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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
I had a lot of mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed reading Laurel's story and seeing her grow throughout the book. Especially towards the end when she began to talk more with people and became open. I liked watching her really begin to understand how she felt about May and beginning to understand that May wasn't perfect but that didn't mean May was bad. Watching Laurel's character development was great. I loved her relationship with Sky and how he was gentle and kind to her and took care of her but knew when to draw away for his and her own good. Laurel was a great narrator and protagonist and I enjoyed reading the story from her perspective.
However. I don't like how Natalie and Hannah's relationship. I don't like the way it was written. Their relationship is an important part of the novel but it felt like it showed up at random moments. Laurel would be lost in thought and pondering life, then all of a sudden she would walk in on Natalie and Hannah kissing and she's just jolted by it and then moves on. She just moves on back to her little world. There are five or six times where that happens and it is just dropped. When she opened the bathroom door to see them kissing at the party it was very sudden. It was just a glimpse into what was going on with Natalie and Hannah. Just, all of a sudden they are outed! There was no precursor or foreshadow and it felt so fake. I never began to understand and feel for them as a couple. I couldn't feel empathy for them. All of this book was very introspective and pondering and it pulled at my heartstrings and drew me into an open space of wonderment and naivety that Laurel was in but Natalie and Hannah's relationship as a part of the story lacked that. It felt incredibly grounded. I couldn't feel Natalie's pain at watching Hannah go from boy to boy or feel Hannah's fear about people finding out that she liked girls. I didn't really get the opportunity to understand their struggle of trying to understand their sexuality in such a tough stage in their life.I felt detached from it, whereas in other parts of the book I felt deeply for the character's struggle and how hard it must be to watch them go through the struggles in their life.
I struggled to finish the book because sometimes it wasn't enjoying it, but overall I do think it's a good story and Laurel's journey from beginning to end is great. I loved watching her grow and begin to become her own person separate from May's memory and moving on from May's death. I think this was Ava Dellaira's first book and I liked this one enough to read whatever other books she publishes in the future.
However. I don't like how Natalie and Hannah's relationship. I don't like the way it was written. Their relationship is an important part of the novel but it felt like it showed up at random moments. Laurel would be lost in thought and pondering life, then all of a sudden she would walk in on Natalie and Hannah kissing and she's just jolted by it and then moves on. She just moves on back to her little world. There are five or six times where that happens and it is just dropped. When she opened the bathroom door to see them kissing at the party it was very sudden. It was just a glimpse into what was going on with Natalie and Hannah. Just, all of a sudden they are outed! There was no precursor or foreshadow and it felt so fake. I never began to understand and feel for them as a couple. I couldn't feel empathy for them. All of this book was very introspective and pondering and it pulled at my heartstrings and drew me into an open space of wonderment and naivety that Laurel was in but Natalie and Hannah's relationship as a part of the story lacked that. It felt incredibly grounded. I couldn't feel Natalie's pain at watching Hannah go from boy to boy or feel Hannah's fear about people finding out that she liked girls. I didn't really get the opportunity to understand their struggle of trying to understand their sexuality in such a tough stage in their life.I felt detached from it, whereas in other parts of the book I felt deeply for the character's struggle and how hard it must be to watch them go through the struggles in their life.
I struggled to finish the book because sometimes it wasn't enjoying it, but overall I do think it's a good story and Laurel's journey from beginning to end is great. I loved watching her grow and begin to become her own person separate from May's memory and moving on from May's death. I think this was Ava Dellaira's first book and I liked this one enough to read whatever other books she publishes in the future.
Love Letters to the Dead is a beautiful, poignant epistolary novel about grief and love and loss. It's a difficult book to review, because I'm still torn on how I feel about Laurel--the letters did wonders for her voice, but at the same time, the narration style made it difficult for her personality to come through, if that makes any sense. However, I will give it props for a lesbian couple--one that ends happily. Also, the mention of e.e. cumming's poem "i carry your heart" definitely didn't make me cry at the end, since the ending words of the poem also carry a special meaning for me.
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Lo arranqué sin saber de que trataba ni que temas tocaba. Durísimo y melancólico. Me gustó muchísimo.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Love Letters to the Dead is written in the format of letters to various dead people by Laurel. I state this, because I didn't realize that the ENTIRE book would be that way. Although it was a little awkward at first, I rather enjoyed it.
Everything about Laurel's story is told through letters to Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Jim Morrison and others - the significance as to why these particular people were chosen by her to write to isn't really clear until Laurel starts become more self-aware and honest with herself.
Love Letters to the Dead was beautiful; it was a portrait of quiet despair from not understanding why the people you love are gone forever, the journey of a young girl trying to define herself in the wake of losing her sister, punctuated with these moving and resonating thoughts that stuck with me long after I finished.
"Maybe when we can tell the stories, however bad they are, we don't belong to them anymore. They become ours."
