Echo

Rating:
Summary: An interesting book
Review: I chose to read this book because the title caught my eye and the first chapter's phrasing gripped me from the start. Francesca Lia Block has a noticeably melodious phrasing style, and that makes whatever she writes seem real, whether it's vampires, fairies, mermaids, or angels. I love her world and I have grown to love it even more as I have graduated into her other books, I Was a Teenage Fairy and yes, inevitably, Weetzie Bat.
This story is of a girl named Echo (what a pretty name!). She has grown up with an mother so beautiful that she might just be an angel, and a father who gradually began to ignore her because he was wrapped up with his love for his wife. After some trying events at home, Echo goes away to find better things and ends up in a world that I, the fantasy fan, have a hard time imagining. Like many readers, I found the book a bit hard to follow because of changes in narration, but I think if you read it with a clear mind and give it all your attention when you read, you will find it easier to handle.

Rating:
Summary: not for all, but great for some
Review: I have read many places that people thought this book to be confusing, or lacking in solidity, and substance. it is whimsical, and flighty at times, but i think that makes it interesting to a degree. obviously books dont come in the "one size fits all" variety, and i can see people not appreciating this book. people who like straight plot lines, facts, and little human emotion would not like this book. I, on the other hand, enjoy it to no end. i read it in one sitting, and found myself amazed at the beauty of the words. i borrowed it from a friend, and now i plan to buy it to give it another read-through. give it a shot. not eveyones going to like it, but those who do will love it.

Rating:
Summary: WOW...HELP
Review: I JUST STARTED THIS BOOK LAST NIGHT AND I READ THE FIRST PAGE AND WAS HOOKED. I LOVED ALOT OF HER BOOKS AND ALL ARE REALLY BREATH TAKEING BUT SOMEWHAT CONFUSIING. I STILL HAVE ABOUT 20 PAGES TO GO BUT RIGHT NOW IM CUFSED TO DEATH! HER BOOKS ARE ALWAYS OUT OF ORDER BUT YOU JUST HAVE TO KINDA MENTALLY TAKE NOTE OF EACH CHARACTER AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO OTHERS, THAT MAKES IT EASIER. BE CARFUL BECAUSE EVERY OTHER CHAPTER OR SO IS A PAST ABOUT A DIFF CHARACTER AND HOW THEY GREW UP JUST METALLY OR PHYSICALLY WRITE DOWN THE CHARACTERS. OTHER THEN THAT THE BOOK IS REALLY INTERESTING AND PRETTYMUCH ANYONE CAN RELATE TO ATLEAST ONE ISSUE THAT THE AUTHOR USES IN THIS STORY.

Rating:
Summary: Echo By Block
Review: I read this book about a year and a half ago, it had a very unique feel to it and I have never experienced that in a book before. Blocks way of writing in this book is very insperational, it opens your mind and makes you feel like you are there with Echo. I think that anyone between the ages of 15 to 30 will really enjoy this book, I know I did.

Rating:
Summary: liquid and beautiful
Review: I'm a 19 year old reader currently studying photography and philosophy, after switching over from a creative writing major. I've always loved Francescia Lia Block; she helped me through high school, and continues to brighten some of the more taxing (read: increasingly boring) days of my "adult transitional" years. Her work is young, and fresh, overflowing with imagry, constantly maturing, and a safe house for young girls everywhere. She was my halfway house inbetween highschool and college.

Ok, that said, now let's get serious. i'm going to assume that you already read the summary above, so i'm not going to mess with re-telling that; if you want to know what the book's about scroll up a few, kay?

I am coming to believe more and more that while Francescia's work is shelved in the YA section of Barnes and Noble, it's really meant for an audiance of sweet 16's to early twenty-something women who are educated and have good reading comprehension skills. Especially her newer work (Echo, Wasteland). Echo can be confusing to some readers who, unfortunately enough, are simply not ready for drastic shifts in character view point and writing style (to help the reader clue into a new character's voice). It can be difficult to catch a lot of Francescia's more subtle techniques, especially for more inexperiances readers. I wouldn't reccomend this book to someone who wasnt in highschool yet, for example, unless she had an inordinate amount of comprehension skills. And also, it's important to note that no matter your reading skill, a second read will open this book up to you even more.

