Ava Dellaira

When Laurel starts writing letters to dead people for a school assignment, she begins to spill about her sister's mysterious death, her mother's departure from the family, her new friends, and her first love.

a novel

Love letters to the dead

oui oui

Elizabeth Alfiero

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.

A Novel

Love Letters to the Dead

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

Nova

Zahra

The story is being told in the form of letters, very much new to me. It was pretty exciting but after a few chapters I started to get irritated. It will be so much better if the letters are actually focused on Laurel, not May or any of the dead she was written to. I get it that she misses her sister, but at some point you have to actually move on. Laurel cried so much and it got on my nerves and I was like, "Maybe if you just stop crying all the damn time and actually face your problem, it wouldn't be so bad.".

Honestly, the reason I read this book was because someone suggested it to me (a co- River Phoenix fan), I read the synopsis and she told me that the main character write letters to River and I'm so up for that.

The letters are touching and moving especially when I was reading her letters to River but maybe it's because I'm a fan and I could relate on what she wrote it fucking hurts. I cried, yes.

But, the romance is so meh. There's no sparks and connection. And about May and Laurel, I guess it was okay yet heartbreaking. I know where Lauren's feelings for May is coming and I just want to hug her. But seriously, some dramas on this book is dragging to me. For example, the "Sky's mother is crazy", and that "the past of Sky is dark". Um no honey...

I recommend it to fans of Kurt Cobain, River Phoenix, Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin , Jim Morrison etc. But overall, this book is lovely. Congrats author.

Agus Charky

4.5 estrellas.
dejando de lado que se me haya dificultado mucho terminar el libro a causa del colegio y todas las mierdas de el, amé el libro con todo mi corazón y dios, no puedo creer lo hermoso q es.
toca temas muy fuertes pero sabe tratarlos bastante bien y aaaaaaaa amo todo.
quiero cuidar a sky, lauren, hannah y natalie de todo lo malo del mundo.
idk, lo adoro ❤️‍🩹

It begins as an assignment for English class: write a letter to a dead person - any dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain - he died young, and so did Laurel's sister May - so maybe he'll understand a bit of what Laurel is going through. Soon Laurel is writing letters to lots of dead people - Janis Joplin, Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, Amelia Earhart ... it's like she can't stop. And she'd certainly never dream of handing them in to her teacher.

Nessa Luna

Because this book I am reviewing is made up entirely out of letters to celebrities, I thought I'd try something like that too.

My Dear Frodo Love Letters to the Dead,

I honestly don't remember what I had expected when I heard about you for the first time. Yes I'd heard you would be written in the form of letters to deceased celebrities (from Kurt Cobain to Amy Winehouse), but that was about it. I had not expected it to be like this, but maybe I was still in an Illuminae-induced trance when I bought you.

Basically, you were just an average contemporary story that reminded me mostly of Saving June - minus the whole roadtrip. You also reminded me of the John Green books, though you were not that full of metaphors that I did not get at all, so there you have an extra half point. (Yes, I do like John Green's books, but the metaphors, ugh).

You may have felt already that when I picked you up, I was still not 100% if I was going to enjoy you, because I am honestly not a contemporary lover in general. There were some great ones that I read the past couple of years, but also a couple of missers. Still, I was intrigued by your whole 'letters to the dead' idea.

Your writing style was really nice, and though it was a bit hard for me to get into the first couple of letters, I flew through the second half of the book mainly because I really wanted to know what had happened to the sister of your main character. I have to admit that I had been expecting something more shocking, but it's also nice to know it wasn't something super awful that happened. (view spoiler)[Yes, of course, a loved one dying is the most awful thing that can happen to a person, but I had thought that May either killed herself, had a big car accident that Laurel was in as well, or that she had been murdered or something. So reading about her fall in the river felt a bit 'better' than the usual tragic deaths I read about in books. (hide spoiler)]

To be honest, I can't say I loved you; but I did like reading you, though I found your main character to be a bit annoying. It felt to me like she was trying so hard to be friends with people, that she did things she didn't really want to do. Like stealing, and drinking alcohol, and smoke cigarettes, and go to prom with a guy she caught jerking off in class (who the fuck does that?!). (view spoiler)[This guy later on in the book tried to rape her after drugging her at a party, yeah top lad! (hide spoiler)] Later on, as I read more and more about Laurel's past, I realised that she was just trying to cope with more things than just her sister's death, and it made me sympathize with her a bit better. I also liked her friendship with Natalie and Hannah better after a while, but your first couple of chapters were a bit - well - 'meh', I should say, dear book.

As for the romance, I felt like you had a bit of an insta-love thing going on, though it was later on explained why Sky was interested in Laurel from the moment they locked eyes, but still, it didn't convince me that much. I liked them when they were together though, so I guess I'm just a little bit conflicted about it.

In the end, though I enjoyed you, I also don't think I'll be reading you again. Maybe it is also because I just had a weird day when I read the majority of this book, that I just couldn't really get through you and I felt like I was falling right into a nother reading slump, two books before the finish of my reading challenge. But I finished you, and I did like you.

I recommend you to lovers of John Green and just contemporary novels in general. I hope those people will love you better. I am sorry, dear book, but you are just not the one for me! I do have one more gif for you, to express my general feelings about you!



Yours,
Nessa

Ps: Your cover is gorgeous, keep up the good work!

