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    Love Letters to the Dead
    Love Letters to the Dead
    Love Letters to the Dead
    Audiobook8 hours

    Love Letters to the Dead

    Written by Ava Dellaira

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    It begins as an assignment for English class: write a letter to a dead person.

    Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to the dead—to people like Janis Joplin, Heath Ledger, Amelia Earhart, and Amy Winehouse—though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating the choppy waters of new friendships, learning to live with her splintering family, falling in love for the first time, and, most important, trying to grieve for May. But how do you mourn for someone you haven’t forgiven?

    It’s not until Laurel has written the truth about what happened to herself that she can finally accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was—lovely and amazing and deeply flawed—can she truly start to discover her own path.

    In a voice that’s as lyrical and as true as a favorite song, Ava Dellaira writes about one girl’s journey through life’s challenges with a haunting and often heartbreaking beauty.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateApr 1, 2014
    ISBN9781480568402
    Love Letters to the Dead
    Author

    Ava Dellaira

    Ava Dellaira is the author of Love Letters to the Dead, which was sold in 24 foreign territories and has been optioned for film. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she was a Truman Capote Fellow. She grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago. She is an associate producer of Stephen Chbosky's feature film adaptation of his bestselling novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower. She currently lives in Santa Monica.

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    Reviews for Love Letters to the Dead

