I didn't love this book at all. that being said i read it in two days and was 15 minutes late to work because i was sitting in my car reading the end of it. i felt the story was there, but the story telling didn't do it for me. i don't regret the time i spent reading it, but certainly will not pick it up again. ( )

This book has been in my TBR pile for a long time, and I had high hopes going into it. Unfortunately, this book was not really me.

What I liked: I thought the book had a wonderful underlying message. It ended on a high note which is something I was not sure was going to happen. The characters undergo some major issues, and actually find a way to work through it.. kudos for that.

What I did not like: I found the book hard to get into with it starting with a mass of descriptions that I am still not sure were needed, and to be honest, left me a bit confused. I constantly found myself lost in the beginning since it would randomly have flashbacks without a set up or warning. I also had a hard time connecting with the characters: Barbie was mostly blah to me, her mother annoying, her dad was always angry and I did not always understand why, Mab- I am not really sure what I think about her. She annoyed me and I liked her at the same time if that makes any sense. I also found the sex references odd and really unneeded for the most part.

Overall, the word disjointed kept coming to mind while I was reading this book-- this may be due to it having no chapters (but it could be the writing style too). I think that I would have liked this book better if it was pieced together differently. While it has major flaws for me, I really did like its message of overcoming issues and learning to move on. ( )

I really don't know how to most accurately describe Block's writing, so I'll write from my gut. Block's writing is like cocaine. Initially, all reasonable instincts tell me that the writing is not good. Once that reaction has passed, my brain says "Hmmm...let's just see where this goes." Pretty soon, the little voices tell me I have to keep going, I could never forgive myself if I stopped...I... NEED...MORE!!! After I'm done with that, I keep going back to the library, for more...and more...and MORE!!!
Four years after I have kicked the Block habit, I still don't know what possessed me to read everything of Block's I could get my hands on. I don't remember particularly enjoying it, but I do remember that Block single-handedly helped get me through the roughest portions of high school.
Now, I know that my review is something of a back-handed compliment, but I will say this for Block; she is exceptionally imaginative and a vibrantly visual artist. ( )

Getting into I Was a Teenage Fairy was a hard task. At the very beginning, the reader is suffocated by a mass of description and plunged right into a confusing, out-of-focus, plot. Soon, though, the haze clears out and a message begins to form. You'll find yourself wondering pretty existential questions throughout this read. Who--or what--is Mab? Is she a figment of Barbie's imagination? Is she Barbie herself? Is she supposed to symbolize all or none of us at all? While there doesn't seem to be much other than a rough outline of a plot in this book, it's still an enjoyable read--far better than Block's Weetzie Bat series. It's still filled with the same kind of hazy wording, but there appears to actually have a point, while Weetzie really didn't. There is a point to the stories that are being told, and it is a hauntingly poignant one.

Rating: 4/5 ( )

I remember thinking, while reading this book that Francesca Lia Block has good ideas for novels, but her writing is not the best... ( )