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    Pink Smog: Becoming Weetzie Bat
    Pink Smog: Becoming Weetzie Bat
    Pink Smog: Becoming Weetzie Bat
    Ebook154 pages2 hours

    Pink Smog: Becoming Weetzie Bat

    By Francesca Lia Block

    3.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Pink Smog, the long-awaited prequel to Francesca Lia Block's groundbreaking novel Weetzie Bat, was praised as "an intoxicating mix of mystery, fantasy, and romance" by ALA Booklist in a starred review. Weetzie Bat is one of the seminal young adult novels of the '90s and continues to be an iconic treasure for teens everywhere. Now Pink Smog reintroduces a whole new generation to the eponymous Weetzie Bat—before she was Weetzie. Against the backdrop of a Los Angeles teeming with magical realism, Louise Bat struggles to find a way to deal with life after her father's unceremonious departure.

    Longtime fans and newfound readers alike will fall in love with Francesca Lia Block's beautifully crafted and brutally honest world. Maggie Stiefvater, New York Times bestselling author of The Raven Boys, proclaimed "Pink Smog sparkles and obscures; it's a glorious mirage, like the city it pays homage to."

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperTeen
    Release dateJan 24, 2012
    ISBN9780062102010
    Pink Smog: Becoming Weetzie Bat
    Author

    Francesca Lia Block

    Francesca Lia Block, winner of the prestigious Margaret A. Edwards Award, is the author of many acclaimed and bestselling books, including Weetzie Bat; the book collections Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books and Roses and Bones: Myths, Tales, and Secrets; the illustrated novella House of Dolls; the vampire romance novel Pretty Dead; and the gothic werewolf novel The Frenzy. Her work is published around the world.

