Compulsively read. Enjoyed some aspects, thought others were very similar to Perks. Did seen I consistent and some "letters" worked better than others... I buy sounding immature and fragile if we're supposed to be reading a journal. Hard to judge scenes when you get everything through the journal filter. You have to parse the embellishment or warpy modification added by Laurel and the fact that she's writing a private thing. The ending felt a little too Hollywood for me.

3.5 stars
really touching <33

This book is beautiful and sad, painful and brave, uncomfortable and amazing. I had to stop reading so many times due to my tears obscuring the words and I'd sit, clutching the book to my chest waiting for the sorrow to pass.

It starts as a school assignment, write a letter to a dead person, but becomes so much more. Laurel is hurting, she's lost her older sister May, her family has fallen apart and she feels like she's disintegrating too. Nothing makes sense anymore so Laurel turns to the page and writes her pain down on paper. Addressing each letter to a celebrity who died tragically, she tries to explain to them and to herself what is happening in her life, and why she is feeling so lost and guilty.

I loved all the characters,
Laurel isn't perfect, she's not supposed to be, because none of us are. But her childish belief that her sister was, despite knowing deep down in her heart that it isn't true, makes her set herself impossible standards, dooming herself to constant failure.
May is a damaged, broken little girl who grows up too fast. She feels the responsibility of her family's happiness lies completely on her shoulders and that weight proves to much to bear.
Sky is cute, uninterested in popularity, smart, caring and kind. He has a deepness and maturity that belies his age but he's not flawless, he's human.
Hannah makes me cry so much. She's beautiful, but so broken. Life hasn't been kind to her, and she's deals with things the best she can. Unfortunately her need to feel loved pushes her into the wrong arms time and time again.
Natalie is honest, kind and strong. She's a wonderful friend and her love for Hannah is for me, the most beautiful story in the book.
Every character, is there for a reason, they are the pieces of the puzzle that is Laurel's story.

Thank you Ava Dellaira for this beautifully written book, for the honesty and for not holding back with the reality of how harsh life can sometimes be. But thank you also for the poetry, and for the love and friendship and the sparks of light that remind us why we're all still here.

She gets it.

Normally I don't do reviews of books, and maybe I should start... So I decided to review this particular book. I noticed a lot of reviews before from Goodreads and Amazon where people have really tried to bury this book as rubbish... I have to say as a personal opinion I disagree. I really did enjoy reading this book because it does present a real scenario of what a girl who has just lost someone, has to deal with growing up without the only true person she looked up to. She is between homes, has been placed in a new school with no friends and has to deal with this horrible death all at the same time. Yes it is a very depressing book, but it does give you perspective that not everything in life has a happy ending or things will not always go your way. I do agree that the author was trying to sound like a young girl, that she kind of did it too young for who was writing the letters, if that makes sense. This book is meant to be read my young adults and sometimes we as adults when we read these forget that. There are things in this book that I could completely relate too (even though I am an adult) or could relate to if I was a young adult. I gave it 4 stars because of what I had mentioned before of the author trying to sound too young, but other than that I really enjoyed this book. I would truly recommend it.

Love the characters, but not the story.

Je ne m'attendais pas à grand chose en commençant ce livre, j'en avais entendu du bien, mais sans plus, cependant la couverture était belle, la résumé assez tentant, et je me suis dis pourquoi pas.
Dès le début, j'ai été prise par la plume de l'auteur, qui est tout simplement divine, elle a une façon d'écrire, une façon de prendre la vie des personnes à qui Laurel écrivait des lettres pour l'ajouter à son histoire, pour faire en sorte de nous en faire tirer des leçons, et c'est en partie ce que j'ai adoré dans ce livre, le système épistolaire est très bien exploité, ce ne sont pas des simples lettres, de sont des histoires dédiées à des morts.
C'est bien pour la forme du livre que j'ai été aussi prise dans l'histoire, soyons honnêtes, il ne se passe pas grand chose, tout est assez plat, assez redondants, la pseudo intrigue (sur comme May est morte exactement) ne m'a pas du tout passionnée, mais cette plume, je ne pouvais pas y résister, tout simplement !
J'ai assez apprécié Laurel, sans pour autant m'attacher à elle (je n'ai pas compris bon nombre de ses réactions que j'ai trouvé immatures, inexpliquées, étranges) mais c'est un personne qui évolue tout au long du livre et que j'ai quand même aimé.
J'ai également aimé Hannah et Natalie, leur histoire qui est assez bien abordé, tout en pudeur.

Enfin, ce que j'aime dans ce livre ce sont les thèmes assez difficile abordés par l'auteur de façon juste et encore une fois, avec pudeur, que ce soit le deuil, la violence, l'homosexualité et j'en passe tout est très bien articuler, tout est très bien fait.
A lire !

No