Block, Francesca Lia. I was a Teenage Fairy. New York: Joanna Cotler Books/ Harper Collins. 1998. ISBN: 0-06-027747-5.
Plot Summary:
The story begins with the protagonist, Barbie, as a girl of eleven years old. Barbie’s mother is an ex-beauty queen and pushes Barbie to follow in her footsteps. In the whirlwind of going to photo shoots, beauty pageants, and learning to be a beauty queen, a fairy named Mab appears to Barbie and becomes her companion. Flash forward five years and now Barbie is sixteen and is a full time model. She smokes and parties and is in with the LA modeling set. Mab is still part of her life, but only Barbie and a few others are able to see her. Barbie becomes involved with a celebrity named Todd and has a number of relationship challenges. Griffin, Todd’s roommate, is a male model on a self destructive path that happens to know Barbie from their days in the child beauty circuit. Barbie comes to realize that she and Todd share a history of being abused which happened in their childhood and Barbie plans on getting justice. It turns out that everyone that can see the fairies have had some sort of sexual abuse in their past and the fairies seem to help them cope with it. The plot and reality twist as Barbie tries to make some sense of life and get on the road to psychological recovery.
Critical Evaluation:
This book dealt with some very powerful themes and in a way that kind of sneaks up on the reader. One is not entirely sure of the meanings of much of what occurs until they are hit with the full significance and magnitude of the story. The reader goes from a modern fairytale-like setting in the first part to something that is rather dark and sad; much of the impact can be felt through the contrast. The book would be great for anyone who is dealing with such things in their own past, but I would certainly say that the situations portrayed in the book may not be suitable for the youngest teens, as a multitude of controversial topics are also touched upon in the work. There are so many currents running through the story that one would think that the book would be much longer, but the writer is able to string these currents together and run these through the story without unnecessary augmentation. The writer is able to use a very creative story to talk about abuse and the way it impacts the lives of those abused.
Reader’s Annotation:
Barbie is a model who goes through youth accompanied by Mab, a fairy. Barbie tries to make sense out of life while trying to get justice and recover from wrongs done in childhood.
Information about the author:
Francesca Lia Block was born in 1962 in Los Angeles, a city where she lived most of her life. She completed her first book Weetzie Bat while she was studying at UC Berkeley. She is known for juxtaposing classic fairy tale like themes on modern situations. Many of Block’s works contain controversial material and have been the subject of many challenges. One of the challenges occurred in Wisconsin where a copy of one of her books was publicly burned because it dealt with GLBT issues.
Block has received critical acclaim and is the winner of the American Library Association’s Margaret A. Edwards Lifetime Achievement Award. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her son, and two dogs. She is now working on developing a TV Show for MTV.
Genre:
Fairytale
Curriculum Ties:
N/A
Booktalking Ideas:
1. Discuss the relationship the Barbie has with Mab, and compare it to that of her mother.
2. Focus on the pressure Barbie is under to be a model, and the way this may have an impact on some of the choices she makes.
3. Center a discussion on the way the book illustrates coping mechanisms of those who have had childhood trauma.
Reading Level/Interest Age:
15+
Challenge Issues:
Sexual Abuse/Sex/Drugs/Smoking/Drinking/Homosexuality/Language
Challenge Defense Ideas:
1. Read the book.
2. Be Familiar with the policy of the ALA and your institution.
3. Make a note of the contents of the work and how they fall in with the collection development policy of your institution and the standpoint of the ALA.
4. Gain an awareness of the awards, reviews, and criticisms of the work, as well as other works by the same writer.
5. Know the process for materials challenges at your library.
Why did you include this book? :
Block has come up in a number of sources as an excellent writer that is somewhat controversial and I wanted to include a title by her.
Author’s Website:
http://www.francescaliablock.com/
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