Most Popular Books by Francesca Lia Block

“[Francesca Lia Block] is the sorceress of iridescent language.”—Kirkus Reviews Open Letter to Quiet Light will make readers feel as if they are peering at secret writings meant for the eyes of a lover alone, but these carefully crafted lines somehow transcend the personal to touch everyone who has experienced this kind of consuming, wrenching love. In these fiercely passionate, devastatingly revealing, sometimes spiritual, and often painful poems, Francesca Lia Block describes in fiery detail the rise and demise of a year-long love affair. Her rich use of language infused with the power of sex and spirit finally paint a transcendent, almost mythic portrait of the way two wounded people—both searching for connection—find each other, collide, and eventually separate. The words seem to bleed onto the page and even the most graphic moments have a devotional quality filled with nuanced expression and unbridled intimacy. Francesca Lia Block is renowned for her groundbreaking literary works, including the best-selling Weetzie Bat. Her writing transports readers through the harsh landscapes of contemporary life to realms of the senses where love is a saving grace. She lives in Los Angeles.

With their parents away, four young people form a rock band that becomes wildly popular, carrying them into a "freer" life than they can cope with.

A girl thought to be a boy steals her sister''s skirt, while a boy thought to be a girl refuses to wear a cornflower blue dress. One boy''s love of a soldier leads to the death of a stranger. The present takes a bittersweet journey into the past when a man revisits the summer school where he had "an accidental romance." And a forgotten mother writes a poignant letter to the teenage daughter she hasn''t seen for fourteen years. Poised between the past and the future are the stories of now. In nontraditional narratives, short stories, and brief graphics, tales of anticipation and regret, eagerness and confusion present distinctively modern views of love, sexuality, and gender identification. Together, they reflect the vibrant possibilities available for young people learning to love others—and themselves—in today''s multifaceted and quickly changing world.

Navigating the world of dating can be like wandering an enchanted forest, full of creatures with peculiar habits and baffling behavior. In Wood Nymph Seeks Centaur, Francesca Lia Block provides a guide to this often-treacherous terrain, classifying all those mystifying men and women into various types of mythical forest fauna-Fauns and Werewolves, Mermaids and Banshees. After answering questions to determine your own type, you can learn to identify others-with the help of illustrations from artist Fumi Nakamura. By reading up on the various types'' favorite activities, likely professions, sexual preferences, and parenting styles, you''ll gain insight into compatible creatures. If you''re a Wood Nymph (like Block), you could get your heart broken by a fickle Satyr, but if you can track down the strong, soulful Centaurs of the forest, you just might be on the path to true love. Clever and insightful, Wood Nymph Seeks Centaur is an invaluable guide for any dating creature.

Truly, Madly, Undead-ly This irresistible collection features stories of love amid vampires by five of today''s hottest authors—Kristin Cast (Tempted), Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy), Alyson NoËl (Evermore), Kelley Armstrong (The Summoning), and Francesca Lia Block (Pretty Dead). From a fugitive vampire forced to trust a boy who might work for the group bent on destroying her to the legendary romance of two immortals whose love compels them to risk everything, this heart-pounding collection brings new meaning to the words "love you forever." Whether you''re into romances that are dark and moody or light and fun, these stories will quench that insatiable thirst for enchanting tales of the beautiful undead.

Pink Smog, the long-awaited prequel to Francesca Lia Block''s groundbreaking novel Weetzie Bat, was praised as "an intoxicating mix of mystery, fantasy, and romance" by ALA Booklist in a starred review. Weetzie Bat is one of the seminal young adult novels of the ''90s and continues to be an iconic treasure for teens everywhere. Now Pink Smog reintroduces a whole new generation to the eponymous Weetzie Bat—before she was Weetzie. Against the backdrop of a Los Angeles teeming with magical realism, Louise Bat struggles to find a way to deal with life after her father''s unceremonious departure. Longtime fans and newfound readers alike will fall in love with Francesca Lia Block''s beautifully crafted and brutally honest world. Maggie Stiefvater, New York Times bestselling author of The Raven Boys, proclaimed "Pink Smog sparkles and obscures; it''s a glorious mirage, like the city it pays homage to."

Millions of viewers have enjoyed the black humour and the skewed but perceptive wisdom of The Sopranos. This is the official guide to the language, philosophy and street wisdom of the world''s most famous mobster family.

