Review Detail

You know when you catch a TV show you haven’t ever seen, but it's been playing for years? The kind when you just so happen to stop on a channel and it is intriguing and you like the hero’s face and funny one-liners so you Google it, and Google turns into Netflix and Netflix turns into buying everything on Amazon?

Then, you have 8 seasons to catch up on (Supernatural) or your friend only bought the first season and you have to watch the new ones on ABC (Once Upon A Time) or you watch both seasons on Netflix and have to wait two whole damn years for the next season (Sherlock). But you can’t watch it every second of every day like you wanted to because you have to work or see Catching Fire or attend family Thanksgiving‘s.

And my personal battle—the Netflix plan being DVD only. Cause I live out where wifi is almost nonexistent. (Seriously, think The Last House on the Left without a sexy, uh I mean creepy, Aaron Paul and no lake. Just fields and forests and a Verizon mifi Jetpack that sometimes works because this is apparently a dominant AT&T zone).

THAT is what reading this book was like. I wanted to devout my life to it. But, with an 8 hour work day and the fact that I must have 8 hours of sleep or else I will be a raging bitch in heels, I was cut down to a half hour of reading or less in the 4 days I read the The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender.

It is absolutely strange and beautiful. Don’t take the title for granted.

We meet the title character, Ava, in the first paragraph, but it isn’t her story until about 50% into this book. I mean, in a way, it is her story. It’s an unusual buildup to her current life. She is narrating it, but it is truly a tale of atypical generations.

It is probably not going to be everyone’s cup of tea. I, however; loved it. It was this perfectly strange mix of beautiful, lyrical prose and peculiar, original characters. Combining those two and you obviously have an interesting book. No doubt, I was hooked from the minute a baby was born with wings.

More than anything, this is a story about family. A beautifully woven, heartbreaking tale centered on a family who, in their own way, will always be the strongest love they find.

There isn’t a single thing in this book that was unnecessary. No character went unnoticed or underappreciated. Every little detail fell in sync with the ultimate ending.

And I absolutely loved it. Every single thing. I loved when it made it me giggle or smile at something clever. I loved when it made me cry. And believe me, I cried. Every tiny, perfect sentence that I soaked in and held until I was sure I would never forget it.

And that’s the best thing about The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender. You will never forget it.

I’ve thrown the world “perfect” around a couple of times. I guess that’s it. Perfect. This book is perfect.