Love Letters to the Dead: A Novel, by Ava Dellaira
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Love Letters to the Dead: A Novel, by Ava Dellaira
Free Ebook Love Letters to the Dead: A Novel, by Ava Dellaira
It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more -- though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was -- lovely and amazing and deeply flawed -- can she begin to discover her own path in this stunning debut from Ava Dellaira, Love Letters to the Dead.
Love Letters to the Dead: A Novel, by Ava Dellaira- Amazon Sales Rank: #27582 in Books
- Published on: 2015-09-29
- Released on: 2015-09-29
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.22" h x .94" w x 5.53" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 352 pages
From School Library Journal Gr 9 Up—Debut author Dellaira's heart-wrenching epistolary novel begins with Laurel's freshman assignment to write a letter to a dead person. She starts with a missive to Kurt Cobain, who had been a favorite of her recently deceased older sister, May. Gradually, through the teen's letters to other dead celebrities (Janis Joplin, Amelia Earhart, River Phoenix, and more), readers will begin to piece together the history of her splintered family life, including her parents' divorce and mother's virtual abandonment following May's unexplained death. Laurel is devastatingly, emotionally fragile, but she makes friends at her new high school and even starts to develop a serious love interest. Her misconstrued hero-worship of May gradually evolves into a deeper understanding of her beloved sister's strengths and many imperfections. Beautifully written, although a bit choppy in sections, particularly regarding the dead addressees' lives, this powerful novel deftly illustrates the concept that writing is an especially valuable form of healing for those dealing with overwhelming pain and grief. Best for teens who enjoyed Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower (MTV, 1999).—Susan Riley, Mamaroneck Public Library, NY
From Booklist *Starred Review* The assignment: write a letter to someone who is dead. Laurel falls into this classroom task deeper than she could have ever imagined, writing to deceased stars like Kurt Cobain, Amelia Earhart, Judy Garland, River Phoenix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse, and others whose lives ended as abruptly as Laurel’s older sister’s did. Her methodology expands beyond simply writing to the dead. Rather, she researches each recipient, learning about their lives in order to make each letter relatable to the intended party. These quite savvy letters become Laurel’s way of working through her emotions as she begins high school, makes new friends, deals with a crumbling family, falls in love, and continues to grieve for the loss of her sister. With the help of her fantasy correspondence, she is able to find common ground, express herself, and eventually discover the messages and lessons of the deceased addressee’s lives—as well as her own. Well paced and cleverly plotted, this debut uses a fresh, new voice to tell a sometimes sad, sometimes edgy, but always compelling narrative. Fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han, get ready. Grades 7-10. --Jeanne Fredriksen
Review
“Reminiscent of Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower, this is powerfully emotional stuff.” ―BCCB
“Dellaira's characters are authentically conceived and beautifully drawn.” ―The Horn Book
“Best for teens who enjoyed Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” ―School Library Journal
“Laurel and her friends' struggles and hard-won successes are poignant, and seeing Laurel begin to forgive herself and May is extremely moving.” ―Publishers Weekly
“I simply loved this book. Love Letters to the Dead is more than a stunning debut. It is the announcement of a bold new literary voice.” ―Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower
“A brilliant story about the courage it takes to keep living after your world falls apart. A heart-wrenching celebration of love and friendship and family.” ―Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak
“With beautiful observations of where life can take us, from grieving to celebrating, disappointment to wonder, LOVE LETTERS TO THE DEAD is a love letter to living.” ―Jay Asher, author of 13 Reasons Why
“Dear Ava Dellaira: Your book broke my heart, and pieced it back together. As with Kurt, Janis, Amelia and the others who are gone but still somehow here, LOVE LETTERS TO THE DEAD leaves an indelible mark.” ―Gayle Forman, author of If I Stay
“As wondrous--and as fearless--as a shooting star.” ―Lauren Myracle, author, The Winnie Years
“Riveting, captivating, utterly disarming. I could not put this book down! LOVE LETTERS TO THE DEAD is like discovering a shoebox full of notes addressed to someone else. I read fast, afraid I'd be caught peeking at something I wasn't ever supposed to see. A voyeuristic delight!” ―Siobhan Vivian, author of The List
“Effective and satisfyingly heartbreaking.” ―Kirkus Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful. Poignant, moving book about how a high school assignment helps a young girl come to terms with her grief. By Larry Hoffer This book made my heart hurt (but in a good way).At the start of her freshman year of high school, Laurel gets an interesting assignment in English class: write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses to write to Kurt Cobain, who was her older sister May's favorite singer. Laurel knows that Kurt understands deep emotions, pain, and anguish, feelings all too familiar to Laurel over the last year, because of May's tragic death she can't really talk about, as well as her parents' separation and her mother's subsequent move to California from their New Mexico home.Laurel's letter to Kurt taps a well in her soul which encourages her to write more letters—to Cobain, as well as Amy Winehouse, River Phoenix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Judy Garland, Amelia Earhart, and poets like John Keats and Elizabeth Bishop. She relates the challenges these celebrities faced and the lessons their lives embodied to the challenges she faces trying to put May's death and the circumstances around it behind her, trying to be a different person, trying to find friends who accept her for who she is, even if she is trying to reinvent herself and hide her feelings of guilt and shame."I want people to know me, but if anyone could