Francesca Lia Block

BLOOD ROSES This book contains nine short stories: "Blood Roses" is about Rosie and Lucy, who look for blood roses in their special place but don't expect to find them while they're still alive. They mourn for a favorite rock star and encounter a strange man in a record store who invites them over to look at pictures of the star from just before he killed himself. One girl follows the other, both knowing it's dangerous, and they're never the same again. "Giant" is about Rachel who is always too much. When she collects a kiss from the boy she's helplessly crushing on, she grows to match her feeling, and doesn't know how or whether she will ever return to her normal size. "My Haunted House" is about Fleurette who has a dollhouse that seems to have a ghost or be occupied by Death, and how Fleurette's life is affected by her father. "My Boyfriend is an Alien" is about a girl with schizophrenia who feels that her boyfriend is from space and longs to bond with him and have his children. "Horses are a Girl's Best Friend" is about Berry, who rides horses and eventually finds a centaur boy with whom she has a complicated relationship. She loves animals more than she loves people. "Skin Art" is about Elodie who falls in love with an older man who won't pay attention to her and tattoos start appearing all over her skin until she finds a way to get his attention. "My Mother the Vampire" is about Sasha who must find her own ways to buoy herself with love despite having a mother who feeds on her. "Wounds and Wings" is about Audrey who finds a man with his wings ripped off and takes him in. She doesn't ask him about how he got and lost his wings, but these two are balm for each other's scars. "Changelings" is about a boy who lost his dad, then his girlfriend, but gains a friend in a mysterious changeling who rides a skateboard and invites him to an underground lair to meet her true family. Back to Francesca Lia Block Page