    Read more from Francesca Lia Block

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    Reviews for Pink Smog

    3.5/5

    51 ratings11 reviews

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    • 4/5
      First sentence: "The day after my dad, Charlie, the love of my life, left, and an angel saved my mom from drowning, I woke up with a slamming headache and a wicked sunburn."Pink Smog is a prequel to Block's Weetzie Bat books (collected in Dangerous Angels.) Louise Bat is only thirteen years old and can't get anyone but her dad, Charlie, to call her "Weetzie." When Charlie leaves, Louise is left to contend with a twisted neighbor girl, Annabelle, bullies at school and her depressed and alcoholic mother. Her mother falls in the pool and is rescued by an angel, a beautiful boy named Winter who lives with the crazy Annabelle in Unit 13 of their apartment building. But nobody lives in Unit 13, their apartment shouldn't even have a Unit 13. So who are they?As always, Block's writing sparkles. I loved her magical descriptions of Los Angeles. At school, Louise is picked on by the mean, popular girls and their boyfriends. She makes friends with Toby and Lily, but they are still bullied. She begins to receive mysterious letters from different people around the city, offering her clues in nursery rhymes as she searches for the strength inside herself to keep an upbeat attitude in a very difficult time.I really loved parts of this novel. Block's beautiful descriptive language, Weetzie's relationship with her father (their phone calls left me with tears in my eyes!) and the mystery of the nursery rhyme letters guiding her to beautiful places around L.A. . . . The unresolved question of the true nature of Winter and Annabelle (were they teenagers, angels, demons?) is very Block-like and reminded me of The Hanged Man. Louise's new friends, Toby and Lily were a bit reminiscent of the friendships in The Waters and the Wild. I wish Block had devoted a few extra pages to Toby and Lily, both kids have very serious problems - Lily is anorexic and bulimic and Toby is a prostitute - but we hardly get to know them! I felt like their problems were swept aside. ". . . smog is like sadness. It slips stealthily inside of you, with every breath, poisoning you before you realize it, kind of like the witch's apple in "Snow White," except even more discreet." (p. 3-4)On a side note, as a Marilyn Monroe fan, I really loved Louise's comments about Marilyn, how she loves her and describes her is so beautiful and actually brought tears to my eyes. "I love how sad Marilyn's eyes look, even she is smiling. I love her body that just looks like it wants to give itself to everyone like a present. I love her skin and hair like an angel's. . . . And I love how funny and smart she is and how she makes people fall in love with her with just one look." (p. 20)"If you thought about her at all, no matter who you were, it would make you cry. She was everything beautiful and sad in the world. She'd lost babies and husbands and she drank and took pills and she had light pouring out from under her skin like her spirit was too bright for one person's body, even a curvaceously giving body like that." (p.178)
    • 3/5
      A decent prequel to the Dangerous Angel series. It's been a while since I read them, so I probably didn't catch all the connections. Loss and love, bullies and angels in weird L.A.
    • 4/5
      I remember reading Weetzie Bat way back in middle school and then rereading them all when I became a librarian. I loved reading about Weetzie's life before she was Weetzie, even though it was a sad, difficult time, it still gave me the warm fuzzies. Some series always make you feel good, no matter what.
    • 4/5
      I almost wish I'd read this book before reading Weetzie Bat, because I am new to the whole series, and reading this new prequel helped me understand what was behind the magical realism I encountered in Weetzie Bat. Pink Smog is a lot more straightforward, almost realistic fiction. Block did a good job setting the stage for the young woman Louise "Weetzie" Bat will become.
    • 5/5
      Okay, to be fair, Dangerous Angels is my favorite book of all time. I'm not sure if that means I had extra love for this book, or if I was extra critical of it...either way I'm in love. "Pink Smog" is a pretty perfect prequel to Weetzie's adventures. Block nails the voice of a middle-schooler without losing that signature Weetzie flair. It's great to get inside her head as a young one and start to understand how she gets to the point she's at in Dangerous Angels. I can't say enough about how inspiring Block's writing is to me. Dangerous Angels changed everything for me the first time I read it, and hasn't stopped changing things for me since. Both it and Pink Smog define great magical realism, and I can already tell this will be a book to red and re-read time and time again. I am excited to dive into Dangerous Angels again after reading this.
    • 4/5
      Making the transformation from a shy girl to a confident woman is no easy task, especially when you are growing up amidst the fading hopes of once great Hollywood. It becomes even harder when your father leaves you for New York City, your ex-starlette mother becomes a suicidal alcoholic, and your name is Louise “Weetzie” Bat. We know Weetzie’s young adult life from the books in her Dangerous Angels series, starting with the self titled Weetzie Bat. I have given her a lot of flak in the past for the way she deals with things and her, occasionally thoughtless, outlook on life and finding happiness. I have a new appreciation for just how hard it was to make the transformation from child to woman, and manage to lead a life of hope and happiness and love in spite of her past, after reading about that difficult transition in Pink Smog.Little Weetzie has a very difficult life once her father decides he no longer wants to be in the picture. Her mother attempts to commit suicide and then slips into a deep depression aided by alcoholism. Weetzie is left to fend for herself, cleaning their apartment, cooking their meals, trying to make sure her mother eats and bathes while trying to get her out of the funk she is in. Weetzie is rocked by her father leaving her with next to no explanation. At middle school Weetzie has to deal with bullies who couldn’t care less what she was going through. She has two friends to fall back on, but one struggles with an eating disorder and the other is possibly a male prostitute. All three struggle with problems bigger than themselves and there are no