In a nutshell
After losing her older sister May, Laurel transfers to another high school so that nobody knows her story. She's asked to write a letter to a dead person as an assignment for her English class, for which she chooses Kurt Cobain as it's someone she and her sister both loved. She never turns her letter in, though, but soon enough she's got a notebook full of them. This amazing novel is made up of little letters to the dead people that are listening to Laurel's story: from her first love -and heartbreak- and the struggles that come with being a teenager to her messed up family and how the person she looked up to the most may not have been living the perfect life she thought she was.
Thoughts (5/5*)
Touching. Brilliant. Wonderful. A "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" kind of
wonderful, which I loved as a freshman myself at university. If you're a
Young Adult reader you will know how frustrating it is to come across a good
story with frustrating, childish characters as protagonists. I think
it's so easy to cross that line when you're writing from the perspective
of a teenager when you're no longer one yourself, but our
protagonist, Laurel, is so smart and so interesting. She's carrying the
weight of the world on her shoulders, dealing with her sister's death, a
messed up family and her own thoughts and memories while living life as
a young teen who's just starting high school and all that comes with
that, which is not easy to begin with.
The main topic, dealing with grief, is a tricky one. I recently read a book with very similar starting points (little sister trying to be like her passed older sister) and it failed completely at making me feel sorry or sad or even understanding the protagonist's actions. It's the complete opposite with Love Letters. In the end I couldn't dislike any of the characters even if, I admit, I kind of wanted to. I truly loved it - and it made me tear up on a crowded bus!
The main topic, dealing with grief, is a tricky one. I recently read a book with very similar starting points (little sister trying to be like her passed older sister) and it failed completely at making me feel sorry or sad or even understanding the protagonist's actions. It's the complete opposite with Love Letters. In the end I couldn't dislike any of the characters even if, I admit, I kind of wanted to. I truly loved it - and it made me tear up on a crowded bus!
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Tania x
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