Ava Dellaira

It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more -- though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was -- lovely and amazing and deeply flawed -- can she begin to discover her own path in this stunning debut from Ava Dellaira, Love Letters to the Dead.

The author of the beloved Love Letters to the Dead returns with a parallel story of a mother and daughter each at age seventeen. Marilyn's tale recounts the summer she fell in love and set out on her own path. Angie's story is about her search for her unknown father.This sweeping multi-generational love story introduces readers to mother-and-daughter pair Marilyn and Angie. To seventeen-year-old Angie, who is mixed-race, Marilyn is her hardworking, devoted white single mother. But Marilyn was once young, too. When Marilyn was seventeen, she fell in love with Angie's father, James, who was African-American. But Angie's never met him, and Marilyn has always told her he died before she was born. When Angie discovers evidence of an uncle she's never met she starts to wonder: What if her dad is still alive, too? So she sets off on a journey to find him, hitching a ride to LA from her home in New Mexico with her ex-boyfriend, Sam. Along the way, she uncovers some hard truths about herself, her mother, and what truly happened to her father.

A life-changing moment encompasses conflicting truths that echo across time, in this powerful, provocative debut.One night, two people, four sides of a story.In 2004, Juliette Marker, a white college freshman, and Noah King, a Black high school senior, are two lonely souls who enter each other’s orbit, forge a connection, and, after a chance meeting, go home together.Twelve years later, Noah has done the impossible and made it in Hollywood. His first film is about to be released, and he and his beloved wife Jesse, a successful writer herself, have just had a baby. Meanwhile, Juliette’s best friend Annie, in the throes of grief, makes a decision that threatens to blow up the life Noah has struggled to build.Spanning decades, from California to Chicago, and told from Annie, Juliette, Noah, and Jesse’s perspectives, this sharp, timely novel delves into one fateful night and the complex lives and relationships of those affected by it, brilliantly exploring how race, artistic ambition, and grief shape the way they—and we—see their story.

Download the first five chapters of LOVE LETTERS TO THE DEAD by Ava Dellaira.It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more—though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. This luminous debut novel has garnered exhuberant pre-publication praise from Laurie Halse Anderson, Jay Asher, Gayle Forman, and Lauren Myracle, and foreign rights have sold to six countries.

Una noche, dos personas, cuatro versiones de la misma historia.En 2004, Juliette Marker, una estudiante universitaria blanca de primer curso, y Noah King, un estudiante negro de último curso de bachillerato, son dos almas solitarias que se encuentran, se atraen y, tras un encuentro fortuito, pasan la noche juntos.Doce años después, Noah ha hecho lo imposible por llegar a Hollywood. Su primera película está a punto de estrenarse, y él y su querida esposa, Jesse, una escritora de éxito, acaban de tener un bebé. Mientras tanto, Annie, la mejor amiga de Juliette, ha vuelto a Los Ángeles por primera vez en más de una década. De adolescentes, Annie y Juliette fueron mejores amigas, y su relación quedó inmortalizada gracias a la madre de Juliette, Margot, que era una fotógrafa de renombre. Cuando Annie regresa al hogar en el que pasaron su idílica adolescencia, descubre algo sobre Juliette que amenazará con destruir la vida que a Noah tanto le ha costado construir.En un relato que abarca décadas, narrado desde las perspectivas de Annie, Juliette, Noah y Jesse, Cuando lo pierdes todo ahonda en las implicaciones de una noche que puede cambiarlo todo, y en las complejas vidas y relaciones de aquellos que se ven afectados. Al mismo tiempo, explora cómo la raza, la ambición artística y el dolor por la pérdida pueden revelar distintas versiones de una misma historia.«Ava Dellaira es una escritora valiente y terriblemente empática que escribe con sumo control sobre los asuntos más importantes de los sueños, las esperanzas y la ambición, así como las heridas que dejan las injusticias y el dolor de la pérdida. Esta novela está llena de sorpresas, proporciona consuelo en lugares de lo más inesperados y explora las formas en las que la desolación más profunda se puede transformar hasta volverse una fuente de conexión». SARAH BLAKLEY-CARTWRIGHT, autora de Alice Sadie Celine«Tienes que leerlo. En una época en la que tantos debates culturales llegan a un extremo o a otro, este libro tan increíble nos ofrece un modo de apreciar de verdad los dos lados de una historia. Ava Dellaira ha escrito una novela tan adictiva y cautivadora que seguirás hablando sobre ella muchísimo después de haber terminado de leerla». STEPHEN CHBOSKY, autor de Las ventajas de ser invisible«Cuando lo pierdes todo aborda las formas en las que el pasado puede alcanzar el presente y poner a prueba todo lo que creíamos saber sobre nosotros mismos y nuestros seres queridos. Ava Dellaira nos ha ofrecido una exploración llena de empatía sobre la ambición creativa, el dolor, la raza, la amistad y, en definitiva, sobre la fuerza y la flexibilidad que puede tener el amor en todas sus facetas». CAITLIN MULLEN, autora de Please See Us