Weetzie Bat
Author: Francesca Lia Block
Series: Weetzie Bat (#1)
Publisher: HarperCollins
How Received: bought
In her stunning debut, Francesca Lia Block has created a wild, sophisticated fairy tale. She invites us into a magical world where love really does manage to conquer all.
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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 conclusion.
For instance, take this section. I'm all for not even blinking an eye when character's are gay, but it's just a great example of this weird kind of writing style:
"Weetzie, I have something to tell you," Dirk said.
"What?"
"I have to wait till we get to the Odyssey."
At the Odyssey, Weetzie and Dirk bought a pack of cigarettes and two Cokes. Dirk poured rum from the little bottle he kept in his jacket pocket into the COkes. They say next to the d.j. booth watching the Lanka girls in spandy-wear dancing around.
"What were you going to tell me?" Weetzie asked.
"I'm gay," Dirk said.
"Who, what, when, where, how-well, not how," Weetzie said. "It doesn't matter one bit, honey-honey," she said, giving him a hug.
Dirk took a swig of his drink. "But you know I'll always love you the best and think you are a beautiful, sexy girl," he said.
"Now we can Duck hunt together," Weetzie said, taking his hand.
I just - I - what?
It just reads, to me, like something I'd find in the dark corners of a fanfiction website.
Final Comments: Not my kind of writing style at all. Not at all.