weetzie bat

Reason Book Chosen

I heard a lot about this series from a lot of friends who read it as a teen and loved it.

Bibliographic Information

Author: Francesca Lia Block

Publisher: Harper Collins

ISBN: 0064408183

Copyright Date: 1989

Genre

Fantasy/Magical Realism/Fairytale

About the Author

Francesca Lia Block is most famous for the Weetzie Bat series. Block has written many other young adult novels and collections, some of which are controversial because of their homosexual content. Block has also written some non-fiction.

Reader’s Annotation

Happily Ever After can be quite Batty.

Plot Summary

Weetzie Bat and her best friend, Dirk, are “slinky-cool” high school hating teens in Los Angeles, looking for adventure, which is easy once Dirk’s grandmother leaves Weetzie a present that allows her to grant three wishes. Her wishes, granted quite literally, soon alter her and Dirk’s home life and love life dramatically. Then Weetzie gets a series of other silly ideas on how to make things even better, even more happily-ever-after. That’s when things get even more Batty. 

Critical Analysis

This is a quirky, magical, whimsical short novel. A modern, urban, and unlikely fairytale that is quite humorous and over the top in its literalness. It might make you feel all warm and silly inside. There is certainly a lot of tangential rambling, and if you took away all the quirky names and characters, you will see the plot is barebones, but the characters and the world Block creates are somehow enough to sustain the entire novel. A reader will want to be Weetzie’s best friend, or want a best friend like her. Weetzie, in essence, is not so much a character, but more of a “type.” If one can think of her this one, then one might be more fond of her. Otherwise, she might seem flat.

The pacing is also interesting, bumping along at different points. There is also a whole lot of thoughts on the universe and general existential concepts woven throughout. A teen trying to make sense of a nonsensical world might enjoy this. Children might like it too, as well as adults, and it is therefore good for many ages.

Additionally, I was shocked by how fresh the writing seemed, given the publishing date. I was also shocked that there were queer characters, and that there was no discussion of them being queer and what this meant. The novel was not about them being queer. They were simply queer.

Some readers might get annoyed by how overly quirky the characters and the writing is. This book might not be for everyone, but for those who like it, they will probably treasure it. A reader will probably like this book even more so if he or she doesn’t take it so seriously (which I do not believe was Block’s intention).

Themes/Issues/Tags

Queer, Modern Fairytale, Non-conventional relationships, Happiness, Love, Non traditional family, fantasy, magical realism

Controversial Subject Matters

Homosexuality

Defense: It’s not a book about homosexuality. Two characters just happen to be gay.

Non-traditional relationships

Defense: Many kids grow up in nontraditional homes

Teen pregnancy

Defense: The pregnancy is planned. The general tone of the book is silly, not serious.

High School Dropout

Defense: We don’t really know for sure if Weetzie actually drops out of school. We can sort of assume so, but this is never said.

Utopia- The novel paints a glamorous picture of a dysfunctional and unrealistic situation

Defense: It’s a fairytale! (with some elements of spoof). Fairytales generally aren’t realistic. Could spark good healthy debate about fairytales, in general, and the cultural meaning of them.

Booktalking Ideas

What would happen if you put a fairytale in the washing machine?

Read the last sentence/quote on p.109 “I don’t know about happily but I know about happily ever after”

Character Hook - Simply read a list of the characters’ names. This alone is intriguing.

Read p. 10, the beginning of “Duck Hunting.”  There were many kinds of Ducks……..Weetzie and Dirk went to find the Ducks of their respective dreams.”

Curriculum Ties

Literature - Modern Fairytales

Reading Level

12+ (for content, although the writing is easy enough for a 4^th grader to read)

Interest Level

 14-17