The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
Magical realism, lyrical prose, and the pain and passion of human love haunt this hypnotic generational saga. 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.
A Note from Me: This is a really hard book to describe. Here's a bit more from my review on Goodreads that helps to explain further.
"In re-reading the summary after reading the book, I realized that it's actually meant to be vague. Without reading the book, however, it comes across as entirely about Ava. In actuality, the first part is about Ava's grandmother, Emilienne, who lives in France and then Manhattan, marries solely to leave Manhattan, and is not good at showing affection except through her pastries; then it's about her mother, Vivianne, who loved endlessly until she had nothing left of herself and kept her children safe in their house until they were 16. And really, it's about coming-of-age, how each of these women finds their true selves, and how people feel and express love differently. Ava is the catalyst for this because her true self is a hugely symbolic physical manifestation outside of her body, which I think is why she becomes the focus, but it's really about each of them." |
Morris Award Nominee 2015
YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults 2015 "A unique book , highly recommended for readers looking for something a step away from ordinary." - School Library Journal
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Read-A-Likes |
"It's a story that adults and teenagers can appreciate equally, one that's less about love than about the way love can be thwarted and denied." - Publishers Weekly
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