''Baby Be-Bop'' is the fifth book in the '' Dangerous Angels'' series by

Francesca Lia Block Francesca Lia Block (born December 3, 1962) is an American writer of adult and young-adult literature. She is known for the '' Weetzie Bat'' series, which she began while a student at UC Berkeley. Early life Block was born in Los Angeles to a ...

. It was first published during September 1995 through HarperCollins Publishers. ''Baby Be-Bop'' takes place prior to the events in '' Weetzie Bat'' and follows Weetzie's best friend, Dirk McDonald.

Plot

Even though readers first meet Dirk McDonald in ''Weetzie Bat,'' Block explores his past in ''Baby Be-Bop''. Dirk had a magical childhood while growing up in the care of his Grandma Fifi. Despite enjoying the beach, surfing, and Grandma Fifi's 1955 Pontiac convertible, Dirk was not truly happy because he had a secret. Dirk worried that if he told anyone this secret, he would no longer be accepted or loved. One night, Dirk's magic lamp comes to life and shows him all the stories from the past. After coming to terms with who he is, Dirk accepts himself and learns that "any love that is love is right."

Challenged status

In 2009 an attempt was made to remove the book from the youth section and library website in

West Bend, Wisconsin West Bend is the county seat of Washington County, Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 31,752. History Early history and settlement Northeastern Washington County's earliest known inhabitants were pre-Columbian Mound Builder ...

, by the West Bend Citizens for Safe Libraries. The group asked that the library remove Block's novel, among others, from the library website in addition to relocating them from the youth collection to the adult section. Another group, the West Bend Parents for Free Speech, formed to oppose these changes, and after a public hearing on June 3, the library board voted unanimously to make no changes to where the books were shelved or to the website. Four men, members of the Christian Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit against the city of West Bend and the West Bend Community Memorial Library where the book was featured in a display, stating that "their mental and emotional well-being was damaged by this book at the library" and that it contained language that would "put one's life in possible jeopardy, adults and children alike". The complaint demanded that ''Baby Be-Bop'' be publicly burned, and also asked for US$120,000 in

compensatory damages At common law, damages are a remedy in the form of a monetary award to be paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. To warrant the award, the claimant must show that a breach of duty has caused foreseeable loss. To be recognised at ...

Reception

In his review of Block's fifth installment of her ''Weetzie Bat'' series,

Charles de Lint Charles de Lint (born December 22, 1951) is a Canadian writer of Dutch, Spanish, and Japanese ancestry. He is married to, and plays music with, MaryAnn Harris. Primarily a writer of fantasy fiction, he has composed works of urban fantasy, cont ...

notes that, "she touches on dark matters...but she does so with warmth, humor, truth, and a whimsical nature that never manages to undermine the more serious concerns from which her stories grow". Further, he claims that while her books may be filed in the YA section, "her stories are timeless and are as suitable for an adult as a teenager". In regard to ''Baby Be-Bop'', de Lint states that the book includes some "wonderfully surreal scenes" that provide a "true no-holds-barred glimpse into both the turmoil of what it's like to be young and different". Diane Roback and Elizabeth Devereaux, writing in ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'', called ''Baby Be-Bop'' a "keenly felt story" with "extravagantly imaginative settings and finely honed perspectives".

Awards and nominations

References

{{Reflist 1995 American novels American young adult novels Novels by Francesca Lia Block 1990s LGBT novels American LGBT novels LGBT-related young adult novels