Witch Baby is likely my favorite of Block’s books. (I say likely because I haven’t read them all…yet.) Less hipster/fairy tale than Weetzie Bat, it centers on the black sheep of the family, Lily aka Witch Baby. A dark-fae child born at a dark time Witch Baby is obsessed with the tragedies of life. In fact, she can’t turn her observations off, even though she realizes she should be in a pleasant fantasy like Weetzie.
Witch Baby is about the search for oneself, even if it might take you to dark or dangerous places. It’s almost the opposite of Weetzie’s desperation for happiness. With Baby wan’t pretend the bad stuff doesn’t exist and that puts her at odds with the rest od the family who are determined to have their happily ever after.
In the end it;s not just about Witch Baby finding her place, but also about the Bat family letting her be what she is instead of trying to make her what they are.
Block first tells a beautiful love fairy tale in one of the most vicious cities in America (using some of the most hated types of people) then turns the characters against themselves to tell this tale.