    4/5

    332 ratings33 reviews

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    • 1/5
      Not a fan of all the ADULT guys hooking up with kids
    • 5/5
      I loved this book! It was well written, it had poetic and musical references, and it was about coming of age, love, family, and loss.
    • 5/5
      This book was lyrical, poetic, heart-wrenching and heart-breaking. Every page was filled with quotable lines. The language was so wonderful. The whole story is revealed to us in a series of letters to dead people.Laurel takes her first high school English assignment - to write a letter to a dead person - and uses that to resolve some very difficult issues in her life. She is trying to come to terms with the sudden accidental death of her beloved older sister May. Laurel has always adored and admired her older sister and her sense of loss in incredible. May's loss follows the breakup of her parents' marriage and her mother's move to California. She spends one week with her father who is grieving himself and doesn't seem to know how to talk to Laurel and she spends alternate week's with her mother's older sister who is very religious. Laurel's letters to Kurt Cobain, Judy Garland, Elizabeth Bishop, River Phoenix, Amelia Earhart, and others gives her the opportunity to look at her perceptions of them and apply them to her own life. We see her at a new school tentatively making friends and trying to find out who she is. Her new friends have issues and problems of their own. Hannah and Natalie are best friends who are also attracted to each other but Hannah is also dating at least two guys at a time and sometimes doing things that are not very wise. Laurel's other friends are seniors Tristan and Kristen who are in love but whose lives are bound for different paths after high school with Kristen heading off to college on the East Coast and Tristan going to community college at home and pursuing his music. Laurel also finds, loses, and finds her first boyfriend again. Sky is also a newcomer at the school. Rumor has it that he was kicked out of his previous school for fighting. He is popular without being part of any crowd. He's everyone's friend but no one really knows him. The two of them make a great connection but they break up when Laurel can't open up to him and he feels bad that he can't know her. This book was amazing. I loved savoring the words and I loved watching Laurel begin to heal and become her own person. I can't wait to share this one with my high school readers.
    • 4/5
      I thought this book would be emo because of the title and because Laurel chooses to write to Kurt Cobain. But the first letter is beautiful and mysterious and pulled me in. As Laurel writes to more dead people, she shares her story, but also tidbits about these famous people that I never knew. I loved learning something “real” while reading this story. Warning: you will tear up and/or cry. A lot. It’s beautiful.
    • 5/5
      Loved this so much. Review soon.
    • 3/5
      [3.5]The format of the book was really interesting, and it's one of the things that caught my eye first. It reminded me of The Perks of Being a Wallflower , which is one of my favorite books. I thought I would love this aspect of it, but it was a bit frustrating at times. It did feel as if there were parts that were just slightly altered storylines of TPOBAW, though.I loved some of the characters, while I struggled to fully like others. I thought Laurel's admiration of her sister was sweet, and I did sort of sympathize with her. However, after a while, her personality began to feel a bit repetitive and bland. It was quite obvious her main focus was Sky, which really did get annoying halfway through - if that, even. There were several points throughout the book where I had to remind myself that she was a freshman in high school, not a child. Her narration switched between excited-twelve-year-old-in-love and philosopher. Natalie and Hannah were two of the most interesting characters, and I wish they were a larger part of the general story. They were sweet, and the chemistry between them actually existed. If Ava Dellaira wrote another book to focus solely on these two, I'd absolutely read it in a heartbeat.Sky was... Sky? I just don't really understand the infatuation Laurel had with him. I personally found him to be a total jerk, but even after the horrible things he said and did to her, she was still obsessed with him. As for the chemistry between them, it was pretty much nonexistent. Of course, everyone's had that one crush that was based solely on outer appearance, and honestly, that's what this felt like to me. Laurel found him attractive, and no matter what he did, he was still perfect in her eyes. This was one of the most frustrating parts of this book for me.Laurel's family were a bit hit or miss for me. I adored her dad, because he reminded me so much of my own father (so I guess I may be biased). Her mom frustrated me tremendously. I hated the fact that she questioned Laurel about May's death almost immediately after, and it felt as if she was trying to trick her into admitting it was her fault. Then, she just completely leaves, just to come back about a year later. It seems as if she'll redeem herself and try to be a good mother, and then she asks Laurel about the night again. The fact that Laurel actually thought her mother left because she blamed her for May's death was terrible in my opinion. Aunt Amy was okay, and I respect her for willingly stepping up and taking over as the motherly figure in Laurel's life. The overly-religious personality was a bit annoying (and rather overused in books).As for the grief, it mostly just felt like she was angry that May left her. I'm not saying I don't understand that because I absolutely do. However, that's not the only part of grief; there are so many emotions Laurel should have been feeling along with the anger. I also feel like there could have been more information about May; the majority of what we got was Laurel thinking she was beautiful, brave, and perfect. The only stories we got about her were pretty much retold throughout the entire book - May sneaking in after a night out, vague details about the night she died, and her convincing Laurel they were fairies.As for the ending, I hated it. Did it still make me cry? Yes. I don't understand it, but if there's a broken family that's sort of fixed, it always gets to me. Always.It was a decent book, but I'm not entirely sure I'll ever read it again. Everything just felt vague, dramatic, and repetitive. I did love the formatting of the book even if it was just a little too similar to TPOBAW. I think there could have been a little more depth to both the characters and storyline itself - particularly with Laurel and the entire grief aspect.
    • 4/5
      Laurel is given a class assignment in English: write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain. Instead of handing the assignment in she continues to write letters to the dead; Amelia Earhart, River Phoenix, Janis Joplin, Judy Garland, Heath Ledger, & Amy Winehouse.The letters tell about her life since her parents' divorce, her sister May's death, her new school, new friends, & boyfriend. She also talks to the recipients of their life/death & possible choices, making sense of their suffering and deaths.I have very mixed feelings about this book: Well written, interesting & a compelling read (another all-nighter). The characters were real and flawed but mostly likable. It was sad, but not in that devastating heart-breaking tear-jerking manner, but still, I found myself depressed. In the end, I found it well worth reading
    • 3/5
      I wanted to love this book so much and I thought I would love this book. I was hugely disappointed. I expected the book to be amazing, and maybe that was why it was such a disappointment. I enjoyed the idea of the story, and the flow of the story. But the characters were slightly annoying and sort of 2 dimensional.

      Laurel's character was my favorite character out of the whole novel. I enjoyed her character development, and how she handled what happened to her as a child. I think the author was trying to put too much into one novel, though. The other characters all were going through issues. One of Laurel's best friends, Heather, was a girl struggling with her sexuality and dealing with abuse from her brother. I do know that there are a lot of people who go through these issues, but trying to have all of these issues into one novel (that isn't very long) didn't work out and made it too busy.

