r e t r o s p e c t i v e
WEETZIE BAT
A magical realist rabble-rouser continues to enjoy cult status
READING FRANCESCA Lia Block's first book, Weetzie Bat, requires some preparation. It's a surprising read, not because of its challenging content per se, but because Block managed to write a successful, street-wise, graphic and sophisticated young adult novel 15 years ago. Young adult novels up until the late 1980s were, after all, mostly the territory of the Nancy Drew, Judy Blume and Sweet Valley High set—safe harbors, when one considers that by 1989, Madonna, Prince, Prozac, The Breakfast Club and MTV were deeply embedded in the culture of the time.Enter Weetzie Bat. The book's release marks the coming of age of the graphic young adult novel. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton (1967), had previously ruled that category, but when HarperCollins came onto the scene in 1989 with Block's lesbian, unwed, drug-using mother heroine and her colorful, multicultural extended family, it was a calculated risk that paid off.
Block's series, which began with the original Weetzie Bat and has continued through to four other titles (Witch Baby; Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys; Missing Angel Juan; Baby Be-Bop) and three collections of the series (Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books; Beautiful Boys: Two Weetzie Bat Books; Goat Girls: Two Weetzie Bat Books), sends young adult readers into the previously tabooed alleyways of coming-of-age content. Teen unwed pregnancy. Homosexuality and coming out. Depression. Divorce. AIDS. Drug use and alcoholism. Gay marriage. Suicide.
These are topics that have woven their way into young adult fiction over the last decade, thanks to Block's bold effort, but not without controversy. When the book arrived on the scene in 1989 bearing an ALA "Best Books" distinction, proponents for censored young adult reading material were up in arms.
Block's portrayal of these aspects of contemporary young adulthood, through Weetzie's hip and casual day-to-day adventures, continue to trouble parents and teachers across the country today. The book, as of July 2004, remains on the list (#111) of the Library Patrons of Texas, Inc. List of Inappropriate Books. In 1999, Family Friendly Libraries, which described Weetzie Bat as "marked by frequent profanity and sexually suggestive and explicit material," criticized the American Library Association for having a "radical and anti-child agenda." The Young Adult category, by ALA definition, includes books considered to be appropriate for children ages 12-18, such as Weetzie Bat.
Publisher HarperCollins characterizes the book as a "marriage of gritty realism and magic." From the book's plot summary, this would seem fairly obvious. Urban girl wonder Weetzie, the eclectic central heroine of the series, releases a genie from a bottle and makes her expected requests, which are eventually realized by the end of the book.
But Weetzie Bat and her superlative La-La-Land world of sensual glitter transcends the typical three-wish tale by taking on an innovative, punky postmodern fairy tale format that truly sophisticates the coming-of-age story.
Block admits she'd written Weetzie Bat for an adult readership, but gave her publisher carte blanche to market it how they saw fit. She did not, however, believe that her work was inappropriate for young adult readers; she felt it was more realistic and on par with the contemporary interests of young people. Aiming to be truthful about real life, and being comfortable with the tone of her books, which are unabashedly streetwise and sexy, she continued to write the series, which has come to enjoy a cult following among teens and adults alike.
Despite the controversial subject matter, Weetzie Bat gives its readers lessons in love and commitment, free expression and individuality in ways that are positive, creative and unusual. For instance, Weetzie's willingness to take on the job of caring for her lover's other lovechild (a child they come to name Witch Baby for her difficult personality) is peppered with selflessness and affection. Weetzie does not take the easy way out when the child is left, abandoned, on her doorstep; she embraces the opportunity to care for this other child despite the baby's morally questionable entry into the world.
Block's penchant for funky details, like a wiener dog named Slinkster, Weetzie's buzz-cut blond hairdo, the bluesy riffs of "Ragg Mopp" and the unending (it would seem) closet of peculiar-but-hip vintage fashions for her heroine are all inspired by the author's own life experiences growing up in Los Angeles, a place she needed only transform slightly to make it the magical, glittering landscape that is home for Weetzie and her merry band of extended family members.
The magical realism aspects of her books exist not only in the plot lines, but in the charmed and otherworldly way in which Weetzie moves through her life. This, in fact, could be at the heart of the controversy surrounding Block's series: a teenage girl floating from one moral crisis to the next within the dreamlike frame of Block's arch and irreverent narrative can only mean trouble for those who believe life is only straight and narrow. Yet, Block manages to create a young woman who readily assumes responsibility for her actions, even if her choices follow a more "alternative" path. In a sense, this is the most political element of Block's oeuvre: her message of tolerance, blending with a shirking off of political correctness, which Block fearlessly rejects as the societal anachronism that it is.
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Rev'd 2004/10/21
