The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
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4.4 • 102 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A 2015 William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist.
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 naive 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. First-time author Leslye Walton has constructed a layered and unforgettable mythology of what it means to be born with hearts that are tragically, exquisitely human.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Walton debuts with an entrancing and sumptuously written multigenerational novel wrapped in the language of fable, magical realism, and local legend. Ostensibly about a 16-year-old born with wings, the novel is also a rich retelling of Ava Lavender's family history, including her stalwart grandmother Emilienne's journey from adolescence in rural France and 1920s Manhattan to a hardscrabble life as a widowed baker in Seattle; and Ava's mother Viviane's unrequited obsession with a childhood love and the rearing of her children. Halfway in, Ava's story moves front and center, as she longs to leave the safety of her home, sneaks out with her friend Cardigan, and begins to fall for Cardigan's brother, Rowe. Flirting with fairytalelike occurrences throughout Viviane has a supernatural sense of smell, one of Emilienne's siblings transforms into a bird, ghosts are everywhere Walton's novel builds to a brutal but triumphant conclusion. 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. Or, as Walton puts it, "the scars love's victims carry." Ages 14 up.
Customer Reviews
Incredibly emotional and captivating
I've read this book twice now and fell like I absorbed so much even the second time through. The story is beautiful and heartbreaking. You won't soon forget this book.
This book is good.
The book is good. I enjoyed it. Totally better than the other YA books you probably are reading. And they all live happily ever spoilers.
A stunning debut
The strange and beautiful sorrows of Ava lavender is a whimsical generation love story with beautiful writing. It's intriguing and had me rooting for the characters and crying for them at the same time. I would recommend this book for anybody who likes great writing and beautiful stories.