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The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I honestly don't know how to express my feelings for this book. It is exactly like its title-strange and beautiful. And it is also very difficult to describe such book, because whatever I say will not make sense until you experience it book by yourself.

As the title suggests, this book tells about the beautiful yet strange life of Ava Lavender, but it's not only that, in fact almost first half of the book is about her ancestors and how they have been know for strange things happening in their family. I was surprised by how natural the story felt, and I am not talking about the magical part of the story (although it was convincing, I still have my doubts). I was surprised by the characters; each one of them and their ability to love, and to not only love, but to hurt too.

The romance in this book is very beautiful and also sad at times, and it was shocking how the characters acted with each other, and how sad it was to experience that I sometimes forgot that they even loved each other at some point in their lives. The things they did were NOT okay. I never thought that I would hate the characters I loved in the beginning. (view spoiler)[ I hate Jack for leaving, but I hate him more for returning after all those years and acting as if nothing happened! Also I hate Nathaniel, that rape scene just broke me heart! :( (hide spoiler)] And it's not as if they didn't love each other, oh yes, they did, but the things they did for love was truly heart-breaking. And this quote perfectly explains it: “Love makes us such fools.”

“I found it ironic that I should be blessed with wings and yet feel so constrained, so trapped. It was because of my condition, I believe, that I noticed life's ironies a bit more often than the average person. I collected them: how love arrived when you least expected it, how someone who said he didn't want to hurt you eventually would.”

But there are other characters too whom I loved. Ava is one of my favorite characters. For a girl who was born with wings and was treated differently, she was surely a strong and amazing person. I really enjoyed this story, and even though it was sad and heart breaking, I found it beautiful and uplifting.

I also loved the magical aspect of the book, it was truly mesmerizing. And the only reason for not giving it five stars is that even though the story touched my heart, I couldn't really connect with the characters. But overall it was a great read. The story might seem light, but it is not. It deals with tragic and sad events. But still it's worth reading for its unique plot and complex characters. I highly recommend this book.



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