After reading a post in agentfroot's journal the other day where she mentioned this book, I ended up with it on the brain for a while. Finally I gave in and took it off of the shelf and read it to my husband, beginning to end, last night. And made an interesting discovery. This is a book to be read aloud. A lot of books aren't. Salman Rushdie, for instance. I tried to read one of his books to Andrew a month or so ago and I could barely make myself finish the chapter. The book is now disappeared, somewhere, and I will not be attempting to finish it. But Angel Juan is just perfect for reading aloud. It was a nice way to spend an evening. :)

For those of you not familiar with Block, the Weetzie Bat series is kind of a bizarre modern faerie tale. It's magical realism transported to LA with AIDS and plastic flamingos and disease and christmas lights and magic and despair. It's written for adolescents, and all five books are short, devourable in a single sitting. People usually adore her or are driven batty by her. You should check her out and figure out which one you are. ( )

This story is the first that is told through a first person. We once again see Witch Baby, this time as an older teenager. She is on a journey to find her love- Angel Juan. ( )

I can learn to enjoy first person present tense, yes I can. ( )

For every fan of the new modern love triangle, “tru wuv”, your love is my drug, I will die without you YA romance novels that have been published recently I humbly beg and plead for you to read this book. It’s time for you to wake up.

Missing Angel Juan is a fantastical, magical, fairy tale story that addresses some very real emotions, needs and addictions of a teen couple who separate through their fear and addiction to love.

Angel Juan leaves to try and find himself. He feels like he is only an object to be loved and used like a drug, he feels like he is being suffocated in this unhealthy, clinging, I-will-die-without-you relationship and wants to go and find himself. He fears love as well for those reasons.

Witch Baby feels lost and alone without him. She loves him, she needs him and she doesn't understand why he went away. She leaves school and follows her (older, out of school) boyfriend to New York to try and find him. She starves herself and pines and discards everything and everyone in her life to track down her other half. That's when both Angel Juan and Witch Baby discover things they never expected. Witch Baby meets up with her step mother's father Charlie Bat (a ghost that only she can see, by the way) and Angel Juan meets up with someone far more sinister (if you can believe it).

They both have a lot of lessons to learn. She needs to learn to use herself to find happiness through music and art and life. She needs to learn to love, but also to let go. He needs to learn the same lessons about finding and using himself for his own happiness, and also how to love and be loved in return. They both need to learn about how to form a healthy relationship and how to be happy both together and apart.

With each new book in Dangerous Angels Francesca Lia Block gets better and better. Witch Baby was always her most well rounded and vivid character and she really comes into her own in this novel. I loved reading about Witch Baby's take on New York and about the magic she finds on every street corner, whether in soho, central park, or the meat packing district. The language sparkles and really brings the world and characters to life.

The message is also one that you hear precious little of in YA romance today and it's one I would like to see more of. I want to see girls forming healthy relationships, getting out of or changing unhealthy ones, changing unhealthy mindsets, and having enough self respect to draw the line even if it feels like it's going down your middle. Most importantly I want to see them learning the difference between love and need and addiction and seeing that they are not all one and the same. This book does just that. ( )

Anthony Gonzales
EDCI 4120

Block, F.L. (1993). Missing Angel Juan. New York: Harper Collins.

Grade Levels: 8-11
Category: Science Fiction
Read-Alouds: pp. 1-7 (Introduction), 14-20 (Witch Baby’s family history), 37-42 (Witch Baby leaves to New York), 81-86 (Charlie Bat shows Witch Baby around New York), 107-114 (Witch Baby is kidnapped), 120-138 (Witch Baby saves Angel Juan and conclusion).

Summary: Witch Baby was in love with Angel Juan. They played music together and wrote songs in their band. Angel Juan decided one day that he needed to go to New York to pursue his solo music career. He left Witch Baby and wrote him only once. Witch Baby missed him so much that she flew out to New York in search of him. She had family in New York, her uncles Mallard and Meadows. She stayed in her dead almost grandfather’s empty apartment. While staying, she ran into the spirit of her grandfather, Charlie Bat. He showed her around New York while she was searching for Angel Juan. Along the journey, she took many pictures. When she was tired of her grandfather distracting her, she went out on an early morning in search of Angel Juan. She ran into a man who owned a diner. He cooked her a hamburger and a milkshake and she passed out. He took her prisoner in his basement and she found Angel Juan almost dead. When her grandfather saved them, they went back to the apartment and Angel Juan said he needed a little more time in New York. Then they said their goodbyes and Witch Baby went back to Los Angeles.

Themes: I believe that the theme of this novel is that of love. The love that Witch Baby felt towards Angel Juan was so strong that she felt the need to search for him when he left. The symbol of angels and ghosts was throughout the novel as well. Angels were always said to be looking after and guiding Witch Baby and Angel Juan, and it was present in his name. I think that this novel could be used in a classroom setting to discuss love and when someone is taking it too far. There is nothing wrong with love, but because Witch Baby went as far as she did, she almost lost her life. It also can teach the dangers of trusting strangers. There are dangerous people out there in the world, and many of them do manipulate young people because of how naive they are.

Discussion Questions:
What is the significance of Witch Baby’s grandfather visiting her?
Why do you think Witch Baby’s love was so strong towards Angel Juan?
What is the importance of Witch Baby leaving the apartment early in the morning to find Angel Juan, and what lesion did she learn?

Reader Response: I had a hard time relating to this novel personally because I can’t say that I have ever really been in love, nor have I experienced my dead grandfather come to me, but I do have friends who have been in love like Witch Baby and Juan Angel. They would tell me and I did have a friend that went chasing a girl that he thought he was in love with. He chased her all the way to Florida, and they are married today. I was surprised that they actually worked, but only time will tell if they can last. I think that the only thing that I could relate myself to in this novel is that Angel Juan was a bassist, as am I, so I appreciated his characters musical ability and love for music and understood how he needed to get away from the others for restricting his musical individualism. ( )