I remember this book being way better than what it actually is and now I regret re-reading it. I mean, I thought Laurel was like 12yrs old when she's supposed to be in HS??? AND I THOUGHT THE SAME THE FIRST TIME I READ IT. Overall, a pretty "meh" book.

Не знам какво да напиша, за да не бъда обвинена в пристрастност. Но както би казал Ричард Брансън, майната му, аз съм си пристрастна.
"Писма до мъртвите с любов" е много хубав тийн роман, който "става и за възрастни". Необичайна е формата - епистоларна, толкова нетипична за днешните тинейджъри. Отбелязвайки, че Лоръл така и не изпраща писмата си (няма и как, някакси не може да ги изпрати до Кобейн на небето, нали?) всъщност те се превръщат в дневник.

Хареса ми, че не е захаросана, че към смъртта и загубата е подходено сериозно и че проблемите на децата са поднесени без излишен драматизъм и жалби от типа на "какво се случи с младото поколение"!!!

В една своя лекция Джон Грийн говори за смъртта в тийн книгите и казва, че те трябва да са "честни, без да са безнадеждни".

"Писма до мъртвите с любов" е честна - в нея има яд, болка, омерзение и дълбока, дълбока мъка, която изглежда като безнадеждност. Но понеже винаги е най-тъмно преди разсъмване, човек трябва да събере сили и да изчака утрото. И да не забравя да дръпне пердетата и да отвори щорите, за да пусне светлината.

Към книгата има много приятен за слушане плейлист:
http://bit.ly/PismaPlaylist

I freaking loved this book!! So so good I can't wait for more by this amazing author.

Full review to come :)

When I started reading this book, I thought it was really good. I love the descriptions, I loved the writing and I thought that the idea was really great and interesting. But as the plot progressed, I found the writing and descriptions to be tiring and repetitive. Laurel started pissing me off a little bit more with each letter I read, and at the end it was quite of a struggle for me to even finish the book.

There were good parts in this book, beautiful even, but they were often pushed into the background whenever Laurel started writing about Sky. How pretty and handsome and lovely he was, and how she felt things for him that she never felt before.

Spoiler

And then they broke up, and that was the only think she could write about. How painful it was and how much she wanted him back and how sorry she was. I was truly hoping he'd realize she was really clingy and keep his distance, but sadly it didn't happen.

Some of my favorite quotes from the book:

From a letter to Kurt Cobain :

"You sang the fear, and the anger and all of the feelings that people are afraid to admit to. Even me. But I know you didn't want to be an idol. You just wanted to be yourself. You just wanted us to hear the music."


From a letter to River Phoenix:

"Do you think that everyone gets to be a star like that? Do you think that everyone gets to be seen? Gets to be loved? Gets to glow? They don't. They don't get to do it like you did.


And then there was this description at the end that sort of made me go like wtf, because it didn't even make sense. She wrote that her mother smelled like "falling to sleep". What does that even mean? Since when falling asleep has a distinct smell?

This book is absolutely beautiful! It's so unique I can't even express it in words. It's just an all around amazing book. If you don't read anything at all this summer, read this book! One of the best books I've read this summer.

Lo amé, está tan lleno de emociones.

I definitely agree with Ericka on this one! I had read some not so great reviews of this one before I started, and I don't always have the best track record with loving contemporary novels, anyway, so I was pleasantly surprised whenever I started to get into the story.

At first, I was afraid this book was going to be a case of "loved the writing, hated the characters". Dellaria has a fantastic, lyrical, honest way of writing from Laurel's POV, but I found myself frustrated early on with all of the characters and their behavior. As the book goes on, though, they all get more depth and you start to understand their motivations and actions more. It is a bit of a long payoff to get the backstory for the characters, but I think if you hang in there, it's worth it.

The real star of this book is Dellaria's writing style, however. Laurel has gone through some incredibly traumatic events, some of which she can barely even admit to herself. The way that Laurel's depression comes across on the page feels so very real. I'm in awe of how well this was shown, through her thoughts and actions, that it really made the book for me. It's hard sometimes, as a detached reader (especially one who is years removed from being a high school freshman), to always sympathize with Laurel and her decisions, but it makes so much more sense when you consider all that she and her family have been through, and the lack of support/structure she's getting from the adults in her life. My heart really went out to her, the more we saw what her life was like, and I'm glad to say that by the end, things are getting better (even if the last chapter or so made me almost cry on the train).

As Ericka mentioned, there are some adult themes, including some sublplots regarding sexual assault, so proceed with some caution. I think everything is very well handled in the book and that mature readers will be fine with it.

3.5

I like it, but it was really similar to The Perks of Being Wallflower. Except this story has a girl and Chbosky's book has a boy as protagonist. They have similar stories as they deal with grief. Some events happened in both books. It was a teenager drama, and you can't escaped to drugs, sex and rock'n roll.

I thought the letters to the Dead original and I learned a lot about the famous people mentioned. I could related with Laurel problems and issues, so I like this book, even isn't an original story.