I Was A Teenage Fairy: Review and Playlist

Hey there People of the Internet. Today I am wearing normal people clothes because I had to go out in public and I couldn’t let the strangers know I was actually a fish.

In other news I just read and re-read a fantastic book by Francesca Lia Block.

For those that don’t know me well, FLB is one of my favorite authors. She writes moder day fairy-tales that take place in Los Angeles. They are all wispy and dreamy and beautiful peices that just make you want to *make* something as wonderful as her books are. Or I don’t know. Maybe that’s just me.

Anyway, today I went on a long drive from the Farm Lands of Washington to an Native-American reservation in Idaho with  2 little kids, and my grandmother and her sister. Sitting next to 2 four year-old is not ideal, but armed with my ipod, my phone (side note: there is some serious reception in the middle of no where. Who knew?) and FLB’s I Was a Teenage Fairy, I was prepared for the worst.

I didn’t get the worst, just a few dozen “Are there yet?”s and some minor squabbling.

But I also got one of the best books I have ever read.

I feel like I’m glowing right now, no joke. Like the strength the characters had in the book have rubbed off on me and I can fly as well as any Teenage Fairy around.

The book started about a girl named Barbie, who’s mother wanted her to be a fashion model in LA. At 11, her beauty is not quite there yet, just a hint of what could come. One day she finds Mab in her yard. Tiny, with magenta hair and straight talk. Oh and wings. Mab is the queen of Faeries that tries to save her when Barbie’s mother lets such terrible things happen to her

Barbie grows older and more beautiful, falling for a man named Todd at 16, who wants to save people so much he hurts them. She meets Griffin, a boy in love with Todd as well, who needs to be saved by Mab the same way Barbie does.

The book as serious themes about dreams that should be followed, and people that should be believed in. It makes me want to take pictures of fairies the way that Barbie does, makes me want to tell the world that beauty is real.

Playlist for I Was a Teenage Fairy:

White Winter Hymnal – Birdy (a song about following others, with the whispery layered feeling that most of the following songs should have. It makes me think of the trap that Barbie’s mother must have fallen into to make her believe that fame and a career are the only things that really matter in the world.)

Falling – The Civil Wars (A song about leaving love behind, that fits with some events in the middle of the book. Also haunting and fitting for Barbie’s feelings.)

Ode to my Family – The Cranberries (Obviously, not the family that Barbie had, but still a haunting song that reminds me a bit of the family that Todd talks about.)

In the Shallows – Daughter (Misty, moving, this song reminds me of the dreams of the characters.)

Unbroken – Missy Higgins (The themes of abuse are a big part of this book and this song is all about moving on. Missy Higgins, is also, an artist that always reminds me of FLB’s books.)

The Call (live in london) – Regina Spector (I know this is the Narnia song, but it has the magical feeling of finding yourself and who you really need in your life that Mab always brings.)

The A Team – Ed Sheeran (a song about a girl who’s vices take her over. This song fits with this book so much, in the parts where character’s give up hope and turn to their fears rather than the light.)

Okay. There we are. Go read some books, preferably FLB.