competent adults around to step in and help. This is very deep and heavy stuff for anyone to deal with and Weetzie must find a way to prevail or get pulled under.Pink Smog works as a great introduction to the character of Weetzie. For a new generation unfamiliar with the Dangerous Angels series there is now a coming of age novel showing Weetzie as she was at an age they can identify with. Unlike other Weetzie Bat books this one is written within the confines of Weetzie’s perspective and is very linear and straightforward in story telling. The magical language was toned down a bit and while the magic of LA was still present it seemed muted when shown in relief next to the stark reality of the difficulties Weetzie faced. I can’t help wondering if this was deliberate, not just to tone things down for a new generation but also because Weetzie isn’t capable of seeing all the magic of the world she lives in just yet as she is in a haze from all the problems she is suddenly having to deal with at thirteen.People that grew up with Weetzie might not like this book as well as others in the series because this was clearly written for younger fans. I recommend for old school fans to check out Necklace of Kisses if you haven’t already. I do think middle schoolers will appreciate a book that was tailor written for them and introduces a whole new generation of Weetzies to the magic of Los Angeles. Parents might want to know that while most of the above issues Weetzie deals with are glossed over to some extent there is drug use, bullying, and language as well.Ultimately Weetzie learns to see the magic and beauty in things and it is wonderful to see a glimpse of the cool, confident high school Weetzie we meet at the beginning of Weetzie Bat. Her transformation was by no means effortless and, like I said, I have a better understanding of Weetzie now that I not only know her as the slinkster cool teen and confident adult she will be, but also as the scared overwhelmed kid she was. Reading about Weetzie overcoming her problems and coming of age into the magic, fun-loving young woman we know she can be was magical to see.I received this book for free to review.
    • 4/5
      I thought the book as a whole was very good and very well written. I would really recommend that the younger adult readers read this novel.
    • 2/5
      Quick review: OK - So its more along the lines of a 3 STAR, but I made the mistake of reading this before the Weetzie Bat books. I really loved the writing, so give it a shot. I'm really interested in Dangerous Angels now!!!Pink Smog was not bad by any means. It wasn't anything in particular or special...it just was. I was left completely unsatisfied. I really hoped for more out of this book, but then again, it is a prequel and the good stuff is the whole series, I'm sure.Weetize kept growing and growing into a young adult throughout the story, which I loved. She is just a normal, everyday teen, dealing with school bullies and a home-life gone array. I really felt that we could've have learned more about her though. I felt a little cut off by the end of the book. The characters outside of her family were weird and felt incomplete to me. There was no depth to them and I found myself continuously asking questions.I did however like the traveling around L.A. in this book. I grew up near L.A. and it was really fun reading about all the places Weetzie goes and thinking Hey, I've been there too! I also really enjoyed the writing. It was very clean and flowed nicely.I'm thinking that Pink Smog is a book to read after you've read -at least- the first Weetzie Bat (Dangerous Angels) book. I was just a bit lost and cut off by the end - I'm really not sure its worth picking up. But, if the Weetize Bat books are something you've already read, I would definitely give it a shot, as you might enjoy and understand it MUCH better than those who have not.
    • 5/5
      Louise is an unhappy thirteen year old girl that really would like to be called Weetzie. Her parents constantly fight and their unhappiness finally resulted in her father, the person who means the world to her, leaving for good. Her mother drowns her sorrows in booze, leaving Weetzie to fend for herself. Not only is she bullied at school by the popular crowd, but the teachers also routinely humiliate and mock her. Her life is in shambles and she tries to pick up the pieces, starting out with following fairy tale clues from a mysterious benefactor, befriending a couple of fellow outcasts at her school, and saving an angelic boy from his voodoo doll torturing sister. Will Weetzie's difficult life break her or will she rise above it all and take control of her life?I absolutely loved the Weetzie Bat books when I was a kid. Her stories really inspired me and helped me through some difficult times. I was so excited to hear that Francesca Lia Block would be revisiting and expanding upon the series. In Pink Smog, Weetzie is more vulnerable and much less sure of herself in comparison to her later teen and early adult self. She flounders as her life suddenly falls apart and his forced to grow up because of her father's abandonment and her mother's drinking. Instead of being taken care of as she should, both of her parents abandon her and she takes care of her mother as best she can as someone who can't fully take care of herself. I really felt for her and hurt with her as her support system crumbled. I also celebrated with her when she found people she could confide in and believed in herself more. Weetzie got me to connect with my pre-teen self where everything is felt much more intensely and where I felt less sure about who I was.As with many of Block's other novels, Pink Smog is at its heart a loving portrayal of LA and its unique effect on people. The title itself describes the beautiful pink sunset seen in LA because of the disgusting smog in the air. This encompasses what I love about the city: the beauty and wonder is very close to the grime and less savory aspects. This great center of culture that is famous for celebrities and the privileged is also home to homeless people, strip clubs, and the dregs of society. I've never seen another place like it and it holds a special place in my heart. Block doesn't glamorize it and shows it how it is. Pink Smog is a formidable prequel to Weetzie Bat and I enjoyed reading this blast from the past. As always, Francesca Lia Block's beautiful prose brings the novel to life. I would recommend this to anyone, whether they have read any of the series or not.
    • 5/5
