Witty and filled with pop culture references, this is also a stunning exploration of teenage life and the power of family. An intriguing English class assignment soon gets out of control for Laurel - she can't stop writing letters to the dead. Told with passion, with humour and also intense grief, the letters Laurel writes include ones to Janis Joplin, Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, Amelia Earhart, Judy Garland and Kurt Cobain and many others. Each one takes the reader into Laurel's world, a world in which she must face up to her sister's death or she will remain stuck between the lines of a page forever.
It begins as an assignment for English class: write a letter to a dead person - any dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain - he died young, and so did Laurel's sister May - so maybe he'll understand a bit of what Laurel is going through. Soon Laurel is writing letters to lots of dead people - Janis Joplin, Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, Amelia Earhart ...it's like she can't stop. And she'd certainly never dream of handing them in to her teacher. She writes about what it's like going to a new high school, meeting new friends, falling in love for the first time - and how her family has shattered since May died. But much as Laurel might find writing the letters cathartic, she can't keep real life out forever. The ghosts of her past won't be contained between the lines of a page, and she will have to come to terms with growing up, the agony of losing a beloved sister, and the realisation that only you can shape your destiny.
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
Author
About Ava Dellaira
Ava Dellaira is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she was a Truman Capote Fellow, and trained as a poet. She grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and got her undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago. In addition to being a producer of the film version of THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, Ava Dellaira is also Stephen Chbosky's protege. She currently lives in Santa Monica, where she is at work on her second book. Follow Ava on Twitter: @avadellaira