I received Love Letters to the Dead via Netgalley courtesy of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Everything about Laurel's story is told through letters to Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Jim Morrison and others - the significance as to why these particular people were chosen by her to write to isn't really clear until Laurel starts become more self-aware and honest with herself.
Love Letters to the Dead was beautiful; it was a portrait of quiet despair from not understanding why the people you love are gone forever, the journey of a young girl trying to define herself in the wake of losing her sister, punctuated with these moving and resonating thoughts that stuck with me long after I finished.
"Maybe when we can tell the stories, however bad they are, we don't belong to them anymore. They become ours."
I received Love Letters to the Dead via Netgalley courtesy of Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoyed this book. Okay, maybe I loved it. I requested and received a digital ARC from NetGalley.
It's written as letters to dead people (obviously) and normally I don't like this kind of thing (sorry, Stephen Chbotsky) but Ms. Dellaira does a great job with this book. Laurel, the author of the letters, has lost her sister, and in the beginning, all we know is that she feels guilty about this. She has defined herself through her sister, her family, and when she loses these things, she loses her way.
While Laurel feels lost and scared, she actually does a great job of being introspective - examining her life, and the lives of people around her. We manage to get a great view of everything in her world through these letters, and through her similarities with the famous people she writes too.
She also mentions some favorite high school things that have/had lots of meaning for me - my high school crush (now husband) loved Nirvana and my favorite song of theirs is mentioned several times - Heart Shaped Box. She also mentions after shock, a cinnamon alcoholic beverage I was a fan of as a teen, and Cool Runnings, so bonus points for the flashbacks :)
Here are some good quotes to help you to get a vibe for the book:
Since she's been gone, it's hard to be myself, because I don't know exactly who I am.
His eyes were like your voice - keys to a place in me that could burst open.
Your daddy would carry you outside, and it was time to drive home in his big car, like a boat swimming over the dark asphalt surface of the earth.
I think a lot of people want to be someone, but we are scared that if we try, we won't be as good as everyone imagines we would be.
It's written as letters to dead people (obviously) and normally I don't like this kind of thing (sorry, Stephen Chbotsky) but Ms. Dellaira does a great job with this book. Laurel, the author of the letters, has lost her sister, and in the beginning, all we know is that she feels guilty about this. She has defined herself through her sister, her family, and when she loses these things, she loses her way.
While Laurel feels lost and scared, she actually does a great job of being introspective - examining her life, and the lives of people around her. We manage to get a great view of everything in her world through these letters, and through her similarities with the famous people she writes too.
She also mentions some favorite high school things that have/had lots of meaning for me - my high school crush (now husband) loved Nirvana and my favorite song of theirs is mentioned several times - Heart Shaped Box. She also mentions after shock, a cinnamon alcoholic beverage I was a fan of as a teen, and Cool Runnings, so bonus points for the flashbacks :)
Here are some good quotes to help you to get a vibe for the book:
Since she's been gone, it's hard to be myself, because I don't know exactly who I am.
His eyes were like your voice - keys to a place in me that could burst open.
Your daddy would carry you outside, and it was time to drive home in his big car, like a boat swimming over the dark asphalt surface of the earth.
I think a lot of people want to be someone, but we are scared that if we try, we won't be as good as everyone imagines we would be.
No soy fan del insta love, y aqui hay uno el cual no creo que haya sido llevado de la mejor manera, además de que los personajes son bastante planos y aburridos, trata de ser original, pero termina siendo pretencioso, lo único que te mantiene enganchado es el saber como murió la hermana de la protagonista.
2,9 (a la mala)
Lo siento Penny, pero hace tiempo que no sentía esas ganas de estar leyendo por sobre hacer otras cosas, y hay que aprovechar las ganas porque así como vienen, se van.
No encontré que fuera una lectura cercana en ningún aspecto, parecía fanfic en muchos momentos, habían varios errores gramaticales y no, no logró llegarme. Muchas frases buenas, pero faltó contenido entre esas reflexiones, faltó coherencia entre el personaje y la historia.
Quizá el problema fue la narración, pero no pude simpatizar con Laurel ni ningún otro personaje.
Lo siento Penny, pero hace tiempo que no sentía esas ganas de estar leyendo por sobre hacer otras cosas, y hay que aprovechar las ganas porque así como vienen, se van.
No encontré que fuera una lectura cercana en ningún aspecto, parecía fanfic en muchos momentos, habían varios errores gramaticales y no, no logró llegarme. Muchas frases buenas, pero faltó contenido entre esas reflexiones, faltó coherencia entre el personaje y la historia.
Quizá el problema fue la narración, pero no pude simpatizar con Laurel ni ningún otro personaje.
un libro que literalmente no paras de llorar desde la página 100 en adelante... no recomiendo que lo lean es espacios públicos