Une jeune paria dont s''éprend un vampire, une créature enchanteresse qui apporte la rédemption - ou la damnation éternelle -, un château étrange où les peintures rappellent les morts à la vie, des expériences scientifiques qui tournent mal, un amour impossible entre l''élite et le commun des immortels... La tension amoureuse est palpable dans ce recueil de cinq nouvelles au milieu des séducteurs aux dents longues.

Izzy Ames lives with her high school sweetheart, Cyrus Rivera, in the Salton Sea. They cling to each other and to their close friends Nephy and Seth to cope with the trauma of their pasts. Until the morning Izzy awakes to find Cyrus has vanished. When she realizes no one will help, Izzy takes matters into her own hands and decides to search for Cyrus alone. After weeks of looking for him, she discovers a clue that leads her to the House of Hearts retreat center run by the mysterious Sky. At House of Hearts, Izzy meets an intriguing musician named Ever Fontana and for a moment she is able to forget the pain of her past. But when new clues about Cyrus'' disappearance surface, Izzy must go down into the dark to find the truth. Izzy''s quest will take her into a world of sexuality, madness, and violence, where she will discover life-changing secrets not only about Cyrus but, ultimately, about herself.--Publisher.

The newest collection of haunting, magical poems by Francesca Lia Block, author of Fairy Tales in Electri-City, draws on myth and fable to explore the roles women play in many archetypal stories- and gives voice to these female characters, to let them tell their tales in their own words. "Wasn''t it pervert Edgar Allen Poe who said, ''The death of a beautiful woman is, unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world?'' Francesca Lia Block''s book Dead Girls begs to differ. Here we see the exploitation of girls--spun into the very DNA of our Western culture of myth and fairy tales--for what it is. Block gives voice to these women and girls, including the ''wicked'' queens and stepmothers, revealing a complexity and despair as only a truly great poet can. I''ll tell you what is the most poetical topic in the world--beautiful girls who are very much alive in these exquisite poems."--Denise Duhamel "In the gorgeous realms of these poems we might hear beguiling instructions: ''Heed my advice / Take your heart from your chest / Let it bleed in your hands / Talk to it softly / as if to a lover, '' and then wander into their alluring spaces of darkness. Bristling with violence and eroticism, the wilderness here resonates with current and crucial concerns. Listen close and follow Francesca Lia Block''s seductive voice as it speaks through these fabular figures: ''I want to tell my history / Can you hear my stories?''"--Molly Bendall

What happens when a girl finds herself at the crossroads between worlds—where the angels and ghosts, gods and demons, and beauties and beasts of myth are real? What does she do and who does she become? Roses and Bones captures the best Francesca Lia Block has to offer: extravagantly imaginative tales, dark landscapes, fierce poetry, and storytelling that is nothing short of magical.

Cinco histórias de amor e medo, em que a paixão e o sobrenatural misturam-se a todo instante. Em Beijos infernais, tanto na história de uma fugitiva (que se vê forçada a confiar em um garoto cuja missão é destruí-la) como na relação de amor entre dois imortais, o limite entre o desejo e o perigo torna-se cada vez mais tênue. Kristin Cast, Richelle Mead, Alyson Noël, Kelley Armstrong e Francesca Lia Block fazem o leitor questionar o verdadeiro sentido do " amor eterno" e mostram seus prós e contras.

Powerful, riveting, real. Sixteen celebrated authors bring us raw, insightful stories that explore guns and teens in a fiction collection that is thought provoking and emotionally gripping. For fans of Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock and Give a Boy a Gun, and with an array of YA talent like the late great Walter Dean Myers, the poetic Joyce Carol Oates, the prophetic Elizabeth Wein, and the gritty Chris Crutcher, these are evocative voices that each has a different perspective to give. Capturing the hurt and the healing, victims and perpetrators, these stories get to the heart of the matter. From a boy whose low self-esteem is impacted when a gun comes into his possession to a student recalling a senseless tragedy that befell a favorite teacher, from a realistic look at hunting to a provocative look at a family that defies stereotypes, each emotional story stirs the debate to new levels. The juxtaposition of guns and their consequences offers moving tales, each a reminder of how crucial the question of guns in our society is, and the impact they have on all of us. Other acclaimed contributors are Marc Aronson, Edward Averett, Francesca Lia Block, Alex Flinn, Gregory Galloway, Jenny Hubbard, Peter Johnson, Ron Koertge, Chris Lynch, Eric Shanower, Will Weaver, and Tim Wynne-Jones.

