Baby Be-Bop (1995)

5Q 3P (my codes)
Electric language, shimmering imagery, and fantastical optimism. Francesca's prose glitters and pulses with the energy of the raves frequented by Dirk. There's a rhythm to her sentences that captivates the reader, in this heartbreaking story of unaccepted love and desperate longing for acceptance and love. Dirk is a teenage boy who lives with his ethereal grandmother "in her cottage with the steep chocolate frosting roof, the birdbath held by a nymph, and the seven stone dwarfs in the garden" (p. 9). Dirk loves Pup, Pup is afraid to love anyone but girls. And so Dirk hides and reshapes himself and goes on long drives out into the night. Magic crackles in the background of most of the book, with occasional flares of realization and illumination. When an act of horrific violence brings Dirk low, he learns the importance of story--the difference between "de-story" and "re-story." Life might just be better now. Teens might need a little push to get into the book, but those that stick with it will yearn for more.

With the three deaths that have happened recently, young people driven beyond the brink from being bullied due to their homosexuality, I was glad when I picked up the final book in the Dangerous Angels series. It gave me some hope.

Baby Be-Bop is a prequel of sorts to Weetzie Bat and tells the story of Dirk McDonald throughout his childhood and entering into adolescence. This is a coming out story of the first order. Dirk realizes from a very young age that he is different and later realizes that he is gay and the ramifications that is going to have for himself and his family.

He agonizes over telling his grandmother Fifi who he worries it will hurt. He struggles with his feelings for his best friend Pup and worries about the effect it will have on their friendship. He gets into trouble, smokes weed, gets a fake ID and sneaks into clubs, dresses as a punk rocker so that no one will mess with him, falls in love and deals with heart break. Baby Be-Bop pulls no punches as Dirk deals with everything from friends that are too afraid to come out of the closet, to finding out that others that are out were not careful and are now suffering from HIV or AIDS.

Finally Dirk ends up struggling with thoughts of suicide and has to find a reason to live, a story that will make him want to live. That's when the magic that is in all of the Dangerous Angels books comes to life and the genie in the lamp appears to give Dirk hope. Baby Be-Bop can be read as a standalone book and if you want to read a magical, fantastical GLBT story then I recommend you read this one. It's short, but to the point. It shows someone being driven to the brink by hatred and being saved by love, hope and understanding. ( )

I'd never heard of Francesca Lia Block or her "Weetzie Bat" series before I read about some group of right-wing wackos in Wisconsin seeking permission to publically burn Baby Be-Bop. At that point I knew nothing of the book--only that I had to buy it and read it.

So how is the book? It's tender, and lyrical, and sweet--and yes, very frank in its handling of the teen protagonist's homosexuality. I'm glad there are books out there like this one for kids who may feel they are "the only one." The character Dirk is tormented and sad, but he is also surrounded by love, and I think this is a good and realistic (although threaded through with fantastical elements) depiction.

I want to thank the West Bend, Wisconsin hate group for bringing this work to the national spotlight. It resulted in my purchases a five-volume omnibus of Block's "Weetzie Bats" series, which I've found so far to be an interesting read. I encourage everyone to do what I do, and get their reading recommendations from banned book lists.

News story on the controversy: http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2009/06/16/francesca_lia_block/index.html ( )

In Baby Bebop, Francesca Lia Block tells the story of Dirk’s struggle to come to terms with his sexuality and how his love for another boy affects every other love in his life. Baby Bebop continues block’s tell-tale poetic style, but with a darker tone that complements the torment expressed in Dirk’s narration. Unlike the incredibly whimsical Weetzie Bat, Block has decided to dig deep into descriptions in this novel, spending significantly more time relating readers to character insights and motivations, providing relevant settings that genuinely add to each scene, supporting a plot that is clear from the start and easy to follow. Dirk’s pain mixes the tempestuousness of youth with the wisdom of age, combining a sympathetic character with an overall message of self-acceptance. Highly recommended for any school or public library’s young adult fiction collection. ( )

'Baby Be-Bop' started out well, I enjoyed the reality of Dirk's struggle with his feelings for Pup. The second part of 'Baby Be-Bop' kind of confused me. With all the ghosts, jumping around from one person's POV to another... I got lost. I'm happy to say, though, that at the end Francesca Lia Block was able to pull it all back together for a beautiful ending. This is definitely a book to read.