      I might be a little biased, as the first five "Weetzie Bat" books (when first published as the omnibus "Dangerous Angels" in 1996) literally changed how I saw the world through writing when I was 12 years old, but this is a glorious and wonderful conclusion to the "Weetzie" series. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy from the author herself, and to participate in one portion of the book, making me feel apart of something larger than myself for the first time within the world of books. Bias aside, "Pink Smog" is not a long read, but it's a very tightened, almost sparely-written tale of how Louise Bat becomes the girl we know and love in the rest of the books. Yet at the same time, it's still full of the magical realism that's come to dictate Block's style all of these years later after the first book was published in 1989. Make no mistake - "Pink Smog" may be a prequel, but it's a book you cannot miss in 2012.Even if you're new to the "Weetzie" canon, Block starts "Pink Smog" by constructing the 13-year-old Weetzie's character almost, it feels, from scratch. This is the first time we've seen and interacted fully with this version of Weetzie, as opposed to the mid-to-late teen and 20's version, and in a "Necklace of Kisses", near middle aged version. This Weetzie is still soft in places where in the later books she's become hardened by her experiences with the world and her parents' divorce, and here we're only experiencing the beginning twinges of this divorce with her for the first time. We're also experiencing her entrance into the teenage years, with mean girls and social outcast best friends, an empty place where her father used to be and magical trips into the most wonderful parts of Los Angeles. Block builds a wonderful foundation for Weetzie all over again, leaving no stone unturned yet at the same time, as previously said, her prose almost feels sparse. This is probably because we've seen so much action in the rest of the Weetzie books that there's very little else to say that we don't already know with six other books out. But this sparse style is awesome. If anything, it just made me even hungrier to read about how Louise became Weetzie, with all of the pain and love and magic that she experienced to kick her transformation into high gear. It leaves so much room to fully take in her scavenger hunt that a certain genie gives her, along with a witch that moves in next door, and a boy that may or may not be angelic that becomes a good friend. And that's not even when she's in school. Weetzie is trying to not only find her father but herself, making her the more secure teenage Weetzie we meet in the first book later at age 15-16. This is the perfect book to introduce a new generation of YA readers to Weetzie because she's in the process of trying to find herself, like all the other YA readers out there, whether they're in their teens or already adults. All of the opposites that attracted me to the original books in the first place are still intact in this prequel. Down is up, ugly is beautiful, dirty is clean, mean is kind, and quiet is loud. The "Weetzie" series has always been about finding yourself, and I'm happy to say that this final book really tops off the other six books that echo that message. As for my own participation in the making of this book, I found it rather pleasantly there in the last part of the book. I didn't expect it to be there, as Francesca herself was mysterious about where the real experience was going in the several books she was working on at the time, but there it was. I won't reveal what happens or how I participated here (that will later be revealed in a separate entry on the blog), but get ready for a happy tear-jerker ending that foreshadows the rest of the books. Oh, and seeing 1970's Los Angeles/places that are now gone there again in text didn't hurt, either.As "Weetzie" helped build me up during a rather difficult adolescence, even now in my late 20s, I felt the cushion that is this series buoy me up once more. So thank you, Francesca, for writing this final book. If you love magical realism, or if you love books about finding yourself, or if you're in the midst of trying finding yourself, this is the book for you. Every girl should read the "Weetzie" series, but especially "Pink Smog"; the younger, the better, before all of the self-hate that current Western culture quietly encourages takes hold. This will help you believe that you are good enough, you are worth it, and yes, it does get better.(posted to goodreads, shelfari, librarything, and witchoftheatregoing.wordpress.com)
    • 4/5
      Things aren't easy for young Louise "Weetzie" Bat. Her father and mother fight incessantly and she's tired of the bullying at school. When her father leaves, her life seems to crash down around her. Her father was everything to her, and now he's disappeared without a trace. Weetzie holds out hope that he'll come back after a few days, just as he always does, but as the days pass by it becomes evident that he may never return.The night her father left, he and her mother had their biggest fight yet, and her drunk mother passed out and fell into the swimming pool. A handsome young man saves her, and Weetzie sets out to find him, convinced he may be her guardian angel. When Weetzie finally meets the mysterious young man (Winter), she can't help but develop a crush on him. When he tells her that her father asked him to watch over Weetzie, she develops an even stronger bond with him, but there's something very strange about Winter's family. His sister seems hell-bent on terrorizing her, and his mother may have something to do with constant tension between Weetzie's parents. As the bullying at school persists, and Weetzie continues searching for answers around her father's disappearance, she learns things about herself that will shape the young woman she is meant to become.I'm going to (shamefully) admit upfront that I've never read a Weetzie Bat book. I was in college when they came out and pretty much everything I read at that time was a textbook. This book was my introduction to the writing of Ms. Block, and I will admit I am now a fan. I loved seeing 1970's L.A. through Weetzie's eyes. The entire book is a literary love-affair with the city as experienced by a thirteen-year-old. The writing is fluid and the characters, especially Weetzie, are extremely engaging. I especially loved the spatters of magical realism that Ms. Block uses to enhance Weetzie's story. Pink Smog is a quick read at just under 200 pages, but it is well worth the time. After reading this, I'll definitely be purchasing the other Weetzie books.

