Customer Reviews

Echo (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition)

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Block is a literary genius and my favorite writer; therefore, this book cannot be bad. However, this is not her best.

This book is written as a journey of self-discovery, centered around Echo, a young girl growing up in the shadow of her goddess-like mother. Her life is spent trying to shed that shadow and become a person in her own right. The book interweaves chapters of Echo's life with chapters telling the stories of the main figures in her life. This is an interesting device that works here.

Something that more intense Block fans will notice is that the chapter of this book revovling around Echo's health obsession is drawn, sometimes verbatim, from Block's short story Blood Oranges.

Although good, this is not Block's best. If you're starting out, read Girl Goddess #9 or I Was A Teenage Fairy.

The opening chapter of "Echo", written in the voice of its protagonist, is fresh, colorful, and fetching. Teenaged Echo has a too-perfect mother and a father who ignores her, but she's also got one outrageous superpower! Unfortunately, Echo soon fades into the hills as the narrative momentum is lost in a succession of narrators, considerable lapses of time, and just too many turns of the merry-go-round. One thing that impresses itself on me in this book is how close Block is coming to Anne Rice in her decline. To wit: an endless cast of characters, all offered for our approval based pretty much upon the evidence of cool names, exotic artistic tastes, and a sense of fashion. Multiple narrators, as noted. Situations that seem to exist for the sake of how poetically they can be evoked. Time and place gone increasingly opaque. As for concrete examples?: well, there are vampires for one thing. And a wee little girl starts revamping fairy tales in a manner that suggests she has been reading the Sleeping Beauty trilogy for bedtime!
I'm still susceptible to Block's charms, and "Echo" does have some powerful moments, particularly in two disturbing chapters that show the dangerous, sexual lure of dark beings who seek to entrap our heroes. But the novel feels, at times, plodding, marking time almost. The travails of Smoke and Eden become, at their worst, pure kitsch: Block comes darn close to the ridiculousness of Little Nell in one emotive scene. And, well past what feels like a logical culmination point, the book is still floating through Echo's endless search for-- er, self-worth? The Valentine chapters feel a little too coy about Echo's feelings for her. And, while the finale does have poetic uplift, it's not as glorious as "Violet & Claire"s climax-- it's more of a relief just to be through with it. And, after all the bad lovers, anorexia, sexual predators, etc., should we really believe that magic exists in underground clubs? Isn't it time to let these heroines get out of the smog and search for Art and Love someplace else? This Joycean hangup with trashy, flashy L.A. may be getting a bit much, and really, it's not the least toxic environment for creative young people to try and flourish in. Read "Echo" for the shimmery poetic images, but go back to the earlier ones for emotional depth and dramatic release.

Echo tells the story of a girl and all the people around her in a beautiful writing that is purely Block's style. Echo is a girl who is convinced that she is not very pretty and the only things she has talent in is evil. But that proves to be wrong when series of tests in love, friendship, and death face her. Through this heart-filled painful period Echo learns from her mistakes and how to look towards the future. This book tells her story.

WHen I picked this up I was a little iffy about it. WHile I do enjoy Francasca Lia Block's wiritng style I either love her books, or could do with out them. THis book was not a dissapointment for me. The story is wonderful, symbolic, and poetic. I'd love to read more by Block. I reccomend this to anyone who dosen't mind strange but entertaining tales and who's a fan of Blocks writing.

On another note.... Peace and prayers to all the victims of the recent plane accident. My heart is with everyone affected.

... I really *do* think it's time to get rid of the "young adult writer" label. Sure, Francesca Lia Block's stories are great for teens et al, but this gem of a novel (darker than dark and outrageously uplifting at the same time) can't get confused with the crappy titles that overflood the kiddie lit corner. I mean, Francesca's a unique author with a dazzling vision. Plus, I'm enjoying her works as a wee-begone thirtysomething (and I'm positive I'm not the only one).

This was my very first time reading a novel by Francessca Lia Block.She is not your average writer. She weaves the supernatural with magical reality. This is unlike any novel I have ever read and, I must say this book was beautiful. I enjoyed it because it made me think and kept me interested.

i really liked this book. i was disappointed by fransescas newer works, like the rose and the beast and nymph. echo is truer to weetzie bat, or violet and claire. its beautiful, dreamy, sparkly and poetic. the book was a little confusing in it's constantly changing narrators overall though, the changing narrators were a good part of the book because it gave so much insight to the various characters, which really added a lot to the story.
the story is basically that of echo and it kind of travels through her life, simultaneously telling the story of people around her like her mother, father, and friends.
echo is a girl in La. her mother is an angel, her father is an artist. in the story she meets angels, crazy muscled vampires, actors, rock stars, rock stars children, all sorts of people. like most of her books, this book has many themes, but the main one is always love. searching for love, trying to keep love, witnessing love.
the book is well written, with the wonderful scenery and characters that always come from fransesca lia block. its not weetzie bat (what ever will be?) but its definitely one of her better books.

