The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

Yes, yes, we all know that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I must admit this was one of the first things that attracted me to this book. The design, the colours, the typography: absolutely gorgeous, wouldn’t you agree?

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 Anyway, let’s leave the visual factor behind for a while and focus on the content. Before picking this book up, I did some research and found out that it had really amazing reviews on Goodreads and Booktube. I was intrigued by the fact that everyone praised it so much, emphasizing the fact that it’s magical and dreamy and it’s different from everything else they had read.

The thing that surprised most people is the fact that a significant part of the novel actually comprises Ava’s family history, rather than focusing on Ava herself, the girl with wings. However, I didn’t find that to be as confusing as other people did. I actually enjoyed reading all about Ava’s ancestry and their journey through life.

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender is mainly a book about love and family relations, and yes, about sorrows (there are some pretty graphic, shocking scenes),  nicely wrapped in a package of magical realism. I must say that, although I had a good time reading this book (I read it quite fast while playing it like a movie in my head), I felt it lacked a certain depth. I loved the quirkiness, the beautiful imagery, the dark fairytale feeling, but it left me wanting something more. I feel like the characters haven’t  made the impact I thought they would, compared to other similar books I have read.

However, it is a book I recommend; if you’d like to read it, you can find it at okian.ro. As I said, it was quite interesting and also very good for a debut novel, so I would definitely read more Leslye Walton in the future. Let me know of you’ve read it or if you’d like to read it soon 🙂

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 “To many, I was myth incarnate, the embodiment of a most superb legend, a fairy tale. Some considered me a monster, a mutation. To my great misfortune, I was once mistaken for an angel. To my mother, I was everything. To my father, nothing at all. To my grandmother, I was a daily reminder of loves long lost. But I knew the truth—deep down, I always did. I was just a girl.” ― Leslye Walton, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

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* Yes, the muffins in the photo above actually have a connection with the book, but you’ll see what I mean if you read it 😀

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