The Careful Undressing of Love

Corey Ann Haydu

Jan 2017 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

The girls of Devonairre Street have always been told they’re cursed. Any boy they love is certain to die too soon. But this is Brooklyn in 2008, and the curse is less a terror and more a lifestyle accessory—something funky and quaint that makes the girls from the shortest street in Brooklyn special. They wear their hair long and keys around their necks. People give them a second look and whisper “Devonairre” to their friends. But it’s not real. It won’t affect their futures.
 
Then Jack—their Jack, the one boy everyone loved—dies suddenly and violently. And now the curse seems not only real, but like the only thing that matters. All their bright futures have suddenly gone dark.
 
The Careful Undressing of Love is a disturbing and sensual story of the power of youth and the boundless mysteries of love set against the backdrop of Haydu’s brilliantly reimagined New York City.

Ratings and reviews

The Careful Undressing of Love is a mystical book, filled with love and the gut wrenching pain it brings, with superstition and curses, with death and family all set on the shortest street in New York. Devonairre Street isn’t a normal street with standard brownstones and people traversing the sidewalks. It was once where people flocked to find love; where people flocked to find love that they thought the world owed to them. And because of it, any girl who lives on Devonairre Street today, will cause the death of the boy they love. Lorna, Delilah, Isla and Charlotte are the Devonairre Street Girls. Apart, they’re just your regular pretty girls but together, they’re something else. They’re mystical and magical; they have long hair and keys around their necks. People stare as they walk by, and to them, the Curse is all a game. Until the boy Delilah loves dies in a freak accident, and the lives of the girls on Devonairre Street change forever. I didn’t know what I was expecting going in, but The Careful Undressing of Love sounded SO SO UNIQUE that I knew I had to read it anyway. THINGS I LOVED: 1. THE TRADITIONS: Devonairre Street has so many of these quirky traditions (is it okay to call in that?) like keys around the neck, Shared Birthdays, lemons for grief and honey cake just to name a few. It really tied in the whole element that people REALLY BELIEVED that a Curse existed, and it made the book a lot more believable in its mysticism. 2. THE GRIEF: Whatever else I say about this book, I could feel the sadness and heartbreak wafting off the page. It was such a raw thing, so fragile and real and moving that I felt myself getting sucked and FEELING EVERYTHING in every time I read a few pages. Corey Ann’s writing was on point, making you feel it all. 3. THE CURSE – REAL OR NOT? Normally, I would never believe that a Curse that kills the person you love existed but HOLY WOW THIS BOOK MADE ME QUESTION IT ALL. Don’t get me wrong, I still wanted to shake Angelika and Delilah and the other older ladies of Devonairre Street, but IT MADE ME QUESTION EVERYTHING. 4. THE MEDIA FRENZY: I actually liked the media frenzy that occurred in the latter half of the book, when the article about the mysterious Devonairre Girls went viral. It gave a mystical and magical book an air of madness and utter loss of control and I REALLY REALLY LOVED IT0 . I don’t think I’ve properly captured the magic that is The Careful Undressing Of Love, but I could not tell you how much you need to experience the journey that is this book. A masterful, mystical tale about A Street, Four Girls and the love that encompasses all of us. Highly recommended!

About the author

Corey Ann Haydu is the critically acclaimed author of several novels for young readers novels, including OCD Love Story, which earned her a Publishers Weekly Flying Start. Her books have been Junior Library Guild, Indie Next, and BCCB Blue Ribbon selections. Corey lives in Brooklyn with her dog, her fiancé, and a wide selection of cheese.
www.coreyannhaydu.com