Blood Roses

By Francesca Lia Block

Book Overview

What shall we do, all of us? All of us passionate girls who fear crushing the boys we love with our mouths like caverns of teeth, our mushrooming brains, our watermelon hearts?What's real is what's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060763841
• ISBN13: 9780060763848
• Release Date: June 2008
• Publisher: HarperTeen
• Length: 129 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.1" x 0.7" x 5.0"
• Age Range: 14 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 9 to 12

Customer Reviews

Eccentric and eerie book

Reviewed by Brenna Bales (age 12) for Reader Views (7/09) "Blood Roses," a very eccentric and eerie book, is filled with stories that will take your imagination to a world of different places. From discovering an underground race of creatures, to finding a mythical friend with wings, the crazy cast of characters goes through changes that affect their lives. The changes are brought upon by the things they discover and the experiences they go through. I found the stories very odd, just in a general sense. The author's writing style is unusual because I kept hearing the same words over and over. The, Then, and A were used quite often to start a sentence, instead of using good adjectives and adverbs. The plot and storylines were superb, but with better writing, I feel the stories could, and would have been more interesting. Anyone under 12 would probably be a little to young to read the stories. The situations are a little too mature for someone 11 or younger. Someone who loves to read stories that are fiction, strangely told, or serious, would probably like reading this book. I would like to see this author write a non-fiction or a comedy novel. "Blood Roses" by Francesca Lia Block had a great storyline, but I feel it was missing a lot of good qualities that make a book exciting to read. I am eager to read another book that the author has written. Overall, I didn't like the book as much as I expected. It was a quick read, but if she had expanded one of the stories a little further, it would have captured my attention a little more.

Like the song Blood Roses by the Cure

Blood Roses was a book I was highly anticipating, due to spending a hiatus away from reading for a while of any books, I wanted to get back into reading Block again. The book, like most of hers, branch out and focus not only on one character, but a "red string" effect with a multitude of characters. This book was no different. Though I have to agree it wasn't my favorite of the books I have read of hers, but it had moments where my heart melted just like in "Echo" and "Psyche In A Dress" However this book hit a lot of dark spots, it focused on how dark a girl's heart can really be. And how bad things can be if your left to your own devices.

probably for fans only...

I adore Block's work. Although it sometimes seems very abstract, the imagery and flow of her words is absolutely gorgeous. My favorite story in this particular book was Skin Art. That said, I wouldn't recommend this to people who weren't fans of Block already. In some ways, it's more difficult to read (although shorter) than her other works.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

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. Reviewed by: coollibrarianchick