Reading Response #1

Corey Ryan

Reading Response #1: Character Traits

Period 1

August 17, 2015

Background

I am currently on page 56 of Francesca Lia Block’s Pink Smog.  The book is a prequel to the amazing Dangerous Angels series featuring none other than Weetzie Bat.  In Pink Smog, Weetzie’s mom and dad, Charlie, had their final fight (so far).  The dad left.  Gone.  Ghost.   But that was just after Weetzie’s mom fell into the swimming pool and almost drowned.  Weetzie went in after her, but blacked out, only to be saved (both of them) by a super-hot, mysterious boy who was first poetically known as Angel Boy, but has since revealed his name as Winter.

Now the mom is falling apart on the couch and Weetzie is trying as hard as any girl can.  She’s not making friends in school but she did find a mysterious note that is sending her on a scavenger hunt and was once again saved by Angel Boy, who, he said, was sent by her father, Charlie, to watch over her while he was gone. What will she discover from this scavenger hunt?  Where is Charlie? And who exactly is Winter?

The Standards/The Prompt

Through Weetzie’s actions I know she is determined.  She has not given up either hoping for her Dad to return or to keep her life going as “normal as it should.”  She took it upon herself to not miss school.  She cleaned the tub, vacuumed the house and did all the dishes, which seemed like more dishes than anyone would want to do without a dishwasher.  But most of all, she is determined to figure out just who Angel Boy/Winter is and how she can bring Charlie back.  

Through Weetzie’s thinking I (obviously) know she is thoughtful.  She thinks about how, because she was born on the same day Marilyn Monroe died, that she might be doomed.  Most people who think this is either cool or nothing at all, but Weetzie believes this is a sign.  “A sign of what, I’m not sure” (page 20).  Throughout the book, Weetzie is looking for this mysterious sign to guide her to what she wants the most: her Dad back.  The sign might be the mysterious scavenger-hunt envelopes she receives or it might be Winter? 

My Thinking

What I’m wondering or confused about so far is when exactly the book takes place.  It’s like a mix of the 50’s and the 70’s and the present day.  Weetzie wears Vans and calls 911. But she also watches Cher on TV and has posters of Bobby Sherman in her room?  I’ll let you know when I figure it out.  

Anything To Add (not required)

I like the book okay so far, but I don’t think it’s as good as the original Weetzie Bat.  Extra information that I think I ought to share: I am, and have been, in love with Francesca Lia Block for a long time.  She’s a pretty goth lady who writes beautifully.  Yes, my wife knows.