This is definitely like the White Oleandor for a younger generation. Just as good, but with different characters in the same situation. The ultimate search-for-self story has just surfaced in a girl named Echo.

Echo, of course, is having a major case of teen angst. Her beautiful mother seems as close to perfect as you can get, and she feels as if her dad doesn't pay any attention to her. When her dad becomes really sick, she feels more isolated than she ever has. She realizes that she will never be as beautiful as her mother... or as artistic as her father, so she turns into a different person. Basement dances and her newfound green hair make her truly something else. One night, on the beach, she sees a strange and exciting boy sitting on the boarded up lifeguard station. He ends up saving her life, and Echo goes back to visit him every night. He never talks, but she likes him anyway. On one of these visits, they part ways in hopes of meeting again, where he will be ready to love her.

After the first chapter, a variety of small stories intertwine that all work into Echo's life, from the meeting of her parents to the many different lovers that she has had. Sometimes, they don't even say her name, but you know it's her that the author is talking about. The writing is truly beautiful, told in spurts of prose and clear descriptions. It almost sounds science fiction, but everything is told truly with an element of poetry. During her many "adventures", Echo meets a lot of new people with their own stories and different pasts, giving you a better understanding of each person. Every story ultimately leads up to the ending, where the rest of her life lays.

This book may be short and quick, but it brings out the best of this author. From a beautiful and eyecatching beginning to a beautiful and thoughtful ending, this is a story you don't want to miss out on.

This was one of the first two books I read by Block, but I still have mixed feelings about it.

I read the whole thing, slowly, in two days. I still cannot tell you what this book is about. I thought it would be a huge novel about Echo and her parents and relationships, but the book jacket doesn't tell you much (pretty photography, but the publisher conveniently omitted any type of description). Open it.

Each chapter is made up of different characters telling their own stories, but I could not for the life of me figure out how these people are even related (they must of been friends, but I couldn't grasp that). It reminded me of people walking in to a movie an hour late, or watching their favorite TV show ten minutes after it begins. Pretty prose, but the storyline is too hard to follow. The second you sit down and think that Block has it going on, turn the page and confusion amass. It was like a mini version of Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club", only in modern Los Angeles and not as good.

I had read Block's book "I was a Teenage Fairy" and it had to of been the worst book I had ever read. Then, I saw Echo on the shelf at the library and saw Block had also written this one. Wanting to give her another try, I got the book. This book has completely changed my opinion of Fransica Lia Block as a writer.

This book was beautiful. She told the story with dripping imagery. From her mother to nightlife, she described and rendered the pictures of what she wants the readers to see very well. It was dark as well as splendid. I was inspired many times throughout the book to pick up my paints and paint the things I saw within this book.

Echo is a confused girl (mostly about herself) who seems to be a magnet of interesting people. It nice to relate to Echo who is trying to figure out the basics like love, life, and herself. The characters and interesting (and beautifully named such as Eden, Smoke, and Valentine). Each has their own story complete with scars.

The plot is fluffy. There really isn't a plot. Its just following Echo around in her life and meeting people as she searches. It stays fresh though, with the change of focus with each chapter. Small connections are made throughout the book with each character and its just a little something that'll make you smile.

Over conservatives need to stand clear. You need to have an appreciation of how drugs and sex are described. However, if you are reading this as a huffy middle aged woman who is offended by the littlest reference to such things, this is not the book for you. But, for those with the maturity to appreciate the lovely metaphors and descriptions she brings with the ideas of the drugs and making love, you will love it.

This book was a joy to read. The imagery, the characters, the freedom, everything. I recommend this book to those who can appreciate a beautiful book.

This is another book listed under Juvenile Fiction at the library, but too adult to count as such in my mind. However, the writing is beautiful. Echo is simply lovely, and I fell in love with her from the start. I love the descriptions of painting and music in this wee little novel. I loved how she kept turning from person to person when the right man was waiting for the right time, and she just did not understand. I love how she began to come into her own power as she accepted herself instead of striving so hard to be her mother or her father. It was magical in the best ways. Complete poetry. This may have been my fave, aside from Necklace of Kisses. If you want to read some Block, try this one.