Francesca Lia Block

Two magical-realist coming-of-age Weetzie Bat stories from Francesca Lia Block: Witch Baby and Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys.

Contains: "Sunshine" by Richelle Mead "Bring Me to Life" by Alyson Noël "Alone" by Kristin Cast "Hunting Kat" by Kelley Armstrong "Lilith" by Francesca Lia Block

Two darkly magical Weetzie Bat stories about the search for self from Francesca Lia Block: Missing Angel Juan and Baby Be-Bop.

Follows the wild adventures of Weetzie Bat and her Los Angeles friends, Dirk, Duck, and My-Secret-Agent-Lover-Man.

Where were the kisses? Weetzie Bat wondered. And so begins a magical journey of discovery. As she turns forty and the relationship with her secret-agent lover-man Max falls apart, Weetzie packs up her lime green and bright orange bikini, orange suede sneakers, and Pucci tunic, jumps in her '65 mint green Thunderbird, and leaves.Weetzie finds herself at the enchanted pink hotel in sparkling Los Angeles, where she once shied away from a kiss that may have led her to the love of her life. Now she returns, perhaps in search of her lost passion, and meets an otherworldy cast of characters, among them a blue-skinned receptionist, an invisible cleaning lady, a seductive fawn, and a sushi-eating mermaid who gives her a kiss that sets the wheel of self-discovery in motion.Block invests every scene with equal shots of magic and realism, rendering her heroine and supporting players in vivid, poetic detail. In Necklace of Kisses the fans that have grown up with Weetzie Bat will be able to meet her in adulthood and find that life is still no less trying and no less full of wonder.

Charlotte lives in a beautiful mansion overlooking the Pacific Ocean. She's surrounded by old, beautiful things, and old, beautiful clothing, but Charlotte lives in it alone, the object of envy. People think her parents are always vacationing in Europe. They think she has the perfect life. But she's so lonely. And she's been dead for almost a century.But when the horrifying death of her best friend, a new romance and her first love suddenly converge, Charlotte becomes the subject of a dark bargain that might give her the only thing she's ever coveted-the chance to be human again.

Pen has lost her parents. She's lost her eye. But she has fought Kronen; she has won back her fragile friends and her beloved brother. Now Pen, Hex, Ash, Ez, and Venice are living in the pin house by the sea, getting on by hard work, companionship, and dreams. Until the day a foreboding ship appears in the harbor across from their home and they all experience strange visions of destruction and violence. Entranced, they head for the ship, and their new battles begin - battles that will test even their love for one another. Pen thought she had been through trials before. But she's never experienced this kind of temptation. As she embarks, guided by Virgil's Aeneid, she wonders where her journey will lead her and, in order to be reunited with her loved ones, how much more destruction she must face.

Francesca Lia Block's luminous, postmodern 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.

After a devastating earthquake destroys the West Coast, causing seventeen-year-old Penelope to lose her home, her parents, and her ten-year-old brother, she navigates a dark world, holding hope and love in her hands and refusing to be defeated. After an earthquake destroys the West Coast, causing seventeen-year-old Penelope to lose her home and family, she navigates a dark world, holding hope and love in her hands and refusing to be defeated. The plot contains profanity and sexual references.

After enduring from afar a seemingly endless series of outside worldwide disasters - including 9/11 and the Asian tsunami - while living in earthquake prone Los Angeles, a bereft Katrina experiences deep inner longings for some sense of permanence, meaning, and intimacy. A pre-school teacher contemplating the unsettling challenges of her mid-life, she finds solace in the company of her dear friend, Grace, and conflict in the arms of Jasper, a narcissistic yoga instructor. In this intertwining series of emotionally charged stories, wistful characters weave together a dance of joy and sorrow, gain and loss, dissonance and harmony.

