The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

Review:

Title: The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

Author: Lesyle Walton

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publication Date: March 25th, 2014

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

Genre: YA; Fantasy; Magical Realism; Romance; Historical Fiction

Blurb:

Foolish love appears to be the Roux family birthright, an ominous forecast for its most recent progeny, Ava Lavender. Ava—in all other ways a normal girl—is born with the wings of a bird.

In a quest to understand her peculiar disposition and a growing desire to fit in with her peers, sixteen-year old Ava ventures into the wider world, ill-prepared for what she might discover and naïve to the twisted motives of others. Others like the pious Nathaniel Sorrows, who mistakes Ava for an angel and whose obsession with her grows until the night of the Summer Solstice celebration.

That night, the skies open up, rain and feathers fill the air, and Ava’s quest and her family’s saga build to a devastating crescendo.

Thoughts: 

I picked this book up at my local library because I was immediately drawn to the cover.  Without reading the blurb, I checked it out, brought it home, and it has sat on my desk ever since.  After a short reading rut I picked it up and began reading.  I was immediately drawn to the storytelling prose of Leslye, it was enticing and made me feel as if my grandmother was in the room, going on about her life.

The book indeed was a story.  It wasn’t a plotted book with a set climax and resolution.  It was a story, in the most basic sense of the word, told about a family, with three women, and their lives.

I adored this book.  Every aspect, every character, every nit picky detail I ate up.  I was anxious in class, waiting for the minutes to tick my so that I could just read my book as I walked down the hall.  The night that I finished it I lied up in bed, feverishly turning pages to finally get my conclusion.

This was the most fabulous book that I’ve read in a long time.  I was impressed by Leslye’s unique style, topic of choice, and execution.  I recommend this to anyone who enjoys magical realism, who enjoys a little something different, or fans of historical fiction/romance.  This was an amazing read.

 Dust Jacket Ramblings:

As I stated earlier, I picked this book up because of it’s cover.  AND I LOVE THIS COVER! So, point stated, this is an A+ job.