Pretty much how I usually feel about FLB's writing - I love the whimsy, I love the lush descriptors, but the stories are sometimes too underdeveloped to mean as much as they could.

This book is like a dream.There's a very mystical quality when reading it. The scenes meld into one another, which can be quite disjointing when reading it initially. Pages need to be re-read and at points, nothing is quite clear. The book is very short, however, (easily read in under an hour), and so it isn't quite difficult. The love between Violet and Claire transcends sexuality, and Violet never makes any attempt to clarify their relationship. Claire relies more on Violet, that much is true,...

this book was incredible. the most impressive piece of literature i have ever read!! i am in the target demographic for this book and i must say that i love the story, characters, everything about it! it was so incredible it brought tears to my eyes!! it was gifted to me by a friend and until i finished it it was unable to put it down!!! so good!that was sarcasm. i absolutely hate violet. shes dense, lacks a singe ounce of common sense, and overall is just SUCH an unlikable character in every wa...

I wanted to see what all the hoopla about Francesca Lia Block was about, so this was the first Francesca Lia Block book I have read. I must say, she is definitely a good writer! I loved references to all things modern in this book, especially the Tori Amos lyrics! Tori Amos is a genius. Anyway, I think I might have enjoyed this book even more if I had read it when I was younger.

This is the book that started it all for me. A friend recommended I read it, and Francesca Lia Block made an immediate move to the top slot in my favorite authors list, where she's stayed ever since.Violet sees life as a movie. There's always a scene, a mood, something unfolding. Though her own life, sadly, is lacking in some of the necessities for a great script. Conflict. Her parents, who seem to be from a completely different bloodline than she, give her none. And what little she does have is...

The problem with FLB is that she gets teenagers so well that it's hard to read her books as an adult. This is a case of exactly that. I remember reading this book as a senior in highschool and totally relating. Now, the characters annoy the crap out of me.

The book "Violet & Claire" by Francesca Lia Block is about two completely opposite girls who meet unexpectedly and in the oddest way become really good and very close/best friends they both wanted different things but they ended up becoming angry at each other because of an issue they faced, one left the other and dropped out of school for drugs and partying. the other got bullied more too, so eventually one of the girls apologized to the other girl who dropped out and etc. The theme for this bo...

"It was excruciating. It was excruciatingly beautiful.". its a fast paced story. As troubled and dark Violet and Claire were, they exude innocence and pure love. This story seems to be all over the place yet also all together. I may not be able to grasp the story as a whole, but it touches me somehow, somewhere. After finished reading, the first thing that came to my mind was 'wouldnt it be nice to have someone there for you, protecting you like that?'

This one breaks away from Block's typical flowery and kaleidoscopic prose, developing a distinct voice for each character. The characters themselves are very much in line with Block's typical style, being unique to the point of being almost fanastical -- something highschool me identified with strongly, in different ways for each character. This novel has a different overal tone and feel than Block's other books, taking on an almost noir tone without fully leaning in to noir or pulling away from...

Yeah... I went through this really weird phase where I kept accidentally reading young adult fiction, it was very odd. This book was about two friends and... I don't remember. I think they have some problems or something. If I was a teenage girl I probably would've been pretty into it.

I read this one a few years ago when I was on a Francesca Lia Block kick, but really, I think I should have read it back in high school. I might have enjoyed it more then. As it was, the first half of the book seemed kind of surface level. I was more of a fan of the last half. It seemed to get to the heart of things and blur the lines of reality in that typical style that I've come to love from this author. 

I thought that this book would be gay, but it was just some weird girls being friends. Not interesting at all and not worth the read to me.

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.

This book switches between Violet and Claire’s point of view. Violet is the darker one, Claire is the lighter one. Claire is new to Violet’s school, and immediately they become friends. Violet has been wanting to make a movie her whole life, and she thinks Claire would make the perfect star. For a while they work together on ideas, until Violet gets a job. They start to drift apart each having their fair share of bad things going on. Eventually they come back together, making a somewhat happy en...

Read many years ago when I was going through a distinct Francesca Lia Block phase and devoured everything she wrote. I remember taking these books out from the library. They were so racy - there are definitely very mature scenes and themes and characters - and how magical and illicit it all felt, because these were books with fantastic writing about growing up in a way that called so clearly to young adults in the 90s.

I'm a fan of Block's and even though I'm out of her intended age market, I and many others like me, still love her work. I really WANTED to like this book more than I did. It was good, that's not at issue and it was a very well written meditation on female friendship and how sometimes society really pits girls/women against each other. So as a book on the intricacies of female friendship during the teen years and what appeared to be their very early 20's, I recommend this highly.However: Many ti...

Francesca Lia Block's sentences are technicolor word candy. I eat them up and moan at their richness. Story? Barely there, don't care. What I did love, besides the words words words, is that this is truly the story of two girls. Two friends who need, understand, and adore each other in a way that no one else can. When shadowy men who wield too much power or influence throw them out of orbit, it's only by reconnecting to their love that Violet and Claire rebalance themselves and find the evolved

i really liked this book. is it something i’ll be thinking about later? no not really and that’s fine. i liked that it was an easy read. and about two best friends. i loved both of the characters. it reminds me of the movie thirteen both different but like that’s the feeling i got when i read this.

The brevity bothered me a bit, and a bit of the predictability, but it was engaging in the difference of the way it was written. Based on two girls, the first section is written by Violet, in first person, but with camera cues. The second section is written by Claire, in the form of a journal, again in first person, while the story concludes with a third-person look at Violet & Claire. It explores friendship, ambitions, attaining dreams and falling from them and relationships, though I suppose I...

I have been a fan of Ms. Block’s for years since many moons ago when The Rose and the Beast was recommended to me and I fell in love. I read as much as I could get my hands on and in time have read the vast majority of her books, but it’s been years since I’ve really even looked at any of her classic stuff and thought it would be fun to re-visit an old favorite. I found that I am still very much enchanted by the author’s beautiful use of language and lush descriptions that paint crazy vivid pict...