Baby Be-Bop (Weetzie Bat)

by Francesca Lia Block

Other authorsDavid Diaz (Illustrator)

Paperback, 1997

Status

Available

Call number

YA BLO

Series

Weetzie Bat (5)

Genres

Publication

HarperTeen (1997), 112 pages

Description

Dirk MacDonald, a sixteen-year-old boy living in Los Angeles, comes to terms with being gay after he receives surreal storytelling visitations from his dead father and great-grandmother.

User reviews

LibraryThing member messelti

In Baby Bebop, Francesca Lia Block tells the story of Dirk’s struggle to come to terms with his sexuality and how his love for another boy affects every other love in his life. Baby Bebop continues block’s tell-tale poetic style, but with a darker tone that complements the torment expressed in

Dirk’s narration. Unlike the incredibly whimsical Weetzie Bat, Block has decided to dig deep into descriptions in this novel, spending significantly more time relating readers to character insights and motivations, providing relevant settings that genuinely add to each scene, supporting a plot that is clear from the start and easy to follow. Dirk’s pain mixes the tempestuousness of youth with the wisdom of age, combining a sympathetic character with an overall message of self-acceptance. Highly recommended for any school or public library’s young adult fiction collection.

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LibraryThing member peonygoat

Dirk slowly comes to terms with being gay with the help of stories his family tell him. Evocative, touching and easy-to-read.

LibraryThing member Thesaminal

My least favorite of the Weetzie Bat books. Stop at "Missing Angel Juan" it will leave you with a better impression of the series.

LibraryThing member exlibrisbitsy

With the three deaths that have happened recently, young people driven beyond the brink from being bullied due to their homosexuality, I was glad when I picked up the final book in the Dangerous Angels series. It gave me some hope.

Baby Be-Bop is a prequel of sorts to Weetzie Bat and tells the story

of Dirk McDonald throughout his childhood and entering into adolescence. This is a coming out story of the first order. Dirk realizes from a very young age that he is different and later realizes that he is gay and the ramifications that is going to have for himself and his family.

He agonizes over telling his grandmother Fifi who he worries it will hurt. He struggles with his feelings for his best friend Pup and worries about the effect it will have on their friendship. He gets into trouble, smokes weed, gets a fake ID and sneaks into clubs, dresses as a punk rocker so that no one will mess with him, falls in love and deals with heart break. Baby Be-Bop pulls no punches as Dirk deals with everything from friends that are too afraid to come out of the closet, to finding out that others that are out were not careful and are now suffering from HIV or AIDS.

Finally Dirk ends up struggling with thoughts of suicide and has to find a reason to live, a story that will make him want to live. That's when the magic that is in all of the Dangerous Angels books comes to life and the genie in the lamp appears to give Dirk hope. Baby Be-Bop can be read as a standalone book and if you want to read a magical, fantastical GLBT story then I recommend you read this one. It's short, but to the point. It shows someone being driven to the brink by hatred and being saved by love, hope and understanding.

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LibraryThing member DeweyEver

This book is sort of a prequel to the first in the series " Weetzie Bat". It is told through Weetzie's best friend Dirk and his fear of who he is. It deals with learning to love yourself and accepting who you are.

LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV

My first Block. Totally stands alone. I will read more, though. Brilliant and beautiful. I'm speechless, sorry.

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