Review: Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Pages: 323

Received: Received an e-copy from Raincoast in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: April 1, 2014
Buy From Amazon.ca / Buy From Chapters.ca /
Buy From BookDepository.com

Goodreads Synopsis:

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 did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to 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 begin to discover her own path.

My Review:

I absolutely adored this book, there is so much raw emotion flowing through the pages that you can't help but feel for Laurel. In her writing to all these dead people, Laurel eventually comes to terms with her sister's death, and finally lets out the truth of what happened to May.

Through the letters, readers can really see how Laurel is struggling with the aftermath of what happened to her sister, and she is trying to right a lot of things in her life. Ava Dellaira has a special way with words that you really believe this story and can see someone really letting things out in letters that will never be sent. Laurel writes to people who in a way have affected her life, through their movies and their music she grows and makes new friends.

Laurel is definitely a damaged person and you can see that in the way she writes her letters, not only has she lost her sister but it feels like she has lost her mother as well. No one is the same and they are all grieving in different ways. I really love how Laurel grows and learns about herself over the year, and she learns through trying to be her sister how to be her own person. Laurel learns that she needs to stop holding things in so that she can finally live her life the way she wants to.

This is a book that touched me in so many ways, honestly I want everyone to read this book, just to feel the depth of emotions that Ava has written here. A beautiful book with interesting characters, ones who are flawed and they are trying their best to get through life and hoping for the best. 

Review: The Spymistress by Jennifer Chiaverini

Publisher: Dutton
Pages: 355

Received: Received a copy from the publisher through Netgalley

Release Date: October 1, 2013
Buy From Amazon.ca / Buy From Chapters.ca /
Buy From BookDepostiory.com

Goodreads Synopsis:

Born to slave-holding aristocracy in Richmond, Virginia, and educated by Northern Quakers, Elizabeth Van Lew was a paradox of her time. When her native state seceded in April 1861, Van Lew’s convictions compelled her to defy the new Confederate regime. Pledging her loyalty to the Lincoln White House, her courage would never waver, even as her wartime actions threatened not only her reputation, but also her life.

Van Lew’s skills in gathering military intelligence were unparalleled. She helped to construct the Richmond Underground and orchestrated escapes from the infamous Confederate Libby Prison under the guise of humanitarian aid. Her spy ring’s reach was vast, from clerks in the Confederate War and Navy Departments to the very home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Although Van Lew was inducted posthumously into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame, the astonishing scope of her achievements has never been widely known. In Chiaverini’s riveting tale of high-stakes espionage, a great heroine of the Civil War finally gets her due.

My Review:

Another historical fiction book that definitely caught my attention when I read the synopsis, unlike all these books that usually revolve around WWII, this one takes on the Civil War (which being a Canadian, I never learned as much about it as I could have). What really caught my attention is how this book revolves around a woman who is helping during the war because people believe her to be on the Confederate side.

Elizabeth Van Lew was a very intriguing character, I loved her loyalty to a true cause and the way she fought to preserve her beliefs. This book really gives life to a true hero, seeing what she jeopardizes in order to help the fight to abolish slavery, even getting her mother involved at times. Even though Elizabeth is threatened in so many aspects, she also realizes that she needs to make sure her loved ones are safe, going as far as making sure the rest of the town sees her family as Confederates.

I will say that even though I loved the idea behind the story, I didn't completely love the story itself. I felt that I was confused through some of the story, and found myself having to repeat sections because I lost what was happening. Elizabeth goes through so much, and yet it feels like the story needs more to really capture me. I definitely saw Elizabeth's bravery and how much she cared, but something about her character felt one-dimensional at times. I just couldn't completely connect with the story as a whole.

I really wanted to love this novel about a woman helping change history in a major way, but I needed more to Elizabeth's character to really enjoy this one. It is a great start but I'm a person who likes a little more depth. The story was good and I do recommend checking it out if you are interested in historical fiction that focuses on different times, it just wasn't perfection for me. 

Review: The Good Luck of Right Now by Matthew Quick

Publisher: Harper
Pages: 304

Received: Received a copy from the publisher through Edelweiss

Release Date: February 11, 2014
Buy From Amazon.ca / Buy From Chapters.ca /
Buy From BookDepository.com

Goodreads Synopsis:

Call it fate. Call it synchronicity. Call it an act of God. Call it . . . The Good Luck of Right Now. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Silver Linings Playbook comes an entertaining and inspiring tale that will leave you pondering the rhythms of the universe and marveling at the power of kindness and love.

For thirty-eight years, Bartholomew Neil has lived with his mother. When she gets sick and dies, he has no idea how to be on his own. His redheaded grief counselor, Wendy, says he needs to find his flock and leave the nest. But how does a man whose whole life has been grounded in his mom, Saturday mass, and the library learn how to fly?

Bartholomew thinks he’s found a clue when he discovers a “Free Tibet” letter from Richard Gere hidden in his mother’s underwear drawer. In her final days, mom called him Richard—there must be a cosmic connection. Believing that the actor is meant to help him, Bartholomew awkwardly starts his new life, writing Richard Gere a series of highly intimate letters. Jung and the Dalai Lama, philosophy and faith, alien abduction and cat telepathy, the Catholic Church and the mystery of women are all explored in his soul-baring epistles. But mostly the letters reveal one man’s heartbreakingly earnest attempt to assemble a family of his own.

A struggling priest, a “Girlbrarian,” her feline-loving, foul-mouthed brother, and the spirit of Richard Gere join the quest to help Bartholomew. In a rented Ford Focus, they travel to Canada to see the cat Parliament and find his biological father . . . and discover so much more.

My Review:

Matthew Quick is such a great author, I really believe his stories are influential on readers today. Each of his characters are special and really bring to life a different side of people. Bartholomew Neil is such an adorable character, I loved him and readers can connect with him as he is on a journey of self-discovery.

Bartholomew has spent his life taking care of his mother and after she passes away he needs to find a way to start a new life on his own. He is awkward and doesn't really know how to speak to people. The whole story is told in letters that Bartholomew writes to Richard Gere about his life and the people he meets. Bartholomew feels that he has a connection to Richard Gere because his mother had a love for him. I really enjoyed Bartholomew's voice as he told his story of beginning a new life, and the way he talks with Richard Gere as he believes they have a lot in common.

The secondary characters in this are also very special people, the way they help Bartholomew on his journey is amazing. They help bring him out of his shell and become like family to him. Each character is eccentric in their own way, and as they all come together they help each other through their problems. I love that none of these characters is a perfect person, they have their quirks and they have personalities that put them on the outside of society in some ways. Each of them grew on me, and I think the story would not be the same without any of them.

What was also interesting was the way Quick brings religion into the story, there are so many different religions presented and each character finds solace in a different way. Quick shows the pros to all different views of religion and how each of them differs and in a way he connects them and has them work together to help Bartholomew through his grief.

This really was such a beautiful and heartwarming story, Bartholomew is an amazing character that all readers will root for. It's a book about finding the good in everything (even the disappointments at times), and about finding yourself. Definitely an adorable book that I recommend.