      The flow of the story was fine, but the writing style wasn't too impressive. A little too many metaphors and similes for my taste. Also, I wasn't expecting the entire novel to be in journal entry format. I did enjoy the book, but I had too many expectations for it that no matter what it was going to be a disappointment. This book is not a light book by any means, and deals with some sensitive topics. I am looking forward to what else Ava Dellaira writes but I'm not going to have as many expectations.
    • 2/5
      The story overall was good, your typical YA novel about the high schooler dealing with some heavy shit. The thing that was supposed to set it apart from others of its kind, being told via stories to those who have passed away, was the part I felt was weakest. It could have very easily been written via a diary. At times the conversations with the dead and the segue into to the main character's life seemed forced.
    • 4/5
      If you liked "Perks of Being A Wallflower," this book could definitely be labeled as "what-to-read-next" on the bookstore shelf. So much so, that I would be very shocked to learn that the author wasn't a personal fan of "Perks of Being A Wallflower," both novels share so many of the same elements. Whereas, "Perks" is a retro coming-of-age story, "Love Letters to the Dead" follows a teen girl as she writes to dead celebrities to work out her issues with her boyfriend and her sister's suicide.

      I was initially drawn to the book because I thought writing to Kurt Cobain, Judy Garland, etc., was a unique concept. I'm an average Nirvana fan, but I know several obsessed fans. I thought, perhaps, the character would be a huge fan, have OCD, or Asperger's Syndrome. However, the people she writes to were mainly her sister's favorites. Throughout the book it's as though the character is trying to take on her sister's personality. While writing to these dead celebrities, in a way, she's indirectly writing to her sister. She gets mad at them because she's mad at her sister. It's one of the ways she works through her grief.

      Because of the subject matter, it was difficult read at times. It's heartbreaking enough to be taken into the mind of someone who misses their sister and hero. Yet, there was added pain with a back-and-forth immature teen relationship, friends with problems, family trouble, and abuse (emotional and physical). Not for the faint-of-heart or impatient. Probably would be helpful to teens in similar situations.
    • 4/5
      This one took a while to get going. In the beginning, I almost quit reading. However, it did eventually pick up and about halfway through I knew I would finish it. It is a good YA read.
    • 3/5
      I couldn't relate to any of the characters.
    • 5/5
      It started off a little soon, but I pushed on and then boy, was I hooked. Laurel receives a writing assignment on her first day of high school to write a letter to a dead person so she writes to Kurt Cobain. She enjoys it so much that it turns into a journal of sorts and she keeps writing to other dead people (River Pheonix, Janis Joplin, Heath Ledger, Elizabeth Browning, etc.), never turning in her initial assignment. She pours out her fears, frustrations, loneliness, and developing friendships. It's heartbreaking as she laments for her sister (who died tragically young), the divorce of her parents and the fear of being too broken. It is very reminiscent of Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" in that it is a coming of age story that will stick with you long after you finish it. Wonderful, achingly sad, and beautiful. I may have shed a tear or two at the end, a wonderful debut!
    • 3/5
      Love Letters to the Dead for me was okay. I didn’t love it, or hate it. It was just middle of the road for me.

      Laurel is a girl having to deal with death. After she’s given the assignment to write a letter to a dead person she feels comfortable sharing her thoughts. I was glad that she was able to deal with her feelings that way. I didn’t care for all the information they gave about the recipient’s life. Those should have been written in a way that made the reader want to learn more about them.

      I think the thing that got me was that the relationships felt forced, and awkward. I’m glad she found the friends she did, but I didn’t care for her doing things she wasn’t comfortable with to impress them. I also liked the side characters much more. They had more depth, and faced their problems as best they could.