look inside of me, if they saw that everything I feel is not what it's supposed to be, I don't know what would happen."The letters chronicle Laurel's experiences in high school, as she starts making friends with a group of people who have more than their own share of problems, and falls in love with a boy named Sky, who hides some of himself from Laurel as she's doing the same to him. The letters tell of the sadness Laurel feels at how much her life has changed since May's death and her parents separated. And many of the letters share Laurel's strong love for May, how May tried to protect her and make her feel at ease, even while May was going through struggles of her own.The secrets that Laurel keeps inside are slowly revealed, but only after they threaten to disintegrate her relationships with those she cares about. And while the revelations aren't really a surprise, to read about the pain and guilt and burden that one young girl feels forced to carry on her shoulders alone is really emotional. You find yourself wanting Laurel to open up to her family and friends, yet you, too, are worried how they might treat her in the end.This is a beautifully written, bittersweet, and poignant book about finding the strength to carry on, and finding the person you need to be. It's also a book about learning to trust again when those you depend on have betrayed that trust. While not all of the letters work as well as others, Ava Dellaira's writing is so compelling, so nuanced, I found myself moved nearly to tears while reading this book.It's interesting: I hadn't heard of this book until I received a targeted promotional email about it from Stephen Chbosky, author of one of my favorite books of all time, The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This book tapped an emotional reservoir that Chbosky's book did, albeit coming from a different place, and like Wallflower, it's a book that will stay with me.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful. Uninspired. By Auggie The synopsis of this work truly fascinated me and I was anxious to begin reading, there were quite a few points throughout where I saw a glimpse of the emotion and meaning that I was expecting to find throughout. Sadly, those few breakthrough moments were not enough to balance out the pages and pages of no-movement journal writing. I couldn't help but feel that the book was much longer than necessary to convey the intended message and this feeling created a tediousness that I couldn't shake.I did appreciate the presentation of "second chances". I also appreciated the "history lessons" regarding the famous people Laurel was writing to. There were certainly a few moments where everything gelled together well and made sense. Even a goosebump or two, especially at the end during reconciliation.The young main character, Laurel, is struggling with a secret. A few, actually. Not only that but she's also carrying around some serious guilt regarding things that weren't even her fault to begin with. I understand the attempt to convey an idea of struggling youth, of the necessity of identity and friendship and family, but the achingly thorough and sometimes boring detail with which the author portrays this young girl's life through her journal almost outweighs those moments of clarity, of profound thought and meaning.Truly, though, I couldn't decide if this book was meant to be a warning, a piece of encouragement, a confession, or a story of strength. I don't feel like the main character gained much strength throughout her ordeal and the people and things that brought her to her own realizations were crutches such as alcohol abuse, an intense romantic relationship, partying too hard, skipping school, breaking rules, and generally being a hoodlum. Yet she somehow maintains her grades and keeps the adults in her life somehow in the dark with her extracurricular activities. I kept waiting for her to get caught, for someone to step in and say "slow down", or for there to be a breakthrough moment when she realized what she was doing, but one never came.There almost seems to be this sense of a "Free Pass" for anyone dealing with tragedy and trauma. I'm an adult reading this work and it just all seems so incredibly unlikely to me the way things played out. Perhaps it would be different from a Young Adult perspective, from someone still in Highschool, but I personally discovered no feelings of redemption for this main character.This may be a book ready to be praised for its forward thinking and willingness to address dark and uncomfortable issues, but for me it was a mediocre turn out at best and the entire things seems rather incoherent.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. Beautiful writing but couldn't connect with the character.. By Spiced Latte Love Letters to the Dead is about being able to go through the stages of grief and express yourself in a way that you might find possible.After losing her sister, Laurel has started writing letters to famous people as a part of her school project. Being able to write to someone about her feelings was at first awkward but after, she was able to express herself in a way that I've never seen before.Quote: “You think you know someone, but that person always changes, and you keep changing, too. I understood it suddenly, how that’s what being alive means. Our own invisible plates shifting inside of our bodies, beginning to align into the people we are going to become.”This was beautifully written and even though I felt Laurel's pain and later saw her transformation, I didn't think that I truly knew her as a person. She talked about her sister, family, high school life, a hot guy that started to notice her. But I didn't KNOW her, know her. It mostly felt like a dairy that someone published with an exception that it was written to famous people.Quote: “Sometimes when we say things, we hear silence. Or only echoes. Like screaming from inside. And that’s really lonely. But that only happens when we weren’t really listening. It means we weren’t ready to listen yet. Because every time we speak, there is a voice. There is the world that answers back.”Although it had beautiful writing, I really wish I would have seen more of Laurel's personality. I like to connect with the characters, especially when they are going through something hard as losing a sister, and that just didn't happen here. Final rating is "it was tiny bit more than ok" :)
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