Review: Weetzie Bat

Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had conflicting feelings on this book, but I liked the way it ended. I would give it 3 1/2 stars if I could, but I wasn't quite impressed enough to give it 4. I think the book would have benefitted from more dialogue, and I felt there was too much telling and not enough showing. It's almost like it was too short. However, I enjoyed the magical realism element to it, and the characters were interesting. I appreciated the overall message of it, which is that sometimes, romantic relationships, babies, and the like don't work out quite the way you'd hoped, but your friendships and the people closest to you carry you through. And honestly, I did not like Weetzie. I thought she was self-absorbed, reckless at times, and immature. She reminded me of certain past dating interests I've had, and not in a good way. I thought Dirk and Duck were amazing, and I think I would have liked the book better had it been told from Dirk's perspective. He was very loyal to everyone who came into his life. I also thought Charlie Bat, Weetzie's dad, was an interesting character. While I was sad about the way things turned for him, I understood where he was coming from, and I wish things had been better on his end. I'm glad I read this book because apparently, it was a real trail blazer when it was first published in the late 80s. I'm tempted to read the next book in the series, since they're short, just to see where some of these plot lines go.

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