La série jeunes adultes culte aux Etats-Unis, bientôt au cinéma ! Weetzie est un petit brin de fille qui a grandi avec sa mère, starlette alcoolique, et son père, scénariste junkie, dans le Los Angeles des années 1980. Pour trouver l''amour, Weetzie fait équipe avec Dirk, son meilleur ami. Cette quête les mènera jusqu''à un réalisateur qui ne quitte jamais son imper, le mystérieux Max, et à un surfeur aux cheveux platine, Duck. Mais, déstabilisée par des événements tragiques et menacée par l''ex aigrie (et un peu sorcière sur les bords) de Max, Weetzie devra retirer les lunettes qui lui font voir la vie en rose pour se confronter à la noirceur du monde et découvrir la recette du bonheur...

La quatrième de couverture indique : Elles ont douze ou quinze ans, elles vivent à Los Angeles, à Manhattan, ou peut-être en face de chez vous. Elles s''appellent La ou Tuck, parfois elles se sont choisi elles-mêmes des surnoms étranges. pendant que vous dormez, que vous allez au lycée, que vous téléphonez à votre meilleure amie, elles vivent leur vie, une vie différente. L''une d''elles a deux mamans et part à la recherche de son père. Une autre a de longues conversations avec une petite créature qui vit dans son armoire et qui s''appelle Bleu, et cela va lui sauver la vie. Une troisième collectionne les bonnes notes et passe ses nuits avec des rockers et personne, pas même le garçon qui l''aime, ne pourra l''empêcher de mourir. Chacune des héroïnes de ce livre a une histoire particulière, parfois dure et violente. Elles n''ont peut-être rien de commun avec vous, et pourtant, elles vous ressemblent comme des soeurs.

Poetry. Elves and centaurs, nymphs and fauns inhabit this new collection of magical, erotic poems about a girl yearning for and searching for love in present-day Los Angeles.

Calliope forms Ecstasia, a rock band, with her brother, Rafe, but a series of visions compels her to leave the group and journey to Under, where the Old Ones went to die and where her parents disappeared

Denne boken er satt sammen av to bøker rygg mot rygg. "Baby Be-bop" handler om Dirk, som bor sammen med bestemoren Fifi. Dirk vokser opp med kunnskapen om at han er homofil, men har problemer med å fortelle det til omgivelsene. Han lever i et ''nesten-virkelig? Los Angeles, ShangriLA, med mye homo-hets og strenge normer for akseptert oppførsel. Et fortvilet ungdomsopprør med punkefrisyre og selvfornektelse ender med en magisk reise i familiens historie og en endelig aksept av seg selv og sin egen legning. Boken er en forhistorie til "Weetzie Bat", og en viktig del av syklusen. "Angel Juan" er den siste boken i syklusen. Hovedpersonen er Voodoobaby, et av Weetzie Bats barn. Hun reiser til New York for å finne kjæresten Angel Juan som har forlatt ShangriLA for å finne seg selv. Voodoobaby reiser i et mystisk, skremmende og farlig landskap. Til hjelp har hun Charlie Bat, spøkelset til Weetzies far, som går igjen i den gamle leiligheten på Manhattan. Dette er den mørkeste av bøkene rundt Weetzie Bat, og et oppgjør med kjærligheten og de båndene vi prøver å knytte rundt de vi elsker. Voodoobaby finner først det hun leter etter når hun aksepterer at Angel Juan må finne sin egen vei, og at han må selv ville komme tilbake til henne. Begge bøkene er preget av det samme poetiske, nyskapende og originale språket som de andre bøkene om Weetzie Bat. Oversettelsen til Elisabeth Bjørnson er svært god og har klart å overføre et spennende språklig uttrykk til norsk uten at poesien har gått tapt.

I denne samleutgaven er de fem bøkene om Weetzie Bat samlet: "Weetzie Bat", "Voodoobaby", "Cherokee Bat", "Angel Juan" og "Baby Be-Bop". Fortellingene skildrer ungdommelige nåtidsskjebner, tett vevet sammen i balansen mellom frykt og begjær, fryd og smerte. Alle er sårbare for den farligste engelen av dem alle, nemlig kjærligheten. Her møter vi en verden bestående av eksentriske kunstnere og skeive skjebner, Weetzie Bat og hennes familie, venner, elskere og kjærester. Handlingen er lagt til en hollywoods popvirkelighet, også kalt Shangri-L.A. Roman for ungdomstrinnet.