Genre
Young Adult
Setting and Context
Set in an alternate version of Los Angeles with a blend of elements from different periods.
Narrator and Point of View
Third-person narration
Tone and Mood
Sentimental, Outlandish, Surreal, Offbeat
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: Weetzie Bat; Antagonist: Conformity
Major Conflict
The narrative follows two best friends looking for their soul mates out in Los Angeles. Through wishes from a genie, Weetzie aims to find true love but there are some consequences.
Climax
The climax is when Weetzie finds out her father died of an overdose.
Foreshadowing
The showbiz references in the opening foreshadow Weetzie’s escapades in Hollywood.
Understatement
“Your dad's dead. But you aren't, baby.”
Allusions
“Shangri-L.A. was a remake of Lost Horizon, except that in the movie the horizon was a magical Hollywood where everyone looked like Marilyn, Elvis, James Dean, Charlie Chaplin, Harpo, Bogart, or Garbo, everything was magic castles and star-paved streets and Christmas lights, and no one grew old.”
Imagery
“Fifi’s house was a Hollywood cottage with one of those fairy-tale roofs that look like someone has spilled silly sand. There were roses and lemon trees in the garden and two bedrooms inside the house—one painted rose and the other aqua. The house was filled with plaster Jesus statues, glass butterfly ashtrays, paintings of clowns, and many kinds of coasters.”
Paradox
N/A
Parallelism
“A kiss about apple pie à la mode with the vanilla creaminess melting in the pie heat. A kiss about chocolate, when you haven’t eaten chocolate in a year. A kiss about palm trees speeding by, trailing pink clouds when you drive down the Strip sizzling with champagne. A kiss about spotlights fanning the sky and the swollen sea spilling like tears all over your legs.”
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
“The sun streamed in, making the walls glow like the inside of a rose.”
