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Francesca Lia Block, who has been heralded as a superior writer who "created a superior cast of characters," began writing as "a sort of therapy" during her father's illness. Since then she has churned out more than fifteen novels, receiving critical acclaim for her unique style, charm, and poignancy. Although Block's books are classified as young adult, her works seep into adult audiences and she has accumulated a loyal following. Block, however prefers not to label her genre. Instead, she claims, "I just wrote. I wanted to tell a story and let it find its readers." And those readers who have found her continue to seek out her work.
McMahon, Thomas, Ed. 2000. Authors and Artists. Vol. 34, Francesca Lia Block. Detroit: Gale Group.
Some tidbits about Block:
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She was born in Hollywood in 1962 to a poet and a film-maker turned painter
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She graduated from UCLA, Berkeley where she studied Gabriel García Márquez and Hilda Doolittle
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Her interests include dance, film, and vegetarian cooking
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She was named one of the coolest people in L.A. by Buzz Magazine
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She has a dog named Vincent Van Go Go Boots
Awards and Honors:
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Best Books of the Year citation, American Library Association
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Best of the 1980s, Booklist
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Recommended Books for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
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Best Books citation, New York Times
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Best Fifty Books, Publisher's Weekly
"I don't know about happily ever after, but I know about happy."
--Francesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat
A selection of works
Francesca Lia Block's Dangerous Angels series is a fine example of her style and perhaps the best of her modern-day fairy tales. These books have a far-reaching appeal to a young adult audience as well as twentysomethings. Their themes encompass coming of age, love, friendship, and hope.
1989. Weetzie Bat. New York: HarperCollins. The book that launched the Dangerous Angels series. Weetzie Bat details the trials and tribulations of Weetzie Bat, punk princess, and her friends on their search for love and fulfillment.
1990. Witch Baby. New York: HarperCollins. In the follow-up to Block's Weetzie Bat, Weetzie's purple-eyed step baby is different from the rest of her family. She sets out on a quest to find out about her roots.
1991. Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys. New York: HarperCollins. When Weetzie's daughter Cherokee Bat and her friends create a successful rock band, they are soon met with the corruption and hardships of a rock 'n roll lifestyle: sex, drugs, and a struggle for power.
1994. Missing Angel Juan. New York: HarperCollins. When Witch Baby's beloved Angel Juan disappears, she sets off to New York City to find him, but ends up finding more about herself than she expected.
1995. Baby BeBop. New York: HarperCollins. This story tells of Weetzie's best friend Dirk McDonald's struggle with his identity and the hardships he faces in accepting himself and coming out as a homosexual.
Francesca Lia Block is published by HarperCollins Publishers
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
(212) 207-7000
www.HarperCollins.com
"[Block's] extravagantly imaginative setting and finely honed perspectives remind the reader that there is magic everywhere."
Publishers Weekly
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