Primevera by Francesca Lia Block

This is the "companion novel" to Ecstasia. I'm not sure. You know, this isn't the type of book that I usually read but I do love FLB's writing. These just are not my favorites of her works. Ecstasia was dark but this is even darker, more violent. It struck me this morning that what I was reading was almost horror.

After the band arrives in the desert and together create a paradise, Primevera is born. She is Calliope and Dionisio's child and she has the ability to simply sing flowers into being. However, as she grows this power becomes suffocating and she wants nothing more than to visit Elysia, the carnival city her parents escaped from. When a stranger appears with the gift of a motorcycle, Primevera is able to make her escape from the suffocating flowers, her smothering parents, and her intense desire for Paul.

On Primevera's journey, she see's many sad things but she also makes a number of friends. There is a boy whose mother was half bird but has gone missing. There is a girl who looks like her, Arcadie who is Lily and the Doctor's child. There are a number of "mutants" trapped by a cold, hating man.

Like I said, this is a dark and sometimes violent book. It took me a while to get into it but this morning I read the second half. I enjoyed it, I suppose. It had the ability to keep me on the edge of my seat for a while. It's worth a try if you don't mind the sadness.