Part I: Bibliographic information
Type: Fiction
Title: Weetzie Bat
Writer: Francesca Lia Block
Copyright Date: 1989
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 0-06-073625-9
Genre/subgenre: YA Fiction/Magical Realism
Interest Age: 13+
Reading Level: Upper Grades (UG 9-12)
Pages: 109
Awards: Children’s Literature Association, Phoenix Award (2009); Weetzie Bat (1989) is “a Charlotte Zolotow book.”
Part I: Reader’s Annotation, Plot Summary, Critical Evaluation
Reader’s Annotation -- Capturing the Los Angeles hipster scene of the late 1980s, this lyrical novel evokes sentimentality for Hollywood in its glamour days as recalled through the eyes of a young native named Weetzie Bat and her cadre of creatively named friends -- Dirk, Duck and My Secret Agent Lover Man.
Plot Summary -- The story opens with Weetzie still in high school yet already marching to her own drummer. She befriends Dirk, a mohawk wearing gorgeous guy, as he comments on her Indian-themed garb. They become buddies and ride around in his ‘55 Pontiac and she becomes close with his grandmother, Fifi, who has raised Dirk. They find pleasure in the remnants of a Hollywood’s heyday such as going to “The Girl Can’t Help It” starring Jane Mansfield and eating at the famous Cantor’s of West Hollywood where stars had frequented since the 1930s.
Both Weetzie and Dirk -- who comes out to Weetzie early on -- want to meet their perfect match, which they term a ‘Duck’. While duck hunting, Weetzie meets a creepy lead singer who does not treat her well. Dirk makes her leave him. Not long after she is given the magic lamp by Grandmother Fifi and when the genie comes out Weetzie wishes for their ‘Duck’ -- and for a home for Dirk and Weetzie. All three wishes come true but sadly it means that Dirk’s grandmother passes and they inherit the house, which they live in together. First, Dirk meets his duck, Duck. And, finally, Weetzie finds her duck, too, My Secret Agent Lover Man.
We are introduced to Weetzie’s father along the way. Charlie Bat is a screenwriter from New York who only lasts so long in Los Angeles, which he detests. He’s creative, generous and kind but not stable and prone to drinking. Her mother was a starlet in his first film and the two had a passionate beginning that petered as she turned bitter about his escapades. He returns to New York when Weetzie is a pre-teen and she only sees him on visits to New York from then on.
Weetzie’s My Secret Agent Lover Man is a filmmaker and he wants Weetzie and her friends to be in his films. They make a few and finally a successful one makes them enough to be fairly comfortable in life. Weetzie feels she wants more and that a child would make her happy. He disagrees and does not want to bring a child into the imperfect world. She goes ahead and gets pregnant, however -- by sleeping with Duck and Dirk. Their plan is to raise the child together. But My Secret Agent Lover Man leaves over this decision -- and the child -- Cherokee -- is born while he’s away.
Eventually he does come back and realizes he belongs with them. They get another dog to be the companion of Slinkster Dog whose been her constant companion along the way. And, one day a woman shows up at the door who is looking for ‘Max’. She’s apparently someone he saw while away and she is pregnant. She goes away and one day a second baby girl shows up on their doorstep. They name her Witch Baby because her mother was so awful and dark.
Weetzie has a final visit with her father and we start to see the darker side of both Charlie and her mother, Brandy-Lynn -- both of whom drink too much and have resigned to lift to some degree as Weetzie sees it. She loves and admires them both, however -- and is crushed when her father is found dead after an apparent overdose in his New York apartment. Somehow she manages to see forward through the foundations that she has built for herself and they dedicate their film, ‘Shangra-L.A.’ to him
The final chapter is about Duck leaving Dirk when he hears about the illness from AIDS of a dear friend. Duck runs away from it all and does not stay in touch. Dirk is deeply sad and cannot help but go in search of him. Eventually, he finds Duck in San Francisco and they come back to L.A. and all live together, happily.
Critical Evaluation -- This whimsical portrait of the lives of young Weetzie and her atypical family and friends bleeds forth rich characterizations. Each is introduced with a bit showmanship by Block, whose imaginative descriptiveness is a real foundation of this work. Ultimately, it is the circle of people that surround Weetzie against which we can measure her shining-star qualities of understanding, compassion and patience.