      While I didn’t love this book, I think others would enjoy it. I liked the influential people that Laurel wrote to, and how they made her feel safe.
    • 2/5
      I am having a shocking run of books at the moment and this one just added to the list. The premise was okay but what I didn't like was that near the middle of the book the letters became a bit repetitive. Nor did I like the way the author had to explain the lives of the dead celebrities Laurel wrote to so that the reader knew who they were. Can't see this book appealing to many teens.
    • 4/5
      “I thought she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I wondered if anyone could ever think that about me.”“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,--that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”Laurel has a secret. Only she knows the entire truth of the night her sister, May, fell to her death from an abandoned bridge. When Laurel’s English teacher asks her to write a letter to a dead person as an assignment, it feels cruel—but Laurel cannot stop writing. Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Amelia Earhart, Jim Morrison, and John Keats are just some of the recipients of her epistolary musings.You see, Laurel has a lot to discuss. Her older sister’s death hangs over her like a shroud; Laurel is living but not alive. Her mother has fled to California (from Arizona) and Laurel knows her mother blames her for May’s death. Laurel’s father grapples with his newfound status as a single father. And Laurel herself is falling in love with Sky.Sky presents a kind of salvation to Laurel—she can be her whole person with him, which unfortunately ends up presenting itself as sobbing into the night air. They are each other’s first loves, and the depth of their love will surprise even the most jaded thoughts about young love. When Sky breaks up with Laurel, she relies on her two friends, Hannah and Natalie, to support her through the pain. Hannah and Natalie, though, are working through their own issues, namely their love for each other, Hannah’s abusive older brother, and Natalie’s disenchantment with Hannah’s promiscuity. When I got the end of the book, I felt entirely wrung out—emotionally, this book takes you through the gamut and sparks memories of first loves and the pain that springs from them. Written entirely in epistolary style, the author does a tremendous job of paralleling the dead person’s life with Laurel’s. Be warned, however, that this book contains sexual situations, underage drinking (a LOT; they drink alcohol every opportunity they get), and some language. I would recommend it for 15+ depending on the maturity of the reader.
    • 5/5
      As an English assignment in her new school, Laurel must write a letter to someone who has died. While she does not complete this assignment in the time frame for her class, she does use it to discover herself and examine her life, especially regarding the untimely death of her older sister. This is a wonderful look at what it means to love others and to forgive them for not being perfect
    • 2/5
      Diese und weitere Rezensionen findet ihr auf meinem Blog Anima Libri - Buchseele

      Auf „Love Letters to the Dead“ von Ava Dellaira hatte ich mich so gefreut. Ich hatte so viel Gutes über den Roman gehört und auch wenn ich eigentlich gar kein Fan von Geschichten in Briefform bin, klang das hier wirklich total passend und faszinierend. Und das war es auch – etwa das erste Viertel lang…

      Die Ausgangssituation ist ziemlich vielversprechend, Laurel hat ihre Schwester verloren und als sie im Englischunterricht die Aufgabe bekommt, einen Brief an eine tote Berühmtheit zu schreiben, fängt sie darüber langsam an, die Geschehnisse rund um Mays Tod aufzuarbeiten. Nach und nach schreibt sie Briefe an Kurt Cobain, Amelia Earhart, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Heath Ledger und Co. Dummerweise stellt sich nach den ersten, einleitenden Briefen schnell heraus, dass es im Grunde nur eine (quasi) endlose Wiederholung nach Schema X haben:

      „Liebe/r so und so,

      ich bewundere ich, weil/ich denke, du verstehst mich, weil/ich finde so toll, dass du/… [hier x-beliebigen Ausschnitt aus Wikipedia über die entsprechende Person einfügen]

      Heute in der Schule habe ich das mit dem und dem gegessen.

      Außerdem habe ich Sky angeschaut. Sky, Sky, Sky.

      Dann habe ich meine Freundinnen beim Küssen beobachtet, aber darüber kann ich nicht reden. Und meine älteren Freunde sind so toll. Und sie sind mit Sky befreundet! Und mein Vater ist so traurig und meine Mutter so abwesend und alles wegen May. Aber über May rede ich nicht. Ich stelle einfach nur ihr Leben nach, aber ich rede nicht darüber, wie sie ihres verloren hat.

      Und jetzt habe ich keine Zeit mehr.

      Alles Liebe
      Laurel“

      Und so geht es DIE GANZE ZEIT… Laurel (und dass ich nach 100 Seiten immer noch nicht wusste, wie sie heißt, sagt doch eigentlich schon alles, oder?) klingt wie eine zehnjährige, die ihrem Tagebuch detailliert den Schulalltag schildert und zwischendurch spontan in alles andere als poetische Schwärmereien über ihre große Liebe ausbricht. Und dann sprüht sie plötzlich nur so vor weltbewegenden philosophischen Erkenntnissen, die überhaupt nicht zum Rest der Erzählung passen wollen – Interessant ist meiner Meinung nach definitiv anders.

