The debut author’s brief bio notes Leslye Walton’s important
work with students, whom she teaches to be “kind to one another, even on days
when they don’t really feel like it.” That
idea carries through into this unusual novel, The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, where she explores what it
feels like to be different, to be feared, to be rejected, to be loved and to
love.
The title
character, Ava Lavender, is a typical teenage girl born in 1944 Seattle except
for one thing: she was born with wings. Walton uses this idea and other
elements of magical realism to share the stories of Ava and three earlier
generations of women in her family. As we read about their life journeys, we share
insights into love and acceptance, learning about “all the scars love’s victims
carry” and from observations like these:
- She didn’t see it because when it came to love, she saw what she wanted to see…
- The whole world had given up on love anyway and clung instead to its malformed cousins: lust, narcissism, self-interest…
- She spent her days trying to forget the sound of his voice and her nights trying to remember…
Most poignantly,
it takes Ava’s teenage male neighbor and friend to point out “that might just
be the root of the problem: we are all afraid of each other, wings or no wings.” Be ready for an unusual combination - myths, ghosts
and your own introspection when you read this recommended book.
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