Cherokee Bat And The Goat Guys (1993) - Plot & Excerpts
In Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys the story arc in the Dangerous Angels series continues. What started with Weetzie Bat and Witch Baby continues in this book with the kids now teenagers and the adults in the household all out of town filming a movie in South America. Naturally Cherokee, Witch Baby, Raphael Chong Jah-Love and soon even Angel Juan, who makes a reappearance, run into trouble.In a lot of ways I think this book is the most distinctly YA novel in the series. It focuses on the younger generation and problems unique to youth: self image, relationships, finding yourself, growing up.At the start each of the four characters feels inadequate in one way or another. When they perform on stage they freeze up, when they try and initiate a relationship with someone else they feel rejected or aren't even brave enough to make the attempt, they feel bare, defenseless and powerless in an overbearing world. Coyote, a Native American friend of the family, steps in and offers to help Cherokee create gifts from nature (wings from feathers, goat pants from goat fur) to give each of the four teens outward strength from material things to solve inward problems. Naturally these objects are magical in nature, and naturally they unintentionally result in more problems then they solve.The rest of the book covers the uncomfortable, dizzying and at times exhilarating descent into a world of late night jams and eventual sex, drugs, smoking, drinking and all night parties. This is where the book had most of its power. To show these things in both the positive (exhilarating, powerful, ego enhancing) and the negative (exhausting, damaging to health both mental and physical, losing control). This is something teens can see and relate to from a source they will listen to as well.By the end of the book the teens must learn to pull their strength from inside themselves instead of their material trappings and learn how to help each other step back from the edge of self destruction. A powerful and poignant YA novel. Highly recommended.
Cherokee, Weetzie's teenage daughter, has formed a band called The Goat Guys. Her almost-sister, Witch Baby, is the drummer, and their boyfriends Raphael and Angel Juan play guitars. Cherokee's the singer and dancer. Their audiences love their energy, but then their parents go away on vacation and leave them to their own devices (with a family friend, Coyote, in the vicinity for adult supervision if needed). To help her sister out of a funk, Cherokee gives Witch Baby some wings to wear while she's drumming, and soon they're all wearing odd items during their sets--goat-hair pants for Raphael, horns for Angel Juan, goat hoof shoes for Cherokee. They become transformed in ways they can't control--ways that frighten everyone--and it falls to Cherokee to pull them back to themselves.It's murky and unclear why these kids are changing so rapidly in association with the accessories they choose, but it seems like the evolution of their band got away from them and took their identities with it. I'm also not sure why Witch Baby was the only one with a non-goat-like accessory--it didn't really fit in. Despite that, the story was fascinating and touching, with that slight distance from the characters that means you don't always know what's going on in their minds. Many of the images were striking and poignant. The only thing that gave me pause was why Cherokee--who is not Native American--was given all kinds of Indian imagery to appropriate, right down to her name. She's a white blonde girl but she wears "Indian" clothes and moccasins, sleeps in a tipi, does up her hair in braids and whatnot. Seems like a culturally insensitive thing for an author like Block to include, though there's a lot of "wow Indian stuff is cool" appropriation going on in hippie-ish communities so maybe she didn't even know this is pretty egregious.
What do You think about Cherokee Bat And The Goat Guys (1993)?
Another whimsical and beautiful book by Block. I liked how this one was more symbolic than the others, with all of the Native American themes. I was worried with some of Block's earlier Weetzie books because it seemed like a lot of cultural appropriation, but with Coyote, this seemed like a really solemn and insightful novel on the kind of relationships we have with nature and with people of other cultures. All of the teenagers seemed to grow and learn in this Weetzie book, making it a touch more realistic than the ones before, which was interesting. I'll never get over the beautiful surrealism of Block's books. Love 'em.
—Jess
I get to the end of every book in the Weetzie Bat series and think, "This is my favorite!". Until, of course, I get to the next one and then it's my favorite. Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys is especially cool though because the infectious kids of the Weetzie second gen. circle form their own rock group. Rock, but with magical, primal elements that (to quote a phrase) "make the men hard and the women harder". Raquael and Angel Juan become local sexual icons. Cherokee and Witch Baby struggle to hold onto them. Everyone struggles to hold onto themselves while riding a drug-induced wave of fame, parent-less, without boundaries. This particular installment uses magic realism and the turn of a metaphoric phrase so brilliantly. Seriously, it's genius. The way that the animal clothes stand as pathways for the characters to express their repressed selves...but I'm starting to wax way too psychoanalytic here- let's just say it's lovely, it's powerful imagery, and it will make you think. It's poetry pleasing to the brain, even for non poetry lovers. Next up: Missing Angel Juan.
—Steph
Mondo lovered dovered this book!!Francesca Lia Block is an artist when it comes to words. She paints the most unique and beautiful backdrops just by using the english alphabet. LOVES LOVES LOVES!!In this book the kids from "Weetzie Bat" (the first book in the series) are a bit more rock and roll. I would imagine in WITCH BABY (book 2) they were probably 12 or 13 and in this one they are pobably 16-17 (it never says).It's a story of growing up followed by a tale of not wanting to let go of your youth.All I can say is - LOVE!If you enjoy poetry then this series... and this author... is for you. She makes me want to sing out loud, take showers in the rain, and try to catch clouds.LOVE LOVE LOVE :)Can't wait to read the next book :)
—Greta is Erikasbuddy