      Dazu kommt, dass ich Laurels Leben einfach nicht nachvollziehen konnte. Sie war immer die kleine Schwester und nun geht sie auf eine neue Schule und *puff* alle lieben sie, die coolen Kids wollen mit ihr abhängen, ja sogar der tollste Junge der Schule steht auf sie – und warum? Weil sie Mays Kleiderschrank plündert und so zu sein wie ihre Schwester es war. Oh ja, Laurel ist wirklich eine ganz beeindruckende und individuelle, originelle Persönlichkeit… Oder auch nicht :|

      Mir fehlte bei diesem Buch einfach – und ja, vielleicht bin ich ein kaltherziges Ding ;) – das Gefühl. Ich konnte Laurel ihre Trauer um May nicht richtig glauben, ich konnte Sky nicht abkaufen, dass er sich mal eben so unsterblich in dieses unscheinbare Mädel verliebt, eigentlich konnte ich hier niemandem irgendwas abkaufen – am ehesten vielleicht noch die „Romanze“ zwischen Laurels Freundinnen.

      Für mich war „Love Letters to the Dead“ von Ava Dellaira leider ein ziemlicher Reinfall, es wollte einfach kein Funke überspringen, die gesamte Geschichte wirkte flach, die Gefühle waren fake und die Briefe schon nach kurzer Zeit schrecklich repetitiv. Auch wenn ich damit zu einer armen, kleinen Minderheit gehöre: Ich halte „Love Letters tot the Dead“ für ein ziemlich langweiligs und nerviges Stück Zeitverschwendung, dem allerdings eine doch wirklich gute Idee zugrunde liegt (die in der zweiten Hälfte übrigens deutlich besser zur Geltung kommt, aber da war mir schon die Lust vergangen, trotzdem gibt es dafür den zweiten Stern).
    • 3/5
      See full review at The Indigo Quill

      Love Letters to the Dead is the story of Laurel, learning to deal after her sister's death and getting mixed in all sorts of teenagery shenanigans. I've had my eye on this book for a while, and finally decided to bring it home from the library. The premise sounded like it could be hit or miss...but it ended up landing somewhere in the middle. If you're looking for a realistic young adult fiction, you will probably love it or you'll hate it.

      The book itself is written in a compilation of Laurel's letters. What I liked was traveling through the process of Laurel's grief and the realistic family dysfunction to go with it. I liked the tragedy, the messy romance, the dramatic friendships, and the almost hopeful tone near the end. The events that moved the plot were entertaining, and I found myself sympathizing with Laurel. I liked how the author left the reader to ask questions throughout the book: How did Sky know May? How did May die? Was it suicide or an accident? What happened to Laurel that made her feel so guilty? All of these elements allowed me to enjoy a great deal of this book.

      However, there were a lot of things I thought were really weak. Like the fact that Laurel was in High School, yet she talked like she was 10...but then would suddenly be talking about every single detail of everything around her; the smells, texture, lighting, feeling, memories, etc. etc. etc. It was inconsistent and way too fluffy. I ended up skipping over some of the paragraphs dripping with detail because I just didn't really care. The picture was being overpainted.

      I'm not sure if it's because my copy of the book may have had some misprints, but I felt like she repeated the same Judy Garland letter at least 3 times. Also, if she turned all those letters into her teacher she probably would have gotten herself and her classmates in a lot of trouble. And her teacher would have seen what she wrote about her, too. So giving ALL of the letters to her is a fairly huge inconsistency that kind of shattered the enchantment of the book.

