Love Letters to the Dead  (English, Paperback, Dellaira Ava)

Love Letters to the Dead by debut novelist Ava Dellaira is the touching story of Laurel and her experiences of writing letters to the deceased.

Summary of the Book

Laurel is starting high school and she does not know anyone there. She did not go to the same school as everyone else in her 8th grade because she didn’t want to attend the same school as her sister, May. The book starts off with Laurel lamenting the loss of her sister. She feels guilty and holds herself responsible for her sister sister’s tragic death. When her English teacher at school gives them an assignment which asks them to write a letter to a dead person, Laurel chooses to write a letter to Kurt Cobain, her sister’s favorite artist and also because he died young like May. Soon Laurel finds herself writing to lots of dead people including Janis Joplin, Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, and Amelia Earhart. Laurel shares all her feelings and perceptions with these people and tells them what it feels like to be going to a new high school, meeting new friends, and how her family had shattered since May died. But confiding in dead people through letters will not help Laurel come to terms with reality. Will Laurel be able to face the bitter truth of her beloved sister’s death?

About Ava Dellaira

Ava Dellaira is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where she was a Truman Capote Fellow. She was born and brought up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and completed her undergraduate course from the University of Chicago. Love Letters to the Dead is her debut novel. Ava is currently based out of Santa Monica, where she is working on her second book.