This one's about changelings, and about how we can all be beautiful though the world doesn't see it.

Bee is 13 and has never felt like she fits in. However, this is more than just your average teenage angst... amongst Bee's many odd characteristics, she has the urge to eat dirt from her garden and is frightened by metal objects. One night she wakes up to find a girl in her room, a girl who looks just like her and tells her "You are me," before disappearing. Bee finds her world unraveling after this visit, and she reaches out to two unlikely people at her school: Haze, a boy who believes he is an alien, and Stephanie, a girl who thinks she is a reincarnated slave named Sarah. The three loners become friends, crashing a party and practicing magic. They realize that Bee is actually a changeling, an elf who took the place of the real Bee at birth. The real girl haunts Bee, lurking in mirrors and demanding her life back. Bee grows weaker as time passes and soon leaves her friends to return to her own world.

This short novel may appeal to those who have trouble fitting in and reluctant readers. Block's writing style is beautiful and keeps the book moving, but the story itself is underdeveloped. There are some creepy moments, particularly when Bee is being followed and threatened by the real Bee, but overall the plot is flat and changes tone too quickly from mystery to fairy-tale to love story. We know from the get-go that Bee is a changeling, which undermines the mystery and makes the other characters seem slow for not realizing it. The characters act much older than they are, often having far too unrealistic interactions. There's potential in this story, but while the fairy aspect may appeal to some, this is not a must-read. ( )

This book is a really quick read, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't pack a punch.

Using the diction we're all so familiar with from "Weetzie Bat" and other books, this novella does a really interesting take on the idea of the changeling and faeries. Is Bee just growing up and changing, or is she actually something else? All of this really resonated with me, especially because I felt the same at her age. I felt like I was something else, not right, not a human girl. Hell, I still don't quite feel like a human girl.

Reading this book is like wading in dreams. I absolutely loved it. Not my favourite of the entire Block canon, but still very good.

(crossposted to goodreads) ( )

Reviewed by LadyJay for TeensReadToo.com

Bee knows that she is different from other teenagers. She has a strange affinity with the earth, dreaming of eating it in handfuls to be more connected to it. Bee feels more at home in her mother's garden rather than at school or with other people. She never has an appetite and sees people for who they are, their true selves.

There is also the matter of her doppelganger. Bee begins to see her, in dreams and during her waking hours. She wants something from Bee; she wants her life back.

Bee has also befriended two outsiders, very much like herself. Haze is a tall, gangly boy who believes he was fathered by aliens. Sarah, with her braided hair and beautiful voice, tells Haze and Bee that she is the reincarnated soul of a slave girl. Neither one of these confessions shocks or mystifies Bee; she simply accepts them to be fact. Their differences make them unique and bring them together.

With the help of her two eccentric friends, Bee finally discovers who she is and where she truly belongs.

I have had the pleasure of reading many of Francesca Lia Block's other novels, and this one seemed different to me. It was easier to connect with the characters in this novel. They felt more "real" to me than in previous works.

Obviously, there is still that element of fantasy, but it doesn't saturate the story. Block has found a perfect balance of reality and fantasy. Fans of fantasy novels will love this book because of its fantastical elements, but those who are looking for a story about a young girl who is discovering her identity will also enjoy it.

Block has a way of crossing many genres and groups of readers; she has certainly done so with THE WATERS AND THE WILD. ( )

Title: The Waters & The Wild Author: Francesca Lia Block Publisher: Harper Teen Number Of Pages: 111 Publication Date: June 2nd, 2009

Synopsis from back of book: When Bee woke up, there was a girl standing in her room. “You are me,” the girl said. Then she was gone.

Thus begins thirteen-year-old Bee’s discovery that her life is not what she thought it was. In this compellingly eerie new teen novel from critically acclaimed writer Francesca Lia Block, Bee’s never felt like she really belongs in this world. When she encounters her dark and ethereal double, she realizes she may be right…

Review: The Waters & The Wild was okay. I didn’t enjoy it all that much. I felt like I was always missing something important. It took me a few hours to finish The Waters & The Wild and it was not something I will read again. One thing I did like was the supporting characters Haze & Sarah. They were a lot more interesting to read about than the main character Bee.

I think that the length of this was a downfall. Maybe, if it was longer I would have enjoyed it more? I am not totally sure. I felt there wasn’t enough depth. Another problem, I felt confused through the novel. All in all, this was a minor disappointment.

I recommend this novel if you like faery changelings, Francesca Lia Block books, and young adult novels. ( )