      Sadly, this book fell short of my expectations. The conflicting impression it has left makes it difficult to rate, so I've decided to keep it right in the middle. I liked it, I'm glad I read it, but it could definitely be better. I would recommend reading the book and deciding for yourself whether you like it or not.
    • 4/5
      I think this is the type of book that you have to relate to one of the characters to fully love. Just by seeing the mixed reviews of this book it seems like the people who loved this book felt like they related to the characters. The first thing I want to mention is that there are some serious triggers in this book. Suicide, rape, abuse, drinking. So this is a pretty emotionally difficult book to read.One thing I loved about this book is the way it was written. I have read some complainants about the style but it does fit with the fact that a high school freshman is just writing letters. I think that the style of the writing fit who was supposed to be writing the letters. This book is a depressing and was difficult for me to get through (mainly because some personal issues I am currently dealing with.) because this isn't supposed to be a happy story. This isn't a happy-go-lucky book. It's not a feel-good story. It's a story about healing and about accepting yourself, and learning to heal yourself.I really enjoyed reading about Laurel and getting to see how she coped with everything. I think this was a beautiful story.
    • 3/5
      This is a good book, but it is also very frustrating to read, because you just want to know more about the story, but she doesn't tell you. This book deals with some deep stuff, so if it might trigger something, I wouldn't recommend reading it. If not, it is a good read.
    • 5/5
      Laurel’s English teacher assigns it---write a letter to a dead person---but Laurel takes the assignment and runs with it. For Laurel is a girl with troubles: her sister is dead, her mother has taken off, and her father won’t talk much. It’s the letter writing assignment that helps Laurel come to terms with her sister’s death and helps bring her family back to life.
    • 4/5
      I did like this book but I didn't think it was absolutely extraordinary. The concept of writing letters to dead celebrities sounded so interesting and that's what initially drew me in. I think in some ways it worked well but in others it didn't. I did like how we gradually found out more and more about Laurel's experiences and more about her sister's death but found a lot of the inbetween pretty boring and hard to get through. I think it's gotten a lot of hype for the concept and overall was just a decent book.
    • 3/5
      It's Laurel's first year in high school and the first school year without her sister, May, or her mother, who moved to California after May's death. She transferred to a different school so that she wouldn't be pitied and known as the girl whose sister died. Her English teacher assigns a project to write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because he is May's favorite singer and also because she relates to his emotional lyrics.This first letter leads her to write to other dead celebrities, such as Amy Winehouse, Heath Ledger, Judy Garland, and John Keats. Laurel relates her lonely existence, her first friends at her new school, their antics, and her first boyfriend. Unfortunately, her refusal to talk about her issues and her penchant for doing dangerous things drives the people she loves away. Can she work through her issues before she permanently loses her friends or causes sever injury to herself?Love Letters to the Dead is a very emotional book. Laurel goes through a lot in a very short amount of time and uses her letters to a variety of famous dead people to cope with it. She relates to their lives, their feelings, and their tragedies. I'm surprised that she researched more than what is common knowledge about their lives so that I learned something about them as well. Her letters also describe her new life and how she tries to transform herself. High school has much different expectations than middle school and she wears her sister's cool clothes and changes her habits to fit in. I generally liked Laurel and I felt for her. She's trying to work through her grief and the deep pain she feels while making mistakes along the way. Ava Dellaira employs beautiful, poetic prose that made me relate to Laurel and also made the book easy and enjoyable to read. Unfortunately, I had quite a few issues with the book. Dellaira's lyrical prose isn't consistent. At times, Laurel writes in short and very simple declarative sentences that are a stark contrast to the lyrical prose that ventures into deep territory. It felt a bit disjointed and weird to me. She befriends Hannah and Natalie who basically peer pressure her into drinking, ditching classes, going to college parties, etc. She doesn't seem to want to actually do these things, but only wants to appear cool to her friends. This is never seen as negative, is never really addressed, and left a bad taste in my mouth. These are also very similar to May's destructive behaviors, but they magically didn't negatively effect Laurel's grades or behavior during school or at home even though she was getting drunk a lot, partying late, etc. I also didn't like her relationship with Sky. The chemistry was forced and the double standards were glaring. Sky expected Laurel to tell him everything while he kept up this mysterious guy facade and kept things from her late into their relationship. It was a bit awkward and the double standard bothered me. I was also shocked that her mother just decided to move out of state and leave her grieving family very soon after such a traumatic event. I felt it was incredibly selfish and pretty much unforgivable, especially when she calls weekly and expects Laurel to be ok with it.Love Letters to the Dead is a mostly beautifully written novel. I enjoyed Laurel, her journey, and how she related to these dead people. Her story pulled at my heartstrings and took me on an emotional rollercoaster. The book addresses these mostly tragic figures lives well and informs the reader about their lives and their feelings. I did have some significant issues with parts of the story, but I overall enjoyed it.
