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Books with author Francesca Lia Block

  • I Was a Teenage Fairy

    Francesca Lia Block

    eBook (HarperTeen, March 17, 2009)
    Maybe Mab was real. Maybe not. Maybe Mab was the fury. Maybe she was the courage. Maybe later on she was the sex . . .A tiny fairy winging her way through the jasmine-scented L.A. night. A little girl caught in a grown-up glitz-and-glitter world of superstars and supermodels. A too beautiful boy with a secret he can never share . . .From the author of Weetzie Bat comes a magical, mesmerizing tale of transformation. This is the story of Barbie Marks, who dreams of being the one behind the Cyclops eye of the camera, not the voiceless one in front of it; who longs to run away to New York City where she can be herself, not some barley flesh-and-blood version of the plastic doll she was named after. It is the story of Griffin Tyler, whose androgynous beauty hides the dark pain he holds inside. And finally it is the story of Mab, a pinkie-sized, magenta-haired, straight-talking fairy, who may or may not be real but who helps Barbie and Griffin uncover the strength beneath the pain, and who teaches that love—like a sparkling web of light spinning around our bodies and our souls—is what can heal even the deepest scars.
  • Psyche in a Dress

    Francesca Lia Block

    Paperback (HarperTeen, May 20, 2008)
    But this is what I could not give up:I could not give up myselfPsyche has known Love—scented with jasmine and tasting of fresh oranges. Yet he is fleeting and fragile, lost to her too quickly. Punished by self-doubt, Psyche yearns to be transformed, like the beautiful and brutal figures in the myths her lover once spoke of. Attempting to uncover beauty in the darkness, she is challenged, tested, and changed by the gods and demons who tempt her. Her faith must be found again, for if she is to love, she must never look back.
  • Teen Spirit

    Francesca Lia Block

    eBook (HarperTeen, Feb. 4, 2014)
    Francesca Lia Block, critically acclaimed author of Weetzie Bat, brings this eerie and redemptive ghost story to life with her signature, poetic prose. It's perfect for fans of supernatural stories with a touch of romance like the Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.After Julie's grandmother passes away, she is forced to move across town to the not-so-fancy end of Beverly Hills and start over at a new school. The only silver lining to the perpetual dark cloud that seems to be following her? Clark—a die-hard fan of Buffy and all things Joss Whedon, who is just as awkward and damaged as she is. Her kindred spirit.When the two try to contact Julie's grandmother with a Ouija board, they make contact with a different spirit altogether. The real kind. And this ghost will do whatever it takes to come back to the world of the living.Francesca Lia Block's latest young adult novel is a haunting work about family, loss, love, and redemption.
  • Roses and Bones: Myths, Tales, and Secrets

    Francesca Lia Block

    Paperback (HarperTeen, Dec. 21, 2010)
    Francesca Lia Block, critically acclaimed author of Weetzie Bat, gathers together three of her most enchanting books into one volume. Retelling age-old fairytales and Classical myths, this collection captures the best Block has to offer: extravagantly imaginative tales, dark landscapes, fierce poetry, and storytelling that is nothing short of magical.Psyche in a Dress is told in free verse. A contemporary retelling of several Greek myths rolled together, it is set in California in a world where Aphrodite owns a dress shop and Orpheus is a rock musician.Echo is a prose reimagining of the stories of Echo and Narcissus. It stars a Hollywood girl who goes on a quest for love and along the way comes across angels, vampires, and fairies.The Rose and the Beast is a collection of nine short stories which put a modern and original spin on fairytales such as Snow White, Thumbelina, Cinderella, Rose Red and Rose White, and others.Roses and Bones was praised by VOYA as "a vivid and sensual ride." And each book in this evocative collection received multiple starred reviews, including one from Kirkus which proclaimed "Block uses language like a jeweled sword, glittering as it cuts to the heart."
  • Ecstasia

    Francesca Lia Block

    Paperback (Firebird, Jan. 19, 2004)
    From the bestselling author of Weetzie Bat comes a fantasy adventure.Siblings Calliope and Rafe, along with Dionisio and Paul, are Ecstasia—the most popular band in Elysia, a city of jewels and feathers, of magic and music, where the only crime is growing old. Then Calliope’s visions take her to Under, where the Old Ones go to die, and where her parents had vanished long ago. Rafe joins her there, in search of the Doctor, who can bring back the dead to ease their loved ones’ broken hearts. And that is when rapture turns to nightmare.
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  • Teen Spirit

    Francesca Lia Block

    Hardcover (HarperTeen, Feb. 4, 2014)
    Francesca Lia Block, critically acclaimed author of Weetzie Bat, brings this eerie and redemptive ghost story to life with her signature, poetic prose. It's perfect for fans of supernatural stories with a touch of romance like the Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.After Julie's grandmother passes away, she is forced to move across town to the not-so-fancy end of Beverly Hills and start over at a new school. The only silver lining to the perpetual dark cloud that seems to be following her? Clark—a die-hard fan of Buffy and all things Joss Whedon, who is just as awkward and damaged as she is. Her kindred spirit.When the two try to contact Julie's grandmother with a Ouija board, they make contact with a different spirit altogether. The real kind. And this ghost will do whatever it takes to come back to the world of the living.Francesca Lia Block's latest young adult novel is a haunting work about family, loss, love, and redemption.
  • Love in the Time of Global Warming

