Love Letters to the Dead: A Novel

Ava Dellaira

Apr 2014 · Sold by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

About this ebook

“Dear Ava, I loved your book.” —Award-winning actress Emma Watson

Reminiscent of John Green, Kathleen Glasgow, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Ava Dellaira writes about grief, love, and family with a haunting and often heartbreaking beauty in this emotionally stirring, critically acclaimed debut novel.

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.

Praise for Love Letters to the Dead:

“Love Letters to the Dead is more than a stunning debut. It is the announcement of a bold new literary voice.” —Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“A heart-wrenching celebration of love and friendship and family.” —Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Speak and Shout

“Love Letters to the Dead leaves an indelible mark.” —Gayle Forman, author of If I Stay

“Really, just go read it.” —The Guardian

★ “Fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han, get ready.” ―Booklist, starred review

Ratings and reviews

if it's something you can relate to you'll like it, if you're just a critic you will find flaws. Even though the main character is a high school student and I haven't been in high school in 6 years I still enjoyed reading this book. It's definitely something that anyone with a broken home, secrete/painful past, or relationship issues can relate to. I personally liked this book a lot more than I thought I would.

One of my favorite books ever. Wonderful love story and heartbreaking twists about the characters. Definitely not a waste of your time. Really opened my mind to think about life

What a great book! I was surprised at how insightful it was, being written from a high school student's point of view. It was beautiful and very thought provoking. I fell in love with Laurel and all of her friends. Grab some tissues for this one

About the author

Ava Dellaira 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. Love Letters to the Dead is her debut novel. She currently lives in Santa Monica.