    • 4/5
      This was an excellent book and what would have made it better for me is if I wasn't reading it while someone was sitting across from me. I couldn't give a good cry like I wanted to at the end.
    • 2/5
      I have seen this book around the world wide web for a bit now. Like others I was intrigued with the concept of this book. So I had to read this book for myself. Well I have to agree with some of the other fellow readers. That is that while this book has a cool concept it was not as cool. Laurel did sound like she was more like 10 years old than the high school student she was. Secondly what was with the whole romance angle with Sky? Because it was not working for me at all. I felt no chemistry between Laurel and Sky. It was more like a school girl crush, which grew old quickly. Sky is awesome, Sky is wonderful, Sky is a God, I am over the moon for Sky. This really does sound more like a crush than love. Lastly even with all of the diary entries to all of the famous dead people, I never really felt like I knew who May was as a person. There was no connection that binded me to Laurel or anyone else in the book.
    • 5/5
      ***copy provided via netgalley in exchange for a honest review***
      This is the first book I have read written in letter form. I have to admit I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed it. For a English assignment Laurel is told to write a letter to someone famous and dead. This assignment changes everything for her. She continues to write to different famous people almost like it's her diary. I thought that I wouldn't find a story through the letters but I did. She pours her heart out in these letters. dealing with her grief from losing her sister, to growing up, finding out who she is and falling in love,having her heart break. The thing I loved the most is how through her letters I could connect with her. I think this is one of the most realistic story I have ever read for the most part. I loved this book.
    • 4/5
      I finally picked up the book that everyone is raving about. And yes, it is good.Plot: This story is told through letters written to dead people. I love the way these letters reveal a small part Laurel life’s. She writes to each person differently, capturing the reader with great imagination. The way she wrote her feelings, the way she questions actions, helps the reader become more in-tune with Laurel.Friendship/Loss: Laurel goes through a lot. With each letter Laurel becomes better and learns to deal. Each letter is significant to the person she is writing to. For me, it felt like Laurel’s connection to each dead person makes it real. Towards the end, I adored Laurel and the way she dealt with grief.Ending: I think this story deals with grief that any teen can connect to. It has music and it has soul. It touches the reader right in the heart.Love Letters To The Dead is an effective tale of grief and lost. The elegant use of letters, steals the reader away. Love Letters To The Dead is awesome.
    • 4/5
      High school freshman Laurel is given an English assignment in which she is to write a letter to a famous deceased person. She chooses Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain because he was her sister May's favorite singer. Laurel does not turn in that assignment but rather continues writing not only to Kurt but to other famous people who died tragically, such as River Phoenix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, and Amy Winehouse. Laurel writes to them about the struggles of starting high school in the wake of May's tragic death six months before. While this book can be difficult to read through due to its depressing nature, Laurel, who has difficulty opening up to people (which affects the relationships around her), does find writing the letters a catharsis as she sorts through the events leading up to her sister's death.
    • 4/5
      I really wasn't sure about this one. I mean, I'll read almost any YA that sounds interesting and has a pretty cover. I was drawn in even more by the fact that I was seeing this one everywhere; I figured it had potential. But I still wasn't sure, for no reason that I can put my finger on. But this book was stunning. It's a coming of age tale that is destined to be a classic in the vein of The Perks of Being a Wallflower -- which, by the way, is the book I'll be giving out on World Book Night. (My first year as a giver! I'm a little nervous.)In each letter, Laurel writes a bit about the celebrity's life, struggles, etc. and why she can relate to them. That might make this book sound like it deals solely with trivial, superficial things, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Laurel is dealing with more than meets the eye, more even than the recent loss of her sister. I can't say more without giving too much away.I know I mentioned Perks earlier, but I'm bringing it up again. You see, Laurel is sort of a long-lost sister to Charlie: they both make new friends, deal with the loss of a beloved family member, experience a musical education, and write letter after letter as they strive to figure out who they are. And what does Laurel learn in the end?...maybe what growing up really means is knowing that you don't have to just be a character, going whichever way the story says. It's knowing that you could be the author instead.Laurel is simultaneously tentative and wise beyond her years. I wanted to hug her and tell her everything would be okay. And when the final letter was written to May, as I knew it would be, man, did the tears flow!All in all: Worth reading if you like coming of age stories and don't mind a bit of sadness. The cover is perfect for a book that feels like a beautiful sunset: breathtaking and a little sad.