    Francesca Lia Block

    Paperback (Square Fish, Aug. 26, 2014)
    From the bestselling author of Weetzie Bat comes a stunning reimagining of Homer's Odyssey, exploring love, queerness, and the devastation of the environment, set in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles."Block’s trademark magical realism works. . . . There’s something encouraging about seeing four queer kids on an epic journey across the post-apocalyptic American Southwest." ―Kirkus ReviewsAfter the Earth Shaker, which all but destroyed Los Angeles, seventeen-year-old Penelope (Pen) sets out into the wasteland in search of her family, her journey guided by a tattered copy of Homer's Odyssey. Soon she begins to realize her own abilities and strength as she faces false promises of safety, the cloned giants who feast on humans, and a madman who wishes her dead. On her voyage, Pen learns to tell stories that reflect her strange visions, while she and her fellow surivors navigate the dangers that lie in wait.In her signature lyrical style, Francesca Lia Block has created a world that is beautiful in its destruction and as frightening as it is lovely. Love in the Time of Global Warming has shades of science fiction, fantasy, eco-fiction, and dystopic disaster.Praise for Love in the Time of Global Warming:A Top Ten ALA Rainbow Project Book"[A] compelling apocalyptic survival story with four LGBTQ teens." ―Common Sense Media"Francesca Lia Block is the imaginative bestselling author of Weetzie Bat; she brings a radiant, illuminating world of death, destruction and adventure in her novel Love in the Time of Global Warming. . . . Block will make you see, smell, hear, taste and feel Pen’s story, and she will surely wisk you away into an inspiring, fantastical, Dali-esque dream world that you will never forget." ―Teenreads"Francesca Lia Block has made a trademark of twining myth and reality so snugly it’s difficult to figure out where one ends and the other begins. . . . This is a fine adventure story. . . . You’ll be thinking about it for days afterward." ―Bookpage"Told in Block’s distinctive whimsical style, Love in the Time of Global Warming stands out as a uniquely poignant allegory of self-acceptance. . . . The camaraderie between these four queer teens searching for a home together amid the rubble is palpable." ―TOR.com"This a beautiful book. . . . [Perfect] for teens that have grown out of fairytale books but would still like to escape the real world, and also for queer teens, because they may be able to see themselves reflected in the heroes of this story, which is how it should be." ―GayYA.org"A post-apocalyptic setting awash with danger brings an exhilarating twist to Block’s signature mashup of rock-and-roll urchins and high literature." ―Publishers Weekly, starred review“Block writes about the real Los Angeles better than anyone since Raymond Chandler.” ―The New York Times Book Review“This Halloween, bypass the usual vampires and werewolves of teen fiction for what lurks between the covers of Francesca Lia Block's brutal, beautifully written Love in the Time of Global Warming. Those fanged and furry creatures are but a sugar rush compared with Block's genetically engineered giants as she treats us to a dystopian tale tricked out in her signature lush prose.” ―The Washington Post“The dreamlike quality of the writing, typical of the author's works, functions well with the fantastical elements of the story, which is solid and dense in its descriptions. This is an excellent title for students who have read Homer's Odyssey as well as readers who enjoy a mix of fantasy and reality.” ―School Library Journal“The result is original and, no surprise, gracefully written. Magic is no stranger to Block's world, nor is her signature poetic sensibility. And love, in its many varieties and forms, is celebrated, as always.” ―Booklist
  • The Elementals: A Novel

    Francesca Lia Block

    eBook (St. Martin's Press, Oct. 16, 2012)
    From a star YA author Francesca Lia Block—an adult novel about a student, haunted by the disappearance of a friend, who must face the truthThe Elementals is on one level an intriguing coming-of-age novel about a young woman, Ariel Silverman, facing the challenges of her first years away at college in Berkeley, California, while her mother battles cancer at home in Los Angeles. But the book takes on deeper, stranger meanings when we realize that Ariel is haunted by the disappearance of her best friend, Jeni, who vanished without a trace a few years before, closing Ariel's heart and changing her forever. Ariel wonders if she will ever be fully alive, until she meets three mysterious, beautiful and seductive young people living in a strange old house in the Berkeley hills. Through them Ariel will unravel the mystery of her best friend's disappearance and face a chilling choice.
  • Echo

    Francesca Lia Block

    Library Binding (Joanna Cotler Books, Aug. 1, 2001)
    Jealous of her perfect mother and ignored by her artist father, Echo seeks attention and healing from a variety of people living in beautiful Los Angeles.
  • Love in the Time of Global Warming

    Francesca Lia Block

    eBook (Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), Aug. 27, 2013)
    Seventeen-year-old Penelope (Pen) has lost everything—her home, her parents, and her ten-year-old brother. Like a female Odysseus in search of home, she navigates a dark world full of strange creatures, gathers companions and loses them, finds love and loses it, and faces her mortal enemy. In her signature style, Francesca Lia Block has created a world that is beautiful in its destruction and as frightening as it is lovely. At the helm of Love in the Time of Global Warming is Pen, a strong heroine who holds hope and love in her hands and refuses to be defeated.
  • Love in the Time of Global Warming

    Francesca Lia Block

    Hardcover (Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), Aug. 27, 2013)
    Seventeen-year-old Penelope (Pen) has lost everything―her home, her parents, and her ten-year-old brother. Like a female Odysseus in search of home, she navigates a dark world full of strange creatures, gathers companions and loses them, finds love and loses it, and faces her mortal enemy. In her signature style, Francesca Lia Block has created a world that is beautiful in its destruction and as frightening as it is lovely. At the helm of Love in the Time of Global Warming is Pen, a strong heroine who holds hope and love in her hands and refuses to be defeated.
  • Witch Baby

    Francesca Lia Block

    eBook (HarperTeen, Oct. 14, 2009)
    Once upon a time in the city of Shangri-L.A., someone left a baby on a doorstep. She had wild, dark hair and purple eyes and looked at the world in a special way.The family that took her in called her Witch Baby and raised her as their own. But even though she tried to fit in, Witch Baby never felt as though she truly belonged.So one day she packed her bat-shaped backpack, put her black cowboy-boot roller skates, and went out into the real world to find out who she really was....