Grandmother Fifi provides Dirk and Weetzie confidence in the future -- and ultimately she grants her the three wishes that make Weetzie’s dreams possible. Herein we are introduced to the first major element of magical realism. Yet one might see through her portrait of the situation and credit the kindred older lady for having given Dirk and Weetzie not just her home but the confidence in life they lacked to seek out their perfect matches. The magical realism is just a creative way of conveying the importance the woman plays in their somewhat torrid lives.
Once Weetzie and Dirk have the home and ‘ducks’, she feels that she wants a child. For Weetzie, this is the answer to her existential moment after all else became ‘fine’. Her decision to have a baby despite My Secret Agent Lover Man’s objections underlines that Weetzie is a modern woman who makes her own decisions. In fact, the theme we see throughout the work harkens back to living according to one’s own convictions -- or, in the words of Hamlet, “to thine own self be true.” This very old sentiment is recaptured in a very modern setting of aging Hollywood where Weetzie and Dirk are rooted.
Weetzie’s optimism drives us forward through their misadventures as she always manages to look to the bright side of life and see the best in people. Ultimately, they manage to find their niche in film. They make zany ‘B’ films with implausible plots and in which they are the stars. These typically harken back to a better time and place but are not without tragedy -- and, in the case of their final film ‘Shangra-L.A., a tragedy that ends the young wanna-be starlets’ suicide, life imitates art for Charlie Bat who thought of the ending. HIs demise carries something of a moral theme inasmuch as his drinking and inability to tow the normal line leads to his dying alone and unnecessarily.
This short work packs a lot of wisdom a la Weetzie, the star of her world if not a real starlette like her mother had been. It’s a work that is bittersweet at times but carries the message that life can be good given optimism and compassion -- and perhaps a bit of magic.
Part III: Author Info
Weetzie Bat (1989) was the debut novel of Francesca Lia Block, who continues to write in the young adult arena with other works, including a series that follows Weetize and friends called Dangerous Angels and her most recent work titled Love in the Time of Global Warming (2013). This novel was written while she was still a student at U.C. Berkeley, according to Block.
Her website offers this about her life’s work: “Block has described her work as ‘contemporary fairy tales with an edge,’ where the real world and its trouble find solace through the magic of creative expression and love. She has received numerous honors, including the Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award and the Phoenix Award, as well as citations from the American Library Association, The New York Times Book Review and the School Library Journal. Her work has been published around the world, translated into many languages” (Francesca, 2013).
Part IV: Curriculum Ties, Diversity, Booktalk Ideas, Challenge Issues
Curriculum Ties, if any -- This is a literary work inasmuch as it has been read and studied beyond its time and place. I feel it could be taught in classrooms as a model of young adult literature -- it offers numerous qualities that would engage conversation of character, plot, style and lenght (Sparks, n.d.).
Diversity of Cultures -- The novel delves into a subculture of youth circa the late 1980s in urban Los Angeles. Weetzie’s best friend Dirk is gay and he has a boyfriend with whom he lives. The novel is considered a significant work of gay literature. There is also a cross-racial couple who Weetzie befriends.
Booktalking Ideas -- Weetzie is a memorable character in many ways. Some of her endearing qualities are her acceptance of differences. What are some of the circumstances in her world that she overcomes through her compassion for others?
Challenge Issues -- Premarital sex and parenting out of marriage; homosexuality; underage drinking: this novel does not indulge in detailed sexual descriptions, however. The sexuality is presented in subtle ways and are tangential to the story.
Part V: Reasons chosen
Young adults novels tend to fall into a formula to some degree. This often involves a misunderstood youth who finds their purpose by discovering their own strengths and coming to terms with their weaknesses. In some ways we see that theme developed in Weetzie Bat (2009). But the novel is anything but formulaic. Its originality is precisely what makes it stand out. Her strengths as an author are both her ability to tell the tale with conciseness through use of selective yet memorable details -- at 109 pages, this work is unusually short, in fact. This same quality applies to her use of fewer but well-developed characters -- each is presented in adequate depth and with a certain tenderness of observations that brings the reader closer to them and ultimately to an understanding of Weetzie as a person. This is a charming, poignant work that I can count among my top-ten in the young adult category.
Part VI: Citations
Francesca Lia Block. (2010). Bio [webpage]. Retrieved from http://www.francescaliablock.com/bio
Sparks, N. (n.d.) The four basic elements of any novel. Retrieved from http://www.autocrit.com/editing/library/the-four-basic-elements-of-any-novel/
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