Description

Pink Smog, the long-awaited prequel to Francesca Lia Block's groundbreaking novel Weetzie Bat, was praised as "an intoxicating mix of mystery, fantasy, and romance" by ALA Booklist in a starred review. Weetzie Bat is one of the seminal young adult novels of the '90s and continues to be an iconic treasure for teens everywhere. Now Pink Smog reintroduces a whole new generation to the eponymous Weetzie Bat—before she was Weetzie. Against the backdrop of a Los Angeles teeming with magical realism, Louise Bat struggles to find a way to deal with life after her father's unceremonious departure.

Longtime fans and newfound readers alike will fall in love with Francesca Lia Block's beautifully crafted and brutally honest world. Maggie Stiefvater, New York Times bestselling author of The Raven Boys, proclaimed "Pink Smog sparkles and obscures; it's a glorious mirage, like the city it pays homage to."


  • An Iconic Prequel: Discover the world of Shangri-L.A. before the classic Weetzie Bat. This is the story of Louise Bat, a lonely thirteen-year-old learning to find her own magic.
  • Coming of Age Angst: With a father who’s disappeared and a mother lost in her own sorrow, Louise must learn to be her own hero in this raw and honest tale.
  • Lyrical Los Angeles Setting: Explore a hazy, dreamlike 1970s Hollywood full of punk rock, pink smog, and unexpected magic hiding in plain sight.
  • Unlikely Friendships: From school outcasts to mysterious new neighbors, Louise discovers that finding your people is the most powerful magic of all.

About the author(s)

Francesca Lia Block, winner of the prestigious Margaret A. Edwards Award, is the author of many acclaimed and bestselling books, including Weetzie Bat; the book collections Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books and Roses and Bones: Myths, Tales, and Secrets; the illustrated novella House of Dolls; the vampire romance novel Pretty Dead; and the gothic werewolf novel The Frenzy. Her work is published around the world.

Reviews

CRITICAL ACCLAIM for WEETZIE BAT and the DANGEROUS ANGELS collection: “Transcendent.” - New York Times Book Review

“Shimmering.” - New York Post

“Magnificent.” - Village Voice

“Sparkling.” - Publishers Weekly

“One of the most original books of the last ten years.” - Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Pink Smog sparkles and obscures; it’s a glorious mirage, like the city it pays homage to.” - Maggie Stiefvater, #1 New York Times bestselling author, for the New York Times Book Review

“The prose both charts and matches Weetzie’s transformation from ordinary girl into someone who deliberately creates the world she wants to live in; as she changes, so does the language, from a straightforward reporting of events to the more dreamlike, haunting quality of Block’s signature style. This canny introduction to Weetzie is the perfect prep for younger readers to get to know someone they can grow with.” - Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“This canny introduction to Weetzie is the perfect prep.” - Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“A fresh gem for Weetzie fans, Pink Smog stands comfortably alone as well.” - Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (Starred Review)

“In the early ‘90s, Weetzie was Teen Lit’s alternative princess, and Pink Smog aims to introduce a new generation to her fantastical world.” - School Library Journal

“The beloved star of Block’s Weetzie Bat (1989) is back in this charming prequel. Block’s new novel is an intoxicating mix of mystery, fantasy, and romance told in her signature poetic style and peopled by guardian angels, witches, a goddess, and a demon. Yet all is rooted in a sometimes dark reality of a sensitive young girl who desperately misses her father and is the object of scorn at school. There is hope in new friendships and, as in all of Block’s books, there is love, which may be a dangerous angel but is also a life-saving and affirming force to be reckoned with.” - Booklist (starred review)

“An intoxicating mix of mystery, fantasy, and romance told in her signature poetic style and peopled by guardian angels, witches, a goddess, and a demon.” - Booklist (starred review)

“Newcomers and longtime fans alike will find much to savor in this nuanced meditation on what is lost, and what is gained, in the process of becoming an artist.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Teens... will relate to the heroine’s universal feelings of being on the fringe. Louise’s uplifting example proves that only from the outside can one forge her own true path.” - Shelf Awareness

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