"Maternal, sexy Catt and her beautiful, daring best friend Bree are hairdressers at an L.A. salon called Head Hunter, and work out at a gym called Body Farm. They have over a decade of sobriety behind them and are getting close to living the lives they've always wanted. But when Catt's husband, Dash, leaves her, and then her neighbor is brutally murdered, possibly by a man being called the Hollywood Serial Killer, Catt's world begins to come crashing down. The murdered victims all seem to bear a chilling resemblance to Bree. Catt suspects that Bree is the next target of the Hollywood Serial Killer...is she losing touch with reality or simply coming to terms with the truth? In this terrifying and intensely erotic novel, Francesca Lia Block explores the dangers of modern living, loving and dying with lyrical edge and sensational attitude"--

The Devils of Vitality always hit their mark. Rabbit Trace is a musical prodigy with a secret. Ever since an event that took place a year ago, he gets terrible stage fright before every performance. With a famous mother who's dedicated her entire life to her craft, and the weight of her expectations heavy on his shoulders, Rabbit is only one panic attack away from crumbling. He knows it'll be easier to escape if he stops running from the memory of that night, but he's stubborn and doesn't want to remember something so horrible his mind thought fit to erase it for him. Monotony has helped him make it through, and he's settled into a dull routine that keeps his mind occupied, the worst of the attacks limited to just before performances. That is until one of the infamous Devils of Vitality suddenly takes notice and decides to invade his life, whether he reciprocates or not. Baikal Void has many titles. Each of them comes with a responsibility attached to it. Future Dominus, head of the Vitality Brumal Mafia, is just one of them. He's always known he'd one day have to take the crown, he just never realized it'd be so soon. With his father dying and the inevitable changing of power looming, Baikal struggles to keep his deranged nature under control as he grapples with the upcoming loss. Then one night he's dragged to a recital for his university and sees him for the first time. After one glance he knows he's found his saving grace in Rabbit, the reserved musician who looks like he's battling demons of his own. Just like that, he's got a new title to add to the list. He's going to be the owner of one little ethereal bunny. Rabbit doesn't understand Baikal's sudden and intense interest, or why the Brumal Prince has gone out of his way to collect enough dirt on his mom to force his hand. Blackmailed into a relationship of sorts, Rabbit fights against Baikal's constant advances and his own tumultuous feelings. Everything Baikal inflicts on him is wrong and twisted, and yet the longer he's made to endure, the more codependent Rabbit finds himself becoming. Baikal promises freedom from the predetermined fate he's always been a slave to, but only if he gives himself over to him completely. And if he doesn't do so willingly? A devil is always prepared to take what they want, and Baikal Void is no exception.

Lonely CityA tangly-haired, purple-eyed girl named Witch Baby lives in glitzy L.A. She loves a guy named Angel Juan. When he leaves for New York she knows she must find him.Looking For LoveSo she heads for the city of glittery buildings and garbage and Chinese food and drug dealers and subways and kids playing hip-hopscotch.Finding TroubleHer clues are an empty tree house in the park, a postcard on the street, a mannequin in a diner. Angel Juan is in danger, and only Witch Baby's heart-magic can make him safe.When Angel Juan leaves L. A.-and Witch Baby-to play his music and find himself in New York, Witch Baby, wild and restless without him, follows. The story that ensues "is an engagingly eccentric mix of fantasy and reality, enhanced-this time-by mystery and suspense. It is also magical, moving and mischievous, and-literally-marvelous."-SLJ.

An overprotective mother, an unfriendly older sister, and a friend-stealing school bully are some of the challenges faced by thoughtful ten-year-old Ben Hunter of Filmland, California.

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.

A girl thought to be a boy steals her sister's skirt, while a boy thought to be a girl refuses to wear a cornflower blue dress. One boy's love of a soldier leads to the death of a stranger. The present takes a bittersweet journey into the past when a man revisits the summer school where he had "an accidental romance." And a forgotten mother writes a poignant letter to the teenage daughter she hasn't seen for fourteen years.Poised between the past and the future are the stories of now. In nontraditional narratives, short stories, and brief graphics, tales of anticipation and regret, eagerness and confusion present distinctively modern views of love, sexuality, and gender identification. Together, they reflect the vibrant possibilities available for young people learning to love others-and themselves-in today's multifaceted and quickly changing world.