love each other dearly but have a most unconventional household. Weetzie Bat wants all her wishes to come true. She yearns for true love for Dirk and for herself and she wants a baby.

Critical Evaluation

Weetzie Bat and the cast of characters in this book are most unusual (beginning with their names) but there's an undercurrent of sadness when AIDS invades their world of love. This book is an original, creative modern day fairy tale.

Reader's Annotation

Weetzie Bat is disappointed because when she asks the genie to grant her three wishes, she thinks that only two of them have come true and that she will be left without true love in her life.

Author's Information

Francesca Lia Block is the best-selling author of many award-winning books, including I Was a Teenage Fairy. She was named one of Buzz magazine's "100 Coolest People in LA."

Genre

Modern-day fantasy/fairy tale

No Curriculum Ties

Booktalking Ideas

1. Dirk tells Weetzie Bat his secret.

2. Weetzie Bat asks the genie to grant her 3 wishes.

3. Weetzie Bat meets her Secret Lover Man.

Reading/Interest Level

High school through adult

Challenge Issues and Defense

Drug and alcohol use, gay lovers

Rave reviews, ALA Best Book for YA, ALA Best Book for Reluctant YA Readers

Why I Included This Book

The LA Times Book Review called this "one of the most original books of the last 10 years." One of our head librarian's favority books and authors.