A review by cabeswaeter
Love Letters to the Dead, by Ava Dellaira
5.0
This book gets very mixed reviews, and part of the reason is probably that you /have/ to relate to the main character Laurel, to find this great. That might go for most books, but Laurel might not be relatble at all to older readers, and even a big part of the hig school audience. She's the kind of girl some readers might think pathetic if you have never felt a teensy tiny bit like her. (You don't need a dead big sister to feel like her at all, though. You probably just need a pretty normal high school eperience. If you liked The perks of being a wallflower or Saint anything, chances are you'll like this one too.)
Laurel writes her letters somewhat clumsily, the enjoyment of this book comes from enjoyment of the story, and to some extent the words, but Laurel really writes as a teenager. She is not often poetic, and when you stumble over lines that are quoteworthy, they are often disrupted by using language and commas like only a teenager would. While some might find this disturbing, I only found it to be very true to Laurel as a 15-year old who is writing letters she's certain no one will ever read. Personally, I never wrote poetic shit in my diaries, because I'd rather die than let anyone read them, and they were just a safe space for ranting.
Even with some flaws, I really enjoyed this story, and I related so much to Laurel and the people aroud her.
I do really like this type of books, coming of age stories with healing teenagers, and that definetley affects my opinion, but taste is after all personal.
Laurel writes her letters somewhat clumsily, the enjoyment of this book comes from enjoyment of the story, and to some extent the words, but Laurel really writes as a teenager. She is not often poetic, and when you stumble over lines that are quoteworthy, they are often disrupted by using language and commas like only a teenager would. While some might find this disturbing, I only found it to be very true to Laurel as a 15-year old who is writing letters she's certain no one will ever read. Personally, I never wrote poetic shit in my diaries, because I'd rather die than let anyone read them, and they were just a safe space for ranting.
Even with some flaws, I really enjoyed this story, and I related so much to Laurel and the people aroud her.
I do really like this type of books, coming of age stories with healing teenagers, and that definetley affects my opinion, but taste is after all personal.