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    The Waters & the Wild
    The Waters & the Wild
    The Waters & the Wild
    Ebook72 pages42 minutes

    The Waters & the Wild

    By Francesca Lia Block

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    When Bee woke up, there was a girl standing in her room. "You are me," the girl said. Then she was gone.

    I am a thirteen-year-old double Gemini. I get bad grades, write poetry with my left hand, dance in my room, surf the net. I Google images of the tattoos my mom won't let me get. . . .

    But my world belongs to someone else. Someone who lives below the concrete of Los Angeles, someone with wild eyes and twigs in her hair.

    And I think she wants her life back.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJun 2, 2009
    ISBN9780061912665
    The Waters & the Wild
    Author

    Francesca Lia Block

    Francesca Lia Block, winner of the prestigious Margaret A. Edwards Award, is the author of many acclaimed and bestselling books, including Weetzie Bat; the book collections Dangerous Angels: The Weetzie Bat Books and Roses and Bones: Myths, Tales, and Secrets; the illustrated novella House of Dolls; the vampire romance novel Pretty Dead; and the gothic werewolf novel The Frenzy. Her work is published around the world.

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    Reviews for The Waters & the Wild

    3.5/5

    65 ratings10 reviews

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    • 3/5
      This is a sweet little book, mingling the lonely confusion of adolescence with the supernatural. The main character, Bee, is a changeling - a fairy spirit, a fake child, sent to the mortal world to replace the real baby, taken by fairies. The story is told in a mixture of fragmentary, dreamlike prose and poetry. Bee, like many adolescents, feels sharply that she does not belong. Only when she makes friends with two other social outcasts - a girl with an amazing voice, who believes she is a reincarnated slave, and a nerdy boy who thinks his mother was impregnated by extraterrestrials - does Bee begin to see how amazing the world is. Unfortunately, the ending is more bitter than sweet, as Bee literally does not belong in the real world and her replacement, the "real" Bee, turns out to be a shallow socialite and snob. The entire book may be read as a metaphor for growing up, transforming into adults in the "real" world and allowing the magical, child-side to "die." Once Bee abandons them, her friends discard their previous supernatural delusions and readily accept the normal, mundane world and its social confines. Which is not the ending I would have expected from Block - it's not a bad book, but not her best, either.
    • 5/5
      Bee felt different from the others, out of place. Everyone felt that way at some time, she understood, but somehow this was different, she could feel it. She felt displaced in the world, but it wasn't until she saw herself standing at the end of her bed claiming that she was an impostor did she really start to believe that maybe she really didn't belong.Hayze and Sarah were just as different as Bee, just as strange. Yet somehow they still belonged. One by one Hayze and Sarah are drawn to Bee and her acceptance of their differences; one by one Hayze then Sarah begin to find that their differences are what makes them unique. But in order to gain this wisdom something must be lost.the Waters & the Wild brings together three outsiders forming a bond of friendship through understanding where magic is created. A girl who sings like and angel, a boy who quotes poetry and a doppelganger make up the heart of a story about fitting in, standing out and being who you were born to be. A story that will charm and enchant with a fairy hand in hand.
    • 4/5
      Bee has never felt like she belongs in Los Angeles, and the doppelganger she keeps seeing only gives more credence to her fears. Her friends Haze and Sarah don't belong either--Haze is convinced he's an alien, and Sarah is the reincarnation of a slave girl. Together they find a sense of belonging they've never known before, but Bee's changeling nature threatens to take her away from them all.Francesca Lia Block has a writing style that you either love or you hate--but the wild lyricality is toned down somewhat here, making the book more accessible. You still have to follow the leaps from character to character, but it works. There's a brief poetic interlude with references to 9/11 and the Pacific tsunami, but I wonder if teens would pick up on them--it's history to them, not current events.Recommended for fantasy and fairy-tale fans looking for a quick read.
    • 1/5
      This novel had interesting ideas that could be relatable to a young adult reader. The idea of an identity crisis between the main character and her friends was the central topic. As a early childhood teacher, I would not recommend this novel. Some details were not completely explained and it was hard at times to get a good visual on what the author was wanting the reader to see.
    • 4/5
      In The Waters and the Wild, Bee is thirteen, and outcast at school, and convinced she's a changeling, ever since she woke to find a girl who looks like her in her bedroom. The other girl disappears after saying "You are me," and starts a line of events like dominoes, ending with new friendships and magic.Bee makes friend with two other outcasts, Sarah (a girl with a beautiful singing voice convinced she's a reincarnated slave) and Haze (a boy sure he's an alien), and through their short friendship, they all find the confidence to appreciate themselves.This is my first Francesca Lia Block book, so I'm not familiar with her writing, but I found this one's writing very dreamy and haunting, much as I imagine a fairy world to be. This dreamlike, surreal quality sometimes makes it hard to follow the story, but it is beautiful all the same.Recommended.