    Book preview

    Pink Smog - Francesca Lia Block

    SLAM

    The day after my dad, Charlie, the love of my life, left, and an angel saved my mom from drowning, I woke up with a slamming headache and a wicked sunburn.

    When I checked on my mom she was asleep, breathing normally in the bed with the blue satin quilted headboard, so I got myself a bowl of Lucky Charms. The pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, and green clovers ached my molars as the milk turned rainbow colors. I made my lunch, brushed my teeth, and put on my roller skates. The pavement rumbled, rough under my feet and up through to my heart, as I skated to school past the palm trees that my dad said looked like stupid birds, under a smog-filled Los Angeles sky.

    Miss Spinner sat on her stool with her long legs wrapped around each other three times as if they were made of rubber. She hissed at us to be quiet as she handed back our papers about summer vacation. Mine was called Pink Smog. I had written about the pink sunset that we watched from the balcony where my parents drank their evening cocktails. They drank too many and stumbled around the condo fighting like a cat and a dog. Miss Spinner had written on my paper in red ink that fighting like a cat and a dog was a cliché and that the whole thing was a bit much but she made me read it out loud anyway.

    Louise, she said, please stand up and read for us. Class, Louise’s paper is an example of overwriting. Most of you under-write. I do not want you to overwrite either.

    Weetzie, I whispered. My name’s Weetzie.

    My mom had named me for the silent movie star Louise Brooks, but it always felt too formal and mature for me. My dad called me Weetzie for no particular reason except that it was a diminutive and just sounded right, better for me than Lu or Lou-Lou or Weezie or Weez. Maybe because I am little and scrawny and it sounded a bit like my favorite cartoon character, Tweetie Bird. Teenie Weenie Tweeting Louise: Weetzie. Weird, but it fit.

