Publisher blurb: Something terrible has happened. Eleven-year-old Aubrey is on her own. 'It was fun at first, playing house. Nothing to think about but TV and cheese. A perfect world.' She's determined to hide away and take care of herself, because facing the truth is too much to bear. 'I couldn't let anyone know that I was alone. I was staying right here.' But with the love of her grandmother and the letters she writes, can Aubrey begin to see that even though she's lost everything - all is not lost?
After four days alone, Aubrey's grandmother arrives. She takes Aubrey from Virginia to New Haven. Suzanne LaFleur gradually let's her reader inside the events of the past. Something truly tragic and terrible has happened. Aubrey needs to heal and her grandmother is the most perfect person to help with this.
One of the aspects of this book that I loved were all the references to food. Aubrey's grandmother knows prepares just the right things at exactly the right time. She is so very patient with Aubrey too.
Here are some examples of the food made by Gram:
"She had made plenty of food: a whole chicken, yellow summer squash and courgette, and corn-bread muffins."
"Gram made a super-good dinner. It was left over meat loaf - meat loaf is better left over - on soft hamburger buns with ketchup, and veggie medley - that's peas, corn, carrots and green beans - and for dessert four different kinds of Jell-O - lime, blue raspberry, strawberry and orange - cut into cubes and served all together."
"In five minutes Gram bought up two trays. Each had a steaming bowl of oatmeal with a melting lump of brown sugar on top, and a plate of sliced bananas and strawberries."
The other really important character in this book is Bridget. Both she and Aubrey are aged eleven but Bridget feels older. She is a truly special friend to Aubrey and demonstrates a beautiful wisdom well beyond her tender age as she also helps Aubrey navigate the past. Bridget is the friend every girl aged eleven should have.
The title refers to the letters Aubrey writes to various people from her life. The letters remain unsent but they give readers a gradual insight into the tragedy.
When I was offered a discount from an online bookseller I went back through my re read list. In 2017 I read and loved Threads of Blue and Beautiful Blue World by Suzanne LaFleur. Love, Aubrey is her debut novel.
The cover of Love, Aubrey? No I really do not like it. If I had seen this book in a library or a shop I am fairly sure I would not have picked it up but I did enjoy the relationships and the heartfelt honesty of this story along with the beautiful kindness which is given to Aubrey by her Gram, her friend Bridget, the school counsellor and the family next door. This is a book I would be happy to put into the hands of a sensitive, mature reader aged 10+.
Companion reads:
No comments:
Post a Comment