''Dangerous Angels'', also known as the Weetzie Bat series, is a

young adult fiction Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

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 ...

. The book consists of seven novels: ''

Weetzie Bat ''Weetzie Bat'' is the debut novel of Francesca Lia Block, published by HarperCollins in 1989. It inaugurated her ''Dangerous Angels'' series for young adults. The narrative follows the adventures of the eponymous character Weetzie and her best ...

'', ''

Witch Baby ''Witch Baby'' (1991) is the second book in the Dangerous Angels series of novels written 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 '' We ...

'', ''

Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys ''Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys'' (1993) is the third 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 '' W ...

'', ''

Missing Angel Juan ''Missing Angel Juan'' is the fourth book in the Dangerous Angels series by Francesca Lia Block. The plot revolves around Witch Baby as she travels to New York City to find her love Angel Juan and bring him back home to Los Angeles. It was ada ...

'', ''

Baby Be-Bop ''Baby Be-Bop'' is the fifth book in the '' Dangerous Angels'' series by Francesca Lia Block. It was first published during September 1995 through HarperCollins Publishers. ''Baby Be-Bop'' takes place prior to the events in '' Weetzie Bat'' and f ...

'', ''

Necklace of Kisses A necklace is an article of jewellery that is worn around the neck. Necklaces may have been one of the earliest types of adornment worn by humans. They often serve ceremonial, religious, magical, or funerary purposes and are also used as symbol ...

'', and '' Pink Smog: Becoming Weetzie Bat''. The books describe the lives of the main character, Weetzie Bat, and her friends and family members who all live in Los Angeles. The books include supernatural elements such as witches, genies, and ghosts and can be described as

magical realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) (foaled 2015), Irish Thoroughbred racehorse * "Magical" (song), released in 1985 by John Parr * '' Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations'', ...

mythpunk Since the advent of the cyberpunk genre, a number of derivatives of cyberpunk have become recognized in their own right as distinct subgenres in speculative fiction, especially in science fiction. Rather than necessarily sharing the digitally and ...

. The series title comes from the omnibus edition of the first five books, ''Dangerous Angels'', first published in 1998. It was named after a quote from ''Weetzie Bat'': "Love is a dangerous angel." . 11 The omnibus was reissued in 2007 and again in 2010.

Plot summary

* ''

'' (1989): Weetzie Bat meets her best friend Dirk, who identifies as gay, at school and together they have grand adventures around Los Angeles comforting each other when they get hurt on their quest to find their ducks or soul mates. Grandma Fifi gives Weetzie a

genie Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources) – are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic mytho ...

lamp which gives her three wishes that are granted and their lives change forever with unforeseen ramifications. * ''

'' (1991): Witch Baby, a purple-eyed girl who lives with Weetzie Bat, My-Secret-Agent-Lover-Man, and the rest of the kin does not know where she belongs in the world. As she tires of tormenting her sister, Cherokee, Witch Baby happens to meet a boy Angel Juan who she instantly knows is her soul mate and through him realizes what a family should be. She goes on a quest to find her mother in hopes of finding out where she belongs, to find out that her mother does not care about her. In the end, she misses her family and realizes it is with them she belongs. * ''

'' (1992): The grown-ups in the family are off filming their new movie, leaving Cherokee to look after Witch Baby who has locked herself in the shed refusing to eat because she misses Angel Juan so desperately. To lure her out, Cherokee makes her a pair of wings, which transform Witch Baby. The girls decide to start a band with Angel Juan and Raphael, but when they go to perform they all freeze. Cherokee makes the rest of the band members magical items which makes them one of the hottest bands until they get caught up in the world of drugs, sex, and jealousy. Cherokee takes away the magical gifts after realizing what it has done to them, making them re-examine their choices. * ''

'' (1993): Angel Juan left for New York City and Witch Baby is desperately missing him, and when he stops writing she knows something has happened to him. She goes in search of him staying at the apartment of Weetzie Bat’s deceased father, Charlie Bat, which happens to be haunted by him. Together the ghost of Charlie Bat and Witch Baby trace Angel Juan’s steps to a ‘man’ named Cake who she must rescue him from without getting herself captured as well. * ''

'' (1995): A prequel to the other stories, it focuses on the journey of Dirk’s life before meeting Weetzie Bat. While living with Grandma Fifi in high school Dirk struggles with his sexuality and how to come out to Pup, his best friend and who he thinks is his soul mate. Though Pup feels the same he refuses to come out and starts dating a girl, leaving Dirk heartbroken. After being beaten up by a bunch of anti-gay people he crashes at home and starts dreaming of his ancestors, which helps him come to terms with who he is through their life stories. *''

'' (2005): Disillusioned by adult life and passionless marriage, Weetzie Bat moves to LA's Pink Hotel to find herself. There, she meets a variety of supernatural characters and regains her passion for life. *''

Pink Smog Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...

'' (2012): This prequel novel describes Weetzie Bat's life as a pre-teen when she was still known as Louise Bat.

Major themes

The major theme throughout all of the stories making up ''Dangerous Angels'' is “tolerance through love.” Individual stories have more individualized themes etched within them. ''Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys'' are about the importance of loved ones and the natural and spiritual worlds. Witch Baby’s magical story is about the “danger of denying life's pain.” Weetzie Bat is a transcendent coming-of-age story. The strong theme of ''Missing Angel Juan'' Cart states best as, “love, in its infinite varieties, is both humankind's natural estate and heart-magic strong enough to redeem any loss.” In ''Baby Be-Bop'' the theme is finding love for oneself and is “a safety net of words for readers longing to feel at home with themselves.”

Literary significance and reception

All of the short books that are combined to make Dangerous Angels received great reviews when they were published. Osborn says of Weetzie Bat, “Weetzie and her friends live like the lilies of the field, yet their responsibility to each other and their love for the baby show a sweet grasp of the realities that matter.” Block manages to bring the most important things in life, family and love to the front of the novel making other life matters secondary, which readers find enchanting. In 2005 Block received the Margaret A. Edwards Award, “for outstanding contributions to young adult readers”, for the Weetzie Bat books.

Baby Be-Bop controversy

In June 2009, Block's book ''Baby Be-bop'', which deals with the life of a gay teenager, was part of a controversy 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 ...

, where several parents' groups insisted that the book, among others, be removed from the local public library and publicly burned.

Awards

References

{{Reflist 1998 American novels American young adult novels Novels by Francesca Lia Block Novels set in Los Angeles LGBT speculative fiction novels Young adult novel series American LGBT novels