    There were a lot of things about me that might seem weird to people. I wondered why I hadn’t written about going to Disneyland or something normal for Miss Spinner, even though my family hadn’t even been to Magic Mountain or any other amusement park for that matter. We had just spent the whole summer at the pool, with my parents drinking and fighting and now the fighting had turned into a war and my dad was A.W.O.L. I wished I had just made something up about Disneyland and under-written it. As I read, the blood rushed to my face and it made my sunburn sting and my head pound even more.

    ‘In L.A. the sunsets are pink,’ I read. ‘When the sun goes down and the sky flares it is really beautiful, like magic. However, the lush-plush-peony-rose of the L.A. sky is a by-product of something that may be killing us all, little by little. Smog! And smog is like sadness. It slips stealthily inside of you, with every breath, poisoning you before you realize it, kind of like the witch’s apple in Snow White, except even more discreet.’

    Staci Nettles, the prettiest girl in seventh grade, rolled her eyes and flipped her hair back over her shoulders. Then, when Miss Spinner turned away, Staci blew the biggest bubble-gum bubble I had ever seen, snapped it back in, and showed her perfect little white fangs with a smile that looked as if she had never been sad in her whole life.

    Mr. Adolf was known for always starting his seventh graders off with a unit about World War II and whenever he talked about Hitler he got really excited and practically started jumping up and down. Spittle flew out of his mouth and he smoothed down the lock of greased hair that kept falling into his face as he told us about how the Jews were taken for showers when actually they were getting gassed to death. I sat there in the back of the class where the kids who wanted to disappear tried to hide, doodling pictures of my dad’s convertible yellow Thunderbird with my pink pen, until Mr. Adolf told me to pay attention. I knew my problems were nothing compared to the Jews in Hitler’s Germany but that thought did not cheer me up at all—the idea of Hitler’s Germany was enough to depress even the happiest person. I thought of raising my hand and telling Mr. Adolf that my dad’s grandmother had probably died in a concentration camp but I decided not to—he already didn’t seem to like me very much.

    At PE I dragged myself around the track for-what-felt-like-ever while Coach Pitt yelled at me. My legs are so spindly and knock-kneed, what did she expect? The only thing worse than running around and around in the smog was taking showers in public. Staci Nettles stood next to me with her hands in the air, wrapping a towel around her head, her big boobs in my face, her mouth in a Bonne Bell cherry-flavored lip-gloss smirk. I didn’t waste time drying off—it meant being naked longer—so I struggled to pull my dress over my still-damp, pancake-flat chest as fast as I could. It is hard to not have breasts when everyone else seems to be growing them, especially when your mom looks like a Jayne Mansfield pinup like mine.

    At lunch I sat alone as I had for the last week, since seventh grade started, watching the clock and eating the lunch I’d made—an apple and a pack of orange cheese spread and crackers. At least being alone was better than trying to be friends with mean girls. The ones who seemed nice were mostly sitting alone like I was and I felt too shy to go over to any of them, although I did smile at Lily Chin who was gnawing greedily on an apple and had a faint layer of dark down all over her body, like a baby animal. She smiled back shyly as if she was trying not to show her teeth.

    I hadn’t always been alone. Up until the end of sixth grade I’d gone to a cute little school in the canyon, called Wonderland. My best friends were twins named Skye and Karma Grier. They had moved away to Oregon because their mom, a singer/songwriter, and their dad, an artist, didn’t want them to have to face the atrocities of public junior high school. Karma and Skye were tiny and brown-skinned with light hazel eyes and huge blonde Afros. We used to spend hours and hours playing in their organic vegetable garden, running through the sprinklers, baking granola cookies with their mother, Joy, gathering wildflowers to fill the house, making clothes out of scraps of old dresses, rags, leaves, tinfoil, and tissue paper and helping Marvin tile the patio with broken pottery, coins, and bottle caps. I loved being with Skye and Karma—it was almost like having siblings. I never felt alone.