    • 4/5
      Completely different from anything I've ever read before. Hauntingly beautiful this story deals with paranormal things and a bit of fantasy. What initially drew me to pick this book was the amazing cover art and all in all, the story was pretty good too. :)
    • 2/5
      Bee is 13 and has never felt like she fits in. However, this is more than just your average teenage angst... amongst Bee's many odd characteristics, she has the urge to eat dirt from her garden and is frightened by metal objects. One night she wakes up to find a girl in her room, a girl who looks just like her and tells her "You are me," before disappearing. Bee finds her world unraveling after this visit, and she reaches out to two unlikely people at her school: Haze, a boy who believes he is an alien, and Stephanie, a girl who thinks she is a reincarnated slave named Sarah. The three loners become friends, crashing a party and practicing magic. They realize that Bee is actually a changeling, an elf who took the place of the real Bee at birth. The real girl haunts Bee, lurking in mirrors and demanding her life back. Bee grows weaker as time passes and soon leaves her friends to return to her own world.This short novel may appeal to those who have trouble fitting in and reluctant readers. Block's writing style is beautiful and keeps the book moving, but the story itself is underdeveloped. There are some creepy moments, particularly when Bee is being followed and threatened by the real Bee, but overall the plot is flat and changes tone too quickly from mystery to fairy-tale to love story. We know from the get-go that Bee is a changeling, which undermines the mystery and makes the other characters seem slow for not realizing it. The characters act much older than they are, often having far too unrealistic interactions. There's potential in this story, but while the fairy aspect may appeal to some, this is not a must-read.
    • 2/5
      Title: The Waters & The Wild Author: Francesca Lia Block Publisher: Harper Teen Number Of Pages: 111 Publication Date: June 2nd, 2009Synopsis from back of book: When Bee woke up, there was a girl standing in her room. “You are me,” the girl said. Then she was gone.Thus begins thirteen-year-old Bee’s discovery that her life is not what she thought it was. In this compellingly eerie new teen novel from critically acclaimed writer Francesca Lia Block, Bee’s never felt like she really belongs in this world. When she encounters her dark and ethereal double, she realizes she may be right…Review: The Waters & The Wild was okay. I didn’t enjoy it all that much. I felt like I was always missing something important. It took me a few hours to finish The Waters & The Wild and it was not something I will read again. One thing I did like was the supporting characters Haze & Sarah. They were a lot more interesting to read about than the main character Bee.I think that the length of this was a downfall. Maybe, if it was longer I would have enjoyed it more? I am not totally sure. I felt there wasn’t enough depth. Another problem, I felt confused through the novel. All in all, this was a minor disappointment.I recommend this novel if you like faery changelings, Francesca Lia Block books, and young adult novels.
    • 3/5
      Uh...The Good: The writing style has a certain quality that makes you interested in reading the book and it compels you to turn the page. Also, the characters are very good.Bee is her own person and though she might not be completely normal, she's sometimes, surprisingly relateable. Also, I adored Haze and Sarah. If I actually met them I'd probably think that they are absolutely crazy. I mean, Haze thinks that he's an alien and Sarah thinks that she's a reincarnation of a 1800's slave girl. But strangely, I really liked them and I absolutely enjoyed reading about them.The Bad: The beginning attracts your attention, that's for sure. When I first read it, I almost put the book down. Seriously, it creeped me out a little. Maybe creeped is too strong of a word, but if if I was in a book store, I would've put it down.Also, this book really dissapointed me. The summary looks so interesting and the cover is really pretty... but the book itself just fell flat. Another probably that I had was that it was too short! It's like I blink and the story's over, it's not worth paying 16.99 that's for sure.Overall: Though the writing is very good, when I finished, I didn't feel satisfied or happy that I finished the book. The first thing that popped into my head after I finished was, "What the hell did I just read?"Grade: B-
    • 5/5
      Francesca Lia Block is one of my favorite writers for a reason - her smart, poetic prose easily transports you to an alternate reality, layering real issues with surreal context. In her latest, we explore the possibilities of a doppelganger, as thirteen-year-old Bee has begun to see herself at night, claiming to be the real her. Turning to the weird kid at school, Haze (he's rumored to believe he's an alien) she discovers that she might not belong in L.A. - in more ways than one. Picking up Sarah, a street-singer with a gorgeous voice who believes she's a reincarnated slave girl, the trio embark on a mission to save Bee, and to understand their own realities. Like Block's other works, The Waters and the Wild is tightly written, with an ethereal feeling that leaves you feeling pleasantly disoriented. Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to be enchanted.

