Echo

Maybe I would become a mermaid....I would live in the swirling blue-green currents, doing exotic underwater dances for the fish, kissed by sea anemones, caressed by seaweed shawls. I would have a dolphin as a friend. He would have merry eyes and the thick sleeked flesh of a god. My fingernails would be tiny shells and my skin would be like jade with light shining through it. I would never have to come back up...Echo is caught at the crossroads of a physical world full of hope and despair and the realm of the supernatural, where young men have wings and skeletons speak. On the way, she is graced by angels and fairies and haunted by ghosts, psychopomps, and vampires. But as Echo falls under the spell of demons who threaten to destroy her, she must ultimately look within to find the strength to survive. Through shifting points of view, Francesca Lia Block weaves pure magic into this deftly constructed tale -- a novel told in the form of linked stories. One girl's life emerges from a tapestry of voices, lives, and loves -- lost and found -- that deliver her finally to herself, triumphant, ever-changing. Francesca Lia Block has charmed and amazed readers with her tales of the mystical and ethereal. This outstanding story is no different. Following the life of Echo, an L.A. baby born to an artistic dad and an angel for a mom, this dreamlike work of magical realism offers more than fairy dust and the supernatural. It tells the tale of a girl who feels doomed to be less than angelic, at least in comparison with her mother, whose startling beauty and aura enchant all who meet her. Desperate to be loved as much, and maybe find her own identity, Echo escapes to the boys in her life. Ultimately, she must rely on herself for the strength to survive. Simple text ands story lines do not appeal to Block, who weaves a tale with amazing grace and the flowing energy of a true genius. Images of vampires, ghosts, and fairies fill these pages, daring the reader to believe. Acclaimed author Francesca Lia Block weaves pure magic into this deftly constructed tale殮e girl′s path to womanhood told in linked short stories. Written in her uniquely poetic, carefully crafted style, Echo is a tour-de-force from one of our most exciting contemporary writers.Ages 11+ Acclaimed author Francesca Lia Block weaves pure magic into this deftly constructed tale殮e girls path to womanhood told in linked short stories. Written in her uniquely poetic, carefully crafted style, Echo is a tour-de-force from one of our most exciting contemporary writers. Ages 11+ Jealous Of Her Perfect Mother And Ignored By Her Artist Father, Echo Seeks Attention And Healing From A Variety Of People Living In Beautiful Los Angeles. Francesca Lia Block. Accelerated Reader/renaissance Learning Ug 5.6 4. Title from PDF title page (viewed on July 21, 2008).