A BOOK REVIEW

Title: Love Letters to the Dead

Author: Ava Dellaira
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Book Type: Fiction

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira is an extraordinary book about a freshman named
Laurel. Written in the form of letters which begins with an assignment for English class.
Laurel, the narrator, is just starting at a new school after her sister May’s tragic and
mysterious death the previous year. On her first day of class she is told to write a letter to a
dead person. Laurel writes her letter to Kurt Cobain, May’s favorite musician. Instead of
turning the assignment in, she continues writing letters to numerous different dead people
including Heath Ledger, Amelia Earhart, Amy Winehouse, and many more. In these letters
Laurel writes about starting high school, the new friendships she makes, her first love, and
her family and how they are each dealing with May’s death. Laurel is the only person who
truly knows what happened and she’s not telling anyone. She is trying to forgive May for
something that happened just before she died while also coping with the belief that her
sister’s death may have been her fault.

Dellaira’s novel was beautifully written, it has a well-structured plot, and almost lyrical at
times and the characterization seems real at times. Reading through the narration of Laurel
made me realized a lot of things which are simple yet a thought should be given to them.
Death, though a five letter word, can affect a surrounding in a greater aspect and we all
know that. The consequences are hard, difficult and can be problematic, deciphering in her
own words, “The art of losing isn’t hard to master”, but life must go on. And that’s what
Laurel do. She goes on to live with the truth. There is a very nice line about truth in the
book. It goes like this: “Truth is beautiful, no matter what that truth is. Even if it’s scary or
bad. It is beauty simply because it’s true. And truth is bright. Truth makes you more you”. 

Laurel was a great protagonist. Her relationship with her Dad was probably my favorite in
the book. Their family has been broken, first by the death of her sister, and then by the
abandonment of her Mother. Laurel and her Dad are left trying to put the pieces back
together while trying to grieve May’s death at the same time. The other characters and
relationships in this book were also great. Sky was my favorite kind of romantic lead. The
mysterious bad boy who’s actually thoughtful and kind (but still mysterious) once you get to
know him. Hannah and Natalie were notable secondary characters and their story was a
very interesting one as well. I loved the flashbacks of May and Laurel’s relationship and
Laurel’s ultimate reconciliation with her guilt and anger toward her sister was both poignant
and satisfying.

Overall I really enjoyed Love Letters to the Dead. The only fare warning I give is that it
contains a lot of serious subjects that could be triggering.