    Book preview

    The Waters & the Wild - Francesca Lia Block

    1

    Haze

    When Bee woke up, there was a girl standing in her room.

    You are me, the girl said.

    Then she was gone.

    The eucalyptus leaves, rung by the night breeze, tinkled as if the salt from the sea air had crystallized, turned them to glass. Bee got out of bed, flung herself to the window and looked out at the sleeping garden. The polished glass chips in the flower beds and the sequins on the saris hanging over the gazebo reflected the light of the full spring moon and made the air phosphorescent.

    But there was not even the shadow of a girl.

    The loneliness Bee always felt—had felt since she could remember feeling anything at all—was so big now, so alive, that it was almost a creature. And after what she had seen, it felt colder, crueler than ever.

    As a little girl she couldn’t make friends. She was too quiet, unable to read. Her teachers thought she had a learning disability, and for a while she was in Occupational Therapy trying to learn how to interpret facial expressions and the tones of people’s voices. Now she struggled through school, just passing every semester.

    You’re smart, her mother said. It has nothing to do with intelligence. Some of the most creative minds were diagnosed with learning disabilities.

    School wasn’t the only problem. Even with the O.T. it was hard to know how to act with people. And everything about Bee was odd. She couldn’t eat animal flesh or watch all that television, try to talk about what celebrities were wearing or the war in Iraq. She preferred the solitude of her mother’s garden.

    Miss Green Thumb, her mom called her. When she was little she fantasized about eating handfuls of dirt to be closer to nature. The red, yellow and sterling roses bloomed bigger than cupcakes. The water hyacinth in the pond burst into edible-looking purple-and-white blossoms. As she got older she tended that pond, lovingly, feeding the koi, gently lifting out the plants with their long trailing roots to clean the filter, drain and refill the water. On the mossy bank by the pool she set out rose-petal beds and an abalone-shell bath, filled with water that brought out its rainbows. She squeezed lemons from the tree and picked figs, made lemonade and fig cakes in tiny cupcake holders, put them out on doll-house china. In the morning the food was gone and the beds looked slept in.

    That is the world I belong in, she thought. The tiny garden world. Not this.

    Ever since she was a small child, Bee knew she couldn’t tell her mom about the mystery in the garden. Now she had another secret: the girl in her room. Deena didn’t believe in the supernatural. She was a born scientist; everything had a tangible cause, related to some function of the brain. But for Bee this way of looking at the world felt empty, as if you were trying to explain away angels as static in the temporal lobe, deities as no more than electricity.

    Joseph Hayes, or Haze, as they called him. He might know something about all of this. He always had a book with him, and those thick glasses to hide behind. People said he thought he was an alien. After last night she would have believed almost anything.

    Haze was sitting alone as usual at lunch-time. She slid onto the chair across from him. He glanced up. She hadn’t noticed his eyes before, with those glasses and all. But they were huge and dark, and even this far across the table she thought she saw herself reflected in them like two little dolls.

    She thought, He’s weird, in a good way. Weird like me.

    He was reading his book. It was a withered old volume, leather-bound. It looked ancient but preserved, like a mummy inside its linen binding. Bee wondered what it was about.

    Hello, she said.

    He seemed startled that

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