Fans of the Weetzie Bat series will be thrilled to note this next installment featuring all of the beloved characters we have come to know and love.

Turning forty has put Weetzie into a funk. She wonders where the intimacy has gone in her relationship with Max, her secret-agent lover man. "Where were the kisses?" So Weetzie decides to take matters into her own hands. Without a word to anyone, she packs a few things and moves to a pink hotel, the site of her senior prom. At the hotel, Weetzie encounters an intriguing group of people, from a landlocked mermaid to an invisible cleaning lady to a sensual room service employee. During a party, the mermaid gives Weetzie a kiss which turns her entire life around and helps Weetzie to focus on what she is really looking for from her life.

Necklace of Kisses is unique, heartfelt, and everything one has come to expect from this wonderful series. It's hard to categorize the writing style other than to say it's magical, full of fantasy, but still extremely grounded in reality. Sometimes it take a little bit of fantasy to look at our lives and see what's missing--and what we need to do about it. Weetzie's refreshing honesty and offbeat personality make her a likable character. Most readers will find something about Weetzie that they can identify with, even though she's a rather quirky individual.

Self-discovery is a key theme of Necklace of Kisses. Max, their daughters, and all of the people Weetzie comes into contact with learn something about themselves. It's intriguing to watch Weetzie remain true to herself over the past fifteen years, and even grow and change authentically. Here's hoping that Block has more stories featuring these characters up her sleeve for the future. It's not crucial to have read the previous five books in this series to connect with Necklace of Kisses, because it does stand on its own. However, you are really missing out if you don't go back and devour all of the Weetzie Bat books--they are true literary gems!