Scan barcode
A review by monasterymonochrome
Baby Be-Bop by Francesca Lia Block
3.5
This is a nice book, and I really appreciated finally getting to know more of Dirk's (and a little bit of Duck's) backstory. They're two characters who are easy to love from the very first time they're introduced in Weetzie Bat, but they're mainly relegated to sidekicks in the first two books (serving as Weetzie's best friends and then as caretakers/confidantes of Witch Baby) before nearly disappearing in the third and fourth books. I can see how this book was probably pretty groundbreaking for its time in how candidly it addresses the topic of coming out and navigating one's sexuality in a way that's accessible to very young teens. It's ultimately uplifting, but it also doesn't shy away from depicting the prejudice and violence that sadly often lurks in the shadows.
That being said, it felt a little too scattered for me following the comparatively tightly-plotted Missing Angel Juan. Block always favors atmosphere and characters over plot, which I usually don't mind, but this book is clearly an attempt to return to the kaleidoscopic and loose nature of the first book, which is a bit more hit or miss here. The entire second half of the book is basically a dream sequence, where Dirk is talked down from his suicidal feelings by visions of his great-grandmother, parents, and future boyfriend that appear to him via a magic genie lamp. I felt like this sequence went on for far too long, and I got a bit bored with it after a certain point because it was just entirely expository dialogue. Still, overall, this book is a poignant way to close out the original series, even though I really expected the final pages to return us to Weetzie and Dirk's first meeting and was slightly let down when they didn't, though maybe that would have detracted from this being Dirk's story, Weetzie's having already been told.
That being said, it felt a little too scattered for me following the comparatively tightly-plotted Missing Angel Juan. Block always favors atmosphere and characters over plot, which I usually don't mind, but this book is clearly an attempt to return to the kaleidoscopic and loose nature of the first book, which is a bit more hit or miss here. The entire second half of the book is basically a dream sequence, where Dirk is talked down from his suicidal feelings by visions of his great-grandmother, parents, and future boyfriend that appear to him via a magic genie lamp. I felt like this sequence went on for far too long, and I got a bit bored with it after a certain point because it was just entirely expository dialogue. Still, overall, this book is a poignant way to close out the original series, even though I really expected the final pages to return us to Weetzie and Dirk's first meeting and was slightly let down when they didn't, though maybe that would have detracted from this being Dirk's story, Weetzie's having already been told.