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A review by doritobabe
Beyond the Pale Motel by Francesca Lia Block
4.0
I think this is one of FLB's few forays into adult fiction. It is definitely one of the darkest stories she has every written. One can notice a trend with her writing however, where over the years, she has shifts from a whimsical fantasy style, to following the vampire popularity trend with Pretty Dead, and the adult supernatural type in The Elementals. Beyond the Pale Motel reminds me of the crime dramas that are so popular on TV now. It is such a different style of writing for Block that I was unable to recognize her voice until about half way through the text.
I suppose she is attempting to mature along with her main audience--people who read FLB novels have done so since they were teens, and here I am now, 25 and still reading--but it is not distinctly *her* anymore. Hence the reason that I couldn't give this book 5 stars; it was interesting and definitely a thriller of a text, but it left me feeling that this isn't the author that I used to know.
I can't expect Block to stay writing teen ficiton forever, and it could also be me, that I am growing out of her whimsy.
I suppose she is attempting to mature along with her main audience--people who read FLB novels have done so since they were teens, and here I am now, 25 and still reading--but it is not distinctly *her* anymore. Hence the reason that I couldn't give this book 5 stars; it was interesting and definitely a thriller of a text, but it left me feeling that this isn't the author that I used to know.
I can't expect Block to stay writing teen ficiton forever, and it could also be me, that I am growing out of her whimsy.