I love this.
Francesca Lia Block builds beautiful imagery, and I love the characters.
Violet and Claire are opposites, but their personalities complement each other. Violet wears a lot of black and wants to be a screenwriter. Claire writes poetry and dreams of faeries. ( )

This book in three words is "irritating, soullessly depressing." Pick it up if you want to be disappointed by the characters' decline in sense and likability, read about the shallow drug-and-sex-driven life of Los Angeles, and find no plot or development whatsoever. ( )

Just a titch naive about some things. And even though Claire is not Stargirl, I could not get [a:Jerry Spinelli|12696|Jerry Spinelli|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1201118632p2/12696.jpg]'s character out of my mind... which made me unable to see Claire clearly. Good thing it's short - I'm not, personally, thrilled to read about 17 year-old girls getting into so many unhealthy* situations.

Otoh, brilliant, poetic, enchanting, adorable, etc. etc. For the right audience, a true treasure.

*I won't call them 'mature' situations. Imo, anyone who does such stuff is immature - no matter how old or experienced. ( )

While the central conflict was a tad unrealistic, the relationship dynamics between the high school sis-mance that is Violet and Claire is dead on. ( )

I just got through my second read of this, but it had been several years so it was like reading it anew. It was very easy to get through and is a good quick read for someone who enjoys "young adult" lit. There's not too much to say about it plot-wise, and I don't think this is a book one reads for the plot. Or dialogue. Or imagery or symbolism, or ... I don't know. I like the way Francesca Lia Block writes, the way things are a sorta fairytale (yes, that's a Tori Amos song) but also real and something one can identify with. I suppose this book is best for teeenage/college-age girls who are that point in their lives when they feel alienated and like no one understands them, but I think a girl (maybe a guy, too, I don't know) of any age can identify with having been there at some point, or having gone through the other stuff that Violet & Claire go through.
Overall, I enjoyed it. ( )