    But it had all changed overnight. Junior high was like the bad kind of Wonderland in Alice where people are mean and crazy, everything is backward, and you’re growing (hips) and shrinking (self-esteem) all the time.

    In Mr. Gibbous’s math class my skin hurt, my head hurt. The sunburn raged where the back of my thighs touched the plastic seat. I couldn’t stay still. Mr. Gibbous stomped around, stammering loudly at us to stop fidgeting and be quiet while he scratched his head so that chunks of dandruff snowed onto his shoulders. He would have been a handsome man but he wore really weird, thick glasses and polyester pants that were short enough for a flood, and there were sweat stains under his arms, and the dandruff, of course. A walking target for junior high school kids. I wished I could find a way to tell him. He had been pretty nice to me so far, although he got exasperated and out of breath when I missed a problem, which had already happened kind of a lot.

    Staci Nettles (I was blessed with having her in three classes!) kicked my foot under the desk and handed me a green spiral notebook. I put it on my lap and opened it. Slam Book. There were all kinds of questions and answers. Someone had written, Who ate a whole lasagna and barfed it up on their living room floor? and someone had answered, Lily Chin smells like vomit. Someone else had written, Lily’s chin smells like vomit. And there was this one: Lily Chin’s eyes pop out of her head because she makes herself throw up so much. It was so mean that I felt like throwing up, myself. I saw one question that read, Who is GAY? and next to it about five people had written about Bobby Castillo. Bobby Castillo is a fag. Bobby Castillo takes it in the… That sort of thing.

    Bobby Castillo was the most beautiful boy in school. I had a crush on him from the first second I saw him, and everyone else, boys and girls, probably did, too. He had tumbling brown curls, perfect amber skin, white teeth, and almond-shaped cat eyes like green, cut glass. They’re just jealous, I thought. And scared of their own feelings.

    In the book there was also plenty of stuff about Mr. Gibbous, who tended to get very excited and upset when we wouldn’t listen. Is that a banana in Mr. Monkey’s pocket or is he just glad to see us? it said. I slammed the book closed and held it in my lap. I wanted to rip it to shreds, burn it, but I didn’t. I just sat there. I was too scared. Finally, when the bell rang I walked past the trash can. And threw that slam book inside.

    I went into the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. My face was all swollen from my sunburn and my eyes were bloodshot from chlorine and getting to sleep too late the night before. My hair was a mess and I wanted to take a scissors and chop it off right there. My arms and legs were like twigs, my shoulders hunched, and then there was the problem of my nonexistent breasts. I wondered what people had written about me in the slam book, or what they were going to write. I wondered if they would find out that my dad had left and my mom drank too much and that they had been screaming at each other so that everyone in our building could see and hear.

    The girl in the mirror wasn’t who I wanted to be and her life wasn’t the one I wanted to have.

    Whose father left? the slam book would read.

    Louise’s father left. Weetzie’s would never really leave. Would he?

    But he had left. This is what happened the day before the slam book:

    There was a smog alert at school and we missed PE. That part of it was okay—I hated having to change into those pilling, striped T-shirts and polyester shorts in front of the girls with breasts and I was embarrassed by my weak arms that couldn’t do pull-ups and my skinny legs that couldn’t get me around the track as fast as the jock girls. But the smog was worse. Maybe the smog was part of the poison, I don’t know. The smog and the martinis, in their icy green glasses, not to mention my dad’s other substances as my mom called them, whatever they were exactly.

    I came home from school. I was wearing Kork-Ease beige suede-and-leather platform sandals but they weren’t the cool, high kind that Staci Nettles had. They were the little mini versions that the unpopular girls wore. I also had on

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