Dangerous Angels

Dangerous Angels

by Francesca Lia Block

HarperTeen, 1998

ISBN 9780062007407

478 pages

4.5 (out of 5) STARS

Plot Summary

Love is a dangerous angel...Francesca Lia Block's luminous saga of interwoven lives will send the senses into wild overdrive. These post-modern fairy tales chronicle the thin line between fear and desire, pain and pleasure, cutting loose and holding on in a world where everyone is vulnerable to the most beautiful and dangerous angel of all: love.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14565.Dangerous_Angels

Critical Evaluation

What to say? This is one of the most unusual books I have ever read. The writing style is very unusual. Many of the reviews that I have read state the stories as modern day fairy tales. I think that is a good description. It is not realistic fiction but fantasy. The dialogue between characters is very poetic. Each characters dialogue does not change much over time. I liked that part but it was difficult to tell that the characters were growing up. But I believe the message is that our "soul" is ageless. Our responsibilities and life experiences may grow older but we are still the same. It is an amazing book.

Reader’s Annotation

Weetzie and those she loves experience love, peace, loss, fear and more.

Information about the author

"Author Francesca Lia Block is renowned for her groundbreaking novels and stories—postmodern, magic-realist tales that transport readers through the harsh, gritty landscapes of contemporary life to transcendent realms of the senses where love is always our saving grace.

Born in Los Angeles, where she still lives, Block’s work pulsates with the language and images of the city’s sprawling subculture. Lauds a reviewer for the New York Times Book Review, “Block writes about the real Los Angeles better than anyone since Raymond Chandler.”

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." (http://www.francescaliablock.com/bio).

Genre

Fantasy. GLTBQ.

Curriculum Ties

life skills. interpersonal relations. fantasy unit.

Booktalking Ideas

*What are some of the most difficult challenges you have face?

Reading Level

age 13 and up

Challenge Issues

sex. swearing. GLTBQ issues.

It is best to be prepared for a book challenge before it is challenged. It is important to read the book all the way through and to have read both positive and negative reviews of the book from professionals and teens as well. Be aware of the library’s collection policy. Also check for any awards the book may have won. It would be beneficial to see how other library’s may have handled challenges for this particular book in the past.

This book won the Gaylactic Spectrum Hall of Fame award.

Why Included?

While reading our textbook by Michael Cart this book was always being referred to. So I decided it would be a must read for this class.