Reviewed by coollibrarianchick for TeensReadToo.com

On Francesca Lia Block's website, there are a bunch of words lumped together, reminding me of magnetic poetry that has been used to describe her work. I couldn't agree more with the words reviewers have used. The one word that kept jumping out at me while reading this was lyrical. I was looking for a word to describe what I thought about her newest literary novella, BLOOD ROSES, and that describes it perfectly. Surreal and dreamy would be good adjectives to use, as well.

The book is broken up into nine short stories. All of the stories deal with a transformation of some sort, whether it is physical or emotional. Not once in any of her stories is the magical element questioned - it is just accepted. My favorite story out of all of them is called Skin Art. Basically, it is about the all-consuming power of first love and how, after time has passed, it is not as great as once thought.

Easy to read, this little book sucks you in, especially if you are a fan of thought-provoking fantasy, as Ms. Block straddles the line between the worlds of magic and reality. The stories seem very personal, emotional; even, at times, irrational. You definitely can't argue with the quality of writing - Francesca Lia Block is a very good writer, but with that said she is not for everyone.

People that are into the art scene will enjoy her work, as well as those who like to analyze dreams, as the stories are rich in sensory detail. Hail to the queen of magical realism. ( )

Some of the stories were interesting enough to make it worth it. My personal favorite story was my Haunted House. It brought up interesting questions about death and made me sympathize with the mythological figure of Death. The stories were not all of the same caliber. AHS/KR

Whenever I read Francesca Lia Block I see vivid, very familiar images of my own life. Many times she writes about growing up in Los Angeles during the 1970's and 80's. In Blood Roses, she combines elements of those past decades with present day, in a collection of short stories. This is young adult literature for high school students. Most female young adults to adult can relate to at least one of themes discussed in the nine short stories. This book has themes of female sexuality, love, friendship, mental illness etc. I love how she combines reality with fantasy with the main character in each story. My favorite story is the one in which a young girl who wants to be veteranian meets a boy centaur, falls in love with him, and in the end isn't able to fix his wounds. ( )

Susan says: This is a book of slightly interconnected short stories that are all based in Block’s trademark magical realism. It is our world, only there is more to see than meets the eye. Some of the stories have to do with a group of friends, one story focuses on each one. While the stories are definitely very Block, I don’t think they are unusual enough to earn a Printz, but this is the first actual Printz book I’ve read, so I may change my mind later. This is for older teens – much of the magic covers up sex, drugs, and things that younger teens may not want to read. But Block does a good job of leaving things vague enough that most readers will be able to read whatever they want into it. ( )

Dark and beautiful, magical and unexpected.