Violet and Claire by Francesca Lia Block

I remember really liking this book when I was in high school. How could I not? Wasn't I the dark girl constantly scribbling away with the best friend lighter than light? I love the magic of the gay/transvestite bar most of all and it was the one scene that always stuck out in my mind.

Apparently, my tastes have changed. I just couldn't get into this time around. I tried and I waited to be swept away into the world of FLB which is always full of so much magic and love, even when things are not good. It just never happened.

Violet wears all black and her room is all black. Even her '65 Mustang is black. She wants nothing more than to write and direct films. All she needs is conflict. When she spots a new girl with fairy wings dressed in white and defends her against a high school creep, she becomes instant friends with Claire. Claire will be her leading lady. Still, Violet needs conflict and a love interest, two things that she gets more than enough of from a rock star bad boy. A new world is open to her and it is not what it seems. Violet slips even further into the dark while Claire finds love with a poet instructor and ends up hurt.

There are still things that I like about this book. The gay bar is still full of magic. A teenager will love this but I am not above admitting that I have moved beyond this book.

Death of a Glutton by M.C. Beaton

I have never been a very big fan of mysteries and definitely not those form mysteries that everyone seemed so keen on. If that's what I wanted, I would play Clue. M.C. Beaton's Hamish MacBeth series hooked me, though. The main character is charming and just up my alley. For instance, he keeps whiskey on his mantle and is unambitious, happy to work in a small town and send his money to his parents to care for his younger siblings.

My only beef with these books is that they are, well, very formulaic. At this point, I can guess what each chapter will bring. Chapter 1 we will be introduced to a number of characters, old friends and people we have never heard of before. Most are walk on characters to drive the plot and I have a hard time keeping them straight. I tend to read with one finger in chapter one so I can reference who the author is talking about. Chapter 2 will show how the characters interact and the reader will see that everyone hates the person who dies in chapter 3.

In this mystery, a dating service for the upper-class brings a group of possible couples to the castle inn. When the owner and organizer's business partner shows up, a gluttonous woman in search of a rich man for herself, all hell breaks loose.

But, really, they are amusing little reads. I spend the first half wondering why I read these short cozy mysteries and the second half devouring every word. By the time I'm done I can't wait for the next one and you won't be able to either.

The Hanged Man by Francesca Lia Block

This is truly my favorite Francesca Lia Block book. There are so many reasons to love it. It is beautiful, dark, surreal, and told through Tarot cards, which I love. The characters are great, mysterious boys and little fairy girls.

Laurel has had a damaging childhood and these memories push to the surface after her father dies. Laurel seems to be town between a deep love for her father, as in when she talks about their trip to Jamaica, and a deep anger and hurt, as when she talks about her fear of him. Laurel's friend Claudia's mother tells fortunes with Tarot cards and since they were little the girls have been attracted to these powerful cards. Laurel is the Queen of Cups and when she is angry or upset, cups break around the house. After her father's death, she knows the cups will not break anymore and wants to be like an empty cup. She stops eating and her mother starts cooking.

With the help of a mysterious boy named Jack. He seems to be part demon and only when she becomes healthy does he stop appearing.

I really do love this book. I'm sure that I will read it again and again and again.

Little Ways to Keep Calm and Carry On by Mark A. Reinecke

This was a cute little book. It was so cute that I had to pick it up, check it out, and read it. It is PINK with a crown on it and so perfectly little that it was irresistible.

But, really, there was no new information here for me. Maybe that's just because I read so many self-help books and most of them are about letting go and being happy. It really did seem pretty basic, however. I liked it. It was a short read and the chapters were laid out in a helpful manner. There were exercises and quotes. This was a nice little book but not quite worth my time.

Baby Be-Bop by Francesca Lia Block

This was the final book of the original Weetzie Bat books. Later, Block added an adult sequel which I should be getting to later this summer. Whenever I have read these books in the past, I usually skipped this last book. It felt like the darkest of the series and something about it made me uncomfortable and sad.

I was wrong.

This is a beautiful book about Dirk and his family and love. Dirk has always known that he was gay but he is afraid. He doesn't want to be afraid. He makes himself the strangest, fastest, and smartest so that nobody will have a reason to doubt him. He falls for his friend Pup who seems to feel the same but shuts it off, shuts Dirk off. Dirk goes to punk shows. He moshes. He picks fights with skin heads.

When Dirk fights with the wrong guys, he ends up in the hospital and his grandmother's genie lamp comes to the rescue. He learns about his parents and about Grandma Fifi and about himself.

I loved this book. I'm so glad that I gave it another try.

Finding Angel Juan by Francesca Lia Block

The fourth book in the Weetzie Bat series finds us with Witchbaby again. She loves Angel Juan and he loves her but she loves him too much and he isn't ready for it. Angel Juan decides to leave. He wants to go to New York and make his own music instead of being in the band and being admired by Witchbaby.

However, after only one letter, Witchbaby becomes convinced that something is wrong. She decides to go to New York and find Angel Juan. Luckily, Weetzie has held on to her father's apartment since his death and there is somewhere for Witchbaby to stay.

New York doesn't go as planned though. Charlie, Witchbaby's ghosty-almost-grandpa, leads her through the city, making her see it through her camera lens. He wants her to discover herself and let Angel Juan go but Witchbaby was right to go because something IS wrong. The conclusion is a terrifying scene that is enough to set any reader on edge.

I like this book. It is sad and sweet and excited. It brings tears to my eyes and makes me wish for a Charlie Bat ghosty-almost-grandpa of my own.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Something interesting happened when I read this book. One day, exasperated with how much I disliked it, I asked a room full of kids if they had read it. About 8 hands went up. When I asked what everyone thought about it, all of the girls told me it was boring and they hated it but all of the boys told me that it was so good that I needed to read the rest of the Brian books then they bombarded me with "Have you gotten to the part where..."

I didn't like this book. Plain and simple. It was well written and a pretty quick read but it isn't my style. It is a book for boys and I'll just leave it at that. I did finish it by flashlight while my boyfriend fished, though, and that seems pretty appropriate.

Brian is on his way to the forests of Canada to visit his father who is working there. Brian's parents are recently divorced and he is carrying a secret. The secret is that his mother had an affair and he saw her with another man. While Brian is in the small plane, that is what he is thinking about. Then, his pilot has a heart attack and dies and everything changes.

This is a downright courageous tale of freedom but sometimes it lost me. Brian just had too much information stored in his brain and too many things felt unbelievable to me. Boys will love it, though.