Review: The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Title: The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
Author: Leslye Walton
Published: March 13, 2014
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy, Magical Realism, Historical Fiction
Pages: 301
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4 stars
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“Love makes us such fools.”
―Leslye Walton, The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

Synopsis
Foolish love appears to be the Roux family birthright, an ominous forecast for its most recent progeny, Ava Lavender. Ava—in all other ways a normal girl—is born with the wings of a bird.

In a quest to understand her peculiar disposition and a growing desire to fit in with her peers, sixteen-year old Ava ventures into the wider world, ill-prepared for what she might discover and naïve to the twisted motives of others. Others like the pious Nathaniel Sorrows, who mistakes Ava for an angel and whose obsession with her grows until the night of the Summer Solstice celebration.

That night, the skies open up, rain and feathers fill the air, and Ava’s quest and her family’s saga build to a devastating crescendo.

First-time author Leslye Walton has constructed a layered and unforgettable mythology of what it means to be born with hearts that are tragically, exquisitely human. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender was not at all what I was expecting, and I mean that in the best possible way. There are many different directions I could have seen this book taking. I thought it would mainly be told in young Ava's time, with flashbacks scattered throughout as Ava uncovers more of her family history through research. Instead, this haunting tale is told chronologically, beginning at, well, the beginning, where Ava's family history takes a turn for the worst.

Review: Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz

Title: Teeth
Author: Hannah Moskowitz
Published: January 1, 2013
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy, Magical Realism
Pages: 272
Source: Purchased
Rating: 2 stars
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“I could totally be a . . .
whatever.”
“Sailor?”
“On a boat?”
“Yep.”
“Yeah.” He’ll sigh all wistfully. “I could be a sailor. But I’m too busy being a fish.”
― Hannah Moskowitz, Teeth

Synopsis
A gritty, romantic modern fairy tale from the author of Break and Gone, Gone, Gone.

Be careful what you believe in.

Rudy’s life is flipped upside-down when his family moves to a remote island in a last attempt to save his sick younger brother. With nothing to do but worry, Rudy sinks deeper and deeper into loneliness and lies awake at night listening to the screams of the ocean beneath his family’s rickety house.

Then he meets Diana, who makes him wonder what he even knows about love, and Teeth, who makes him question what he knows about anything. Rudy can’t remember the last time he felt so connected to someone, but being friends with Teeth is more than a little bit complicated. He soon learns that Teeth has terrible secrets. Violent secrets. Secrets that will force Rudy to choose between his own happiness and his brother’s life. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts
What in the fudge did I just read? I have no idea. I distinctly remember reading this book, but I'm at a loss for words or feelings or just anything that requires thinking. Teeth is the epitome of wtfery. I've heard it called gut-wrenching, beautiful, and haunting, and so many people have raved about it, but I just don't get all the fuss. Teeth has a sharp bite, but I'm not entirely sure why I'm hurting and to what purpose.