Francesca Lia Block’s almost ethereal writing style lends itself well to young adult fantasy tales.  Blood Roses is a collection of magic realism short stories with a surreal quality about them, where the lines between reality and imagination blur and meld on a whole other plane of possibility.  The topics range from distant love interests to obsession, aliens to vampires, and animals to tattoos.  The heroines and characters break all stereotypes of teenage personalities.  Some are fiercely independent, while others are shy and withdrawn, but all are unapologetically original.

The short stories included in the book are Blood Roses, Giant, My Haunted House, My Boyfriend is an Alien, Horses Are a Girl’s Best Friend, Skin Art, My Mother is a Vampire, Wounds and Wings, and Changelings.  At just 129 pages in length, this book is an easily manageable read that would appeal to adolescent girls who enjoy unusual fantasy storylines.

Francesca Lia Block is the award-winning author whose stories include Weetzie Bat, Necklace of Kisses, and The Waters & The Wild.  Her writing style hones in on a scene with an artist’s eye and brings it to life with an unadulterated perspective.

My photos looked like snapshots of a wildfire over a beach.  His looked crazy beautiful, like the end of the world.

The short stories contained in Blood Roses are sometimes tragic and unsettling and other times hopeful, but never predictable.