Suzanne LaFleur

Mathilde remained in my mind when I wasn't reading this book, and long after I finished. She is a lovely character, full of caring for others: sisters Kammi and Tye; parents; best friend, Megs: and now, at a military outpost, Rainer, a captured Tyssian soldier. Mathilde is a person I'd like to know if she was real.

Mathilde doesn't know why she was the only child in her village chosen for the military outpost. She is not super-smart like Megs ,who wasn't chosen, or like the other children at show more the outpost who are brilliant at strategy, prediciton, leadership and more. When she is assigned by the Examiner to talk to the prisoner, she is confused as to why she was chosen for this task. Days of visiting Rainer yield nothing but his name and his scorn. Until the Examiner asks Mathilde questions about her classmates that Mathilde answers easily. She is an observer of people and knows how to help them. She realizes that what she has to give is herslef. The next day, as she's leaving Rainer in his cell, alone, she says: "I like green." (She had asked his favorite color a few days before.) Before the door shut behind her, she heard Rainer reply, "I like blue." By giving of herself, , she received a response.

My love for this novel is rooted in the way author Suzanne Lafleur builds Mathilde's character so the reader grown and learns about herself along with Mathilde. Lafleur is subtle and gentle in her revelations. This is a story to read again and savor language and story. show less

I loved Love Aubrey! It was so sad, yet so sweet, honest, and heartfelt. It covers lots of dark topics, but "younger" readers will instantly connect with Aubrey through her realism and her letters.

One thing about Love Aubrey that I thoroughly enjoyed was the characters. They're so realistic and so well thought out. I could feel for each one of them. Their motives stayed constant throughout the story, which was amazing! I loved the relationships between the characters - Aubrey and Gram, show more Aubrey and her mom, and especially the relationship between Aubrey and her best friend Bridget.

The plot was very emotion-provoking, but I loved it. It deals with some tough concepts, but Suzanne LaFleur isn't afraid to hide it. She speaks honestly, through Aubrey and her letters, about the pain, the suffering, the loneliness, that Aubrey felt. Suzanne knows how smart kids are, and she's not afraid to write a dark story that they will definitely treasure forever.

As sad as I thought the ending was, I was surprised by the realism. It felt so real for me! I'm impressed with Suzanne's want for a realistic ending versus a "happily-ever-after." This definitely seems like a real-life scenario; and I applaud Suzanne on her very well-done ending.

All in all, I recommend Love, Aubrey to anyone who wants a GREAT example of a realistic fiction story that is extremely emotion-provoking. Love, Aubrey will leave readers in tears and will definitely be a YA favorite for years to come. show less

After the death of her father and sister, Aubrey's mother suffers a psychotic break and leaves 11 year old Aubrey alone. Aubrey cares for herself for about 2 weeks before her Grandma discovers what's happened. While people search for her mother, Aubrey goes to live with her Grandma where she learns to deal with her grief and abandonment.
When I was Aubrey's age I never suffered a loss of a loved one, but I have as an adult. Both my father and daughter died within a year of each other. While I show more can't completely relate to her mother's abandoning her, I can relate to life being too much to handle. I feel like LaFleur approached her subject truthfully. Death and grief are messy and difficult to navigate and the ways we deal with grief are not usually pretty. Aubrey has not only the death of half her family to contend with, but also the abandonment of the only adult left. Instead of guiding her daughter through grief, Aubrey's mother adds to it. Friends at school don't know how to deal with her and she becomes "that girl" with the family who died.
After moving out of state with her Grandmother, she is given space to heal, while also being pushed to keep living life. She cautiously makes friends with a couple of kids who are able to see her as herself and not just as her story.
I think this is a fantastic novel. It would bring hope to those who grieve and give kids who've never suffered loss a chance to develop some kind of empathy. show less

Even though Sofarende, where twelve-year-old Mathilde lives, is at war, and there are bombings and sirens and constant food shortages, she is content. After all, she has her family and her best friend Megs by her side. But when the army offers money and safety to families whose children help in the war effort under very strict rules and secrecy, Megs and Mathilde’s parents sign papers for their daughters to take the army’s aptitude test. Surprisingly, Mathilde is chosen and Megs is not, show more and she soon finds herself alone in a strange, unknown place masquerading as a school. She doesn’t understand why she was chosen or what to do. Finally she is given a surprisingly difficult, secret assignment; she has to talk, just talk, to Rainer, an imprisoned enemy soldier, every day. Facing danger, Mathilde must choose between safety or kindness and friendship even in the face of the enemy. I was frantically turning pages in this suspenseful and warmhearted tween novel to discover Mathilde’s fate. Warning: there’s a bit of a cliffhanger ending and an upcoming sequel titled “Threads of Blue” (which I will be reading).

Sharyn H. / Marathon County Public Library
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