Missing Angel Juan (Weetzie Bat) [Paperback]

Francesca Lia Block (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1995 | Series: Weetzie Bat

Lonely City

A 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 Love

So she heads for the city of glittery buildings and garbage and Chinese food and drug dealers and subways and kids playing hip-hopscotch.

Finding Trouble

Her 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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

One of kids' favorite characters in Francesca Lia Block's Weetzie Bat series is Witch Baby: a tangly haired, purple-eyed girl who can curl her toes into cashew shapes. She's a bit of an outsider, more in touch with feelings and portents than the rest of the gang from Shangri-L.A. In Witch Baby and Missing Angel Juan, we're able to watch Witch Baby work through some of her feelings of alienation. Her willingness to explore darker emotional realms is a real inspiration, and, in fact, she seems more evolved and "whole" than the others. In Missing Angel Juan, Witch Baby finally finds a way to create her own sense of belonging. She finds out more about her history and her unique needs to push through some of the shyness and moodiness that has always kept her separate from others.

From Publishers Weekly

After nearly stealing the show from her almost-sister Cherokee in Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys , the tormented photographer and drummer Witch Baby returns to star in her own adventure. Devastated when her boyfriend/muse Angel Juan leaves Los Angeles for New York City in order to find himself, Witch Baby takes her savings and heads east, where she plans to spend her high school's Christmas break hot on her lover's trail. With some supernatural assistance provided by the ghost of Cherokee's grandfather, the snarly-haired heroine rescues herself and her beloved from the clutches of the villain Cake, and learns what it means to love and let go. This odd and moving novel shares the super-hip aesthetic of its predecessors and avoids, as have all of Block's books, rehashing what has come before it. The rather formal, stylized folklore structure which characterized the earlier books seems to have been abandoned; instead, the seemingly artless text drifts from the concrete to the surreal and back again, offering spooky fantasy along with a meditation on mourning and loss. Magic and the rich world of fairy tale are, perhaps more than ever, distinct presences. Cantankerous, loving and persevering, Witch Baby calls to mind classic heroines, like the girl in The Snow Queen , who, in undertaking epic quests, discover their own courage. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: HarperTeen (September 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064471209
• ISBN-13: 978-0064471206
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #833,099 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Francesca Lia Block, recipient of the prestigious Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award. has been publishing novels, short stories, essays, memoirs and poetry since 1989. Her work has been translated into many languages. Ms. Block lives in Los Angeles where she teaches writing workshops that are also available online.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Weetzie fans: READ THIS BOOK!, June 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Missing Angel Juan (Weetzie Bat) (Paperback)

This book is the 4th in a series which began with the awesome "Weetzie Bat," and progressed another 4 books detailing the lives of Weetzie's children, family, and friends. All 5 are great and worth checking out, but this one is my absolute favorite of the series.

The story revolves around Witch Baby, Weetzie Bat's almost-daughter, who travels to New York City to find her love, Angel Juan, and bring him back to L.A. She meets an assortment of wonderful, magical people here, including the spirit of Weetzie's father. It is through the very real magic of love that Witch Baby is able to discover clues about Angel's whereabouts, and save him from a very tragic fate...

The other 4 books in this series are written in a very breezy "Californian" way, but since we venture out of the warmth of the west coast and into the dark and chill of New York at Christmastime in this book, it is not surprising that the prose seems less light, yet still dreamlike, as Witch Baby wanders the streets with only her heart to lead her. It is this darkness, this endless searching that made me love this book. It is beautiful and haunting, sad yet uplifting, and very true to Witch Baby's character, as people who read the 2nd book in this series, named for this character, will know.

Francesca Lia Block's writing is superb here, and her descriptions of everything, from the City itself to how Witch Baby feels when she catches a cold are so vivid you can almost see and feel everything in this book, like they were a dream you just woke up from. This is a great book for anyone in love, having love troubles, or searching for love, and anyone in between too! Reading the preceding 3 books will definately help you to understand the characters and plot a little better, so I'm also going to recommend "Weetzie Bat", "Witch Baby", and "Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys". Enjoy!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars loved loved loved this book, July 25, 2004

By 

halloween jack "jack" (CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Missing Angel Juan (Weetzie Bat) (Paperback)

Missing Angel Juan is easily my favorite Francesca Lia Block book. i loved witch baby from the moment i first read about her, way back in Weetzie Bat. i enjoyed watching her grow, and now her story of love, lonlieness, and redemption takes center stage, in this beautifully written book. her feelings of loss over angel juan's departure are easy to relate to, as is her restlessness in a city of dangerous angels. her exodus to new york is both transcendant and haunting, and left me both satisfied and shaken. perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the book is the character Cake, if only because such a thing could really happen. in all, it's one of the best books i've ever read, though far too short, and it left me screaming out for more, though grateful that i'd had the privelege of reading it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A FASCINATING EXPERIENCE!, August 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Missing Angel Juan (Weetzie Bat) (Paperback)

I have read and loved all of Block's books, but Missing Angel Juan made the most profound impact on me. This isn't like reading a book, it's an expansion and exploration of the imagination. After finishing the book, it played through my head like a movie. Like a dream you thought was real.