I also wouldnt reccomend this book to anyone who is thinking of buying their child something "cute and girly" for christmas, thinking this is some kind of Harriet the Spy-type novel. It isnt. This book, as well as all of Francescia's other books, contain subject matter that some people consider innapropriate to share with their children. Topics discussed include things like: rape, drugs, sex, child abuse, incest (her latest), alcohol, loneliness, suicide, depression, etc. But never in a way that made me afraid, or upset, or that i didnt feel that i could deal with it. It's also important to note that the author never actually encourages any of these actions, she often shows them in a light that is less than flattering, to put it mildly.

And also, just quick-like, i'd like to mention that i grew up in the city. Parents, if your kids grew up in even a "sheltered household" the way that i did, but still in the city, or with internet access, or anyway out of the house at all, chances are that they already know about this stuff. And have questions, yes, and would like answers. Francescia was always a positive influance to me, never a negative one. I think that you can trust your children with her.

Ok, now for a quick blurb on the actual book: it's amazing. Beautiful, easy for me to identify with, a very mature book from one of my favorite authors. The text flows like liquid form one word to the next, it was interesting to feel Francescia experimenting within her medium, and i enjoyed every second of the time that i got to spend reading this fantastic story. It is NOT empty, vapid, without plot, or any of the other horrible things some people ( read people that probably read it before they had the skills nessecary to understand it) seem to have to say about it. And excellent book, one that i would most heartily reccomend for a good read, and then a cozy re-read afterwards.

Cupid boy lifegaurd man is my favorite. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointing
Review: It's true, this book had an interesting storyline, and the language use was captivating and beautiful, that I'll admit. Unfotunately, I now and always will think of this book as "what happens when a poet tries to make the transition to fiction and misses the mark". I loved this book for its exquisite and rarely found use of descriptiveness, but the susbstance of the story was sadly thin. If you want to be dazzled by words but don't care for a real story, then look no further! But if you want something award worthy, keep searching.

Rating:
Summary: Parental concern
Review: Ok, I'll admit I'm an adult who reads at least as many Children & YA books as adult books. Reading the reviews here, it is sometimes hard for me to tell which reviews are written by adults and which by young adults. I picked up this book because it is recommended on my library's website. It is recommended both by the librarians and by many young adult readers. So, I figured this book was a good one for anyone studying writing to look at, which it is. Then I read these reviews to see what elements of the book appealed to people.

Obviously the unique voice, the seductive 1st person narrative alternated with fantastical 3rd person narrative, is one of the book's charms. Many people identify with Echo and her lost and lonely feelings. They identify with her because she isn't perfect. But some of the parents who have at least read the start of the book are appalled at the sex, drugs and violence. Flame me here, but I don't fully understand why. Unfortunately s,d&v are a part of our society. Block portrays Echo as self-destructive. She has anorexia. What can be more self-destructive than that? Echo finds s,d&v because she is feeling self-destructive. Block doesn't condone it. And in the end Echo walks away from it and as she finds her lover, she thinks that she couldn't find someone to love before, because she didn't love herself. If you were a person struggling through self-doubt and anger, wouldn't this book make you feel less alone? Wouldn't it give you hope?

So, to the parents, is it more important to shelter young adults from s,d&v (a daunting task) or to let them develop their own judgement. Yes Echo is at times offensive, but it may help some get through the quagmire of life. My theory, which of course may be wrong, is that a person not yet able to emotionally handle such subjects would put this book down pretty quickly.

As for the rating, I only gave it a 3 because of the scene/point of view shifts several other people have mentioned. I found them confusing until I was into the book partly because her own life and her parent's lives were complementary. I like the format used, which is very like a bunch of short stories strung together, but I think Block could have made some revisions early in the book that would have made the scene shifts less confusing/disturbing.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT!!!
Review: this story is really good with the story of Echo. A girl with an eating disorder and weird parents but I feel that almost all of the other characters paled in comparision next to Echo. And the story ended to abrubtly. And the end some character developments grow deeper and it just STOPS. That was so annoying. I wished for atleast thirty more pages or so. Give us an Echo volume two Ms Block.

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: This was my very first time reading a novel by Francessca Lia Block.She is not your average writer. She weaves the supernatural with magical reality. This is unlike any novel I have ever read and, I must say this book was beautiful. I enjoyed it because it made me think and kept me interested.


Rating:
Summary: Confusing
Review: Umm, this hard to understand and quiet disapointing. I dont even get what the plot was... not worth your time