Victoria

The whole time I was reading this, all I could think about was The Perks of Being A Wallflower. Maybe because it was written in a letter format, the same way Perks was. But mostly because the characters in this book reminded me a lot of the characters in Perks. Plus, there're all those music references all throughout the book that was the same thing with Perks. 

Laurel reminded me of Charlie (protagonist in Perks) -- someone who's usually just on the outside, observing other people and writing about them to someone else. Then there's also that air of mystery about what truly happened to May (Laurel's sister) which reminded me of the mystery in the Perks as well.

I don't know. I liked the book but maybe because Perks is one of my favorites and this reminded me of it. That's sad if that's the case because I want every book that I read to give me a unique feeling, whether it be good or bad. But when that feeling seems like something rooted from a different book, then it just becomes disappointing. Every book has to have their own voice. This, sadly, did not have much of that.

Marc 

I absolutely loved this book. The characters are great and I loved Laurel's voice. I cried, I laughed, I gasped rather loud, and bounced around with this book.

Jeannette Ordas

This book is told in a letter writing format (which I guess is now a thing in YA?). I liked this book okay but wasn't completely sold on the characters and their motivations....things felt a bit muddy and disjointed at times. Also, it does get a little tedious when the lead character is so beautiful.

devin.reads

5 stars for this amazing book! 

Read my full review here: http://devin-reads-books.blogspot.com...

Barbara Kovács

It's a great book. Well written, with a beautiful story.

illya

Surprisingly I really liked this book, even if it touched very sensitive topics which I won't mention to avoid spoilers.

However, this book I would have loved when I was growing up and I have started reading, trying to find some characters and/or stories I could relate. In this case, more or less, I could connect with that 15 year old girl trying to find herself, with my 13 year old self, also trying to fit in, in a surrounding that wasn't very kind to me. 

Anyway, I'll keep this short. I really liked this book, I know maybe because I was reading it with biased eyes and from a very peculiar position which, I understand most people won't fit or put themselves in. Again, I respect that.

Really liked this book, more targeted to younger ones, to girls who are going through puberty and changes. And yeah, 4/5

Sarahi Flores

It's so sad and yet its very poetic and so beautiful.

lauren carla

Alexa Jade

Actual rating: 1.5 stars. 

This was the most repetitive book I’ve everrrr read omg.

Elizabeth

Beautiful. I cried several times while reading this. A beautiful way to illustrate the feelings of losing a love one.

Eleanor Luhar

I've seen a lot of mixed reviews on this book, so I honestly had no idea what to expect.

Laurel loved her sister. She wanted to be like her, she wanted to do everything with her. But she let her go, and now she'll never see her beloved May again.

I was pleasantly surprised by how many subjects and issues Love Letters to the Dead addresses. As well as the obvious matter of the loss of a loved one, this book includes relationships and break-ups, homosexuality, abusive families, broken families, and a whole lot more.

Written as (you guessed it) letters to the deceased, we learn about Laurel's life, current and past. She tells us of her problems with Sky, the things that happened before her sister died, her favourite memories of May, her mixed feelings for the mother who left her, and her struggle to fit in and be like May.

The way the story of Laurel and May's past slowly comes out is through memories and confessions. You're given little tasters of something, which leaves you waiting to find out more. One thing I wasn't so sure about was how Laurel accused Kurt Cobain of being selfish for committing suicide. This is a very controversial and touchy topic, but her accusation really didn't sit well with me. I suppose I'm taking it too seriously, but I know how much something like that can hurt someone. Suicide is not selfish.

The writing style is relatively simple, and definitely reminds me of a teenage-girl's diary. It's especially un-letter-like when Laurel tells each person about themselves... I mean, I get that the book needs to have references included for the readers, but you wouldn't write a letter to someone about their own childhood.

At first, I really wasn't sure about this book. I was really looking forward to it, and the idea of a book made up of letters is really great. It was only around a 3 for me for a while, but I think it managed to work it's way up to 4 stars in the end.

Une simple rédaction demandée par un prof : écrire à un disparu. Laurel a choisi Kurt Cobain, parce que sa grande soeur May l'adorait. Et qu'il est mort jeune, comme May. Si elle ne rend jamais son devoir, très vite, le carnet de Laurel se remplit de lettres à Amy Winehouse, Heath Ledger... A ces confidents inattendus, elle raconte sa première année de lycée, sa famille décomposée, ses nouveaux amis, son premier amour. Mais avant d'écrire à la seule disparue qui lui tient vraiment à coeur, Laurel devra se confronter au secret qui la tourmente, et faire face à ce qui s'est vraiment passé la nuit où May est décédée.

Kasia Wiśniewska

I read this book for the first time when I was 12. This book is the reason why I became a bookworm in the first place. Can’t wait for my daughter to read it. 

Karla 

Nica

The idea of telling a story through letters is good but I don’t know. I just don’t feel this book and I got bored in the middle. Maybe I’ll read it a second time.

shelby

⭐️ 2.5/5 ⭐️ i originally rated this higher (3.5) because i was a tearful mess reading the epilogue- but then i got over myself. this book really wasn’t that good for me, it was so flat the whole way when it could’ve been as emotionally driven as the epilogue. closer to a 3 star than a 2 though i guess

Astrid Kloven

I have so many feeling about this book! I hated the way it was written, but I loved the way I loss was described! Like it is so real

Love letters to the dead a novel

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