Review: Love Letters to the Dead

Title: Love Letters to the Dead

Author: Ava Dellaira

Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux (BYR)

Publication Date: April 1, 2014

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.

My Review

Love Letters to the Dead is one of those books that you won't want to put down, but you want to read it like you're pouring honey in winter - slowly. I wanted to cherish every single moment that I had with Laurel because I knew it would end all too soon, and I didn't really want it to end. I wanted to learn as much as I could about Laurel and her friends and family. I wanted to understand everything that made her tick.

The characters in this stunning debut novel are fantastic. The plot is raw and real. I felt like what happened to Laurel could have happened to anyone I went to high school with because it's not too far removed from what happens to some teens. (I would know... My cousin died when she was thirteen, and seeing how her sister reacted was devastating.) I think the story of my cousins is part of the reason why I was so involved in this novel.

I would recommend this novel to any teenager or adult who is looking for something realistic to read. I'd also recommend it to anyone who has ever lost someone unexpectedly because there is real pain in that, and I was able to really feel Laurel's pain as she grieves for her sister. It's a remarkable book that everyone should read.

Love Letters to the Dead is beautifully written, and reminded me very much of one of my favorite books, The Perks of Being a Wallflower because it deals with growing up and dealing with some challenging situations. It's also an epistolary novel (just like Perks), and because of that, you feel an immediate connection to Laurel.

Read this book. You won't regret it.