Love, Aubrey

Life was difficult in 1948 for the White family. Living in Southwestern Virginia in a coal mining town, Audrey is the oldest of four girls. The house is a shack. The food is sparse and the family is dirt poor. This story is the real life tale of the author. She chose to give voice to the story through her eldest sister, and the book is written from her perspective.

Scrawny from lack of food and illness, Audrey looks at the world through eyes that need large glasses and her awkwardness defines her as a crumbly, skinny, nail biting girl who longs for security. She asks for little of life. She simply would like things to be better, for the family to have food and decent housing, and for a mother who is not depressed and a father who is not show more alcoholic.

This book is depressing. It is 146 pages of raw sadness.
It is well written and I recommended it. Read it though on a sunny day, sit in your chair surrounded by warmth and give thanks for the blessings you have in the realization that many do not have even the basic necessities. show less

It took a whole box of tissues and lots of breaks to finish this book, but I couldn't stop reading.

Aubrey's grief and her reactions to the tragedy that has destroyed her family are wrenching and realistic. Although she slowly heals throughout the book, ending on a note of hope, I still found myself crying at the end. The story is, perfectly, tightly focused on Aubrey's own pain and recovery and as she begins to live again in the world around her, we learn more about her new friends through Aubrey's eyes - I'd be interested in maybe seeing companion novels about Aubrey's new friends.

I can see parents not wanting their kids to read this because of the high emotional content (no, I am not being silly. you would not believe the vast show more variety of elements parents can object to in the books their kids read. Not the tv they watch, just the books they read) but I'd say this was an important read - not just for those who have experienced tragedy, but for kids who've never known what it's like to have a loved one die. This beautifully-written novel will draw them in and allow them to empathize and understand others who are experiencing grief.

Verdict: Highly recommended.

ISBN: 0385737742; Published June 2009 by Wendy Lamb; Borrowed from the library; Purchased for the library show less

This review is also available on my blog, Read Till Dawn.

Gosh, I love this book so much. And oh, how it makes me cry! I have read many sad fictional books, from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (honestly, so many people die in that book!) to books about the Titanic and the last Romanovs, but most of them can't bring me to tears. They can make me really, really sad, it's true, but they can't make me actually cry. This book, though, gets the waterworks flowing in the first three chapters and never lets them stop. And this may sound miserable, but it's actually wonderful.

You see, this is a story of pain and grief and abandonment, but it's also the story of love and friendship and strength at the worst of times. It is the story of show more Aubrey, whose father and sister died in a car accident. Her mother was so incredibly consumed with grief she ran away from home a few months after the funeral, leaving Aubrey behind to take care of herself. The story is told in first person past tense, which worked well for the story by providing a compelling contrasts with the first person present flashback scenes in which Aubrey remembers life before the car accident. Instead of an info-dump at the beginning of the story we gradually find out the events of Aubrey's past as she is forced to remember them, which (you guessed it!) provides haunting snapshots throughout the story of how much Aubrey has lost.

The saddest parts of the narrative, however, are probably the letters Aubrey writes. At the beginning of the book she writes letters to her sister's imaginary friend Jilly as a way to sort of indirectly talk to a piece of her sister. As she begins to come to grips with everything that has happened to her, she starts to write more directly to her mother, father, and sister, telling them what she wishes she could say to them in person. She signs each letter "Love, Aubrey," which is the source of the title.

This is, without a doubt, one of my all-time favorite books. It's heart-wrenching, but it's also realistic and heartwarming. Aubrey has had the unthinkable happen to her family, and she responds the way any real person would - through denial, through tears, and through shutting down at any reminder of what has happened. But as the story goes along, she learns to cope and to forgive and to live her new life with her grandmother and best friend/neighbor Bridget.

This is an amazing book, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. But please, know what you are getting into. This is not a light or easy read, and if you don't want to read a book that will make you cry, then don't pick this one up. But know that it does not just toy with the emotions: it is sad because terrible, tragic things happen in life, and sometimes you have to cry about them.

Note: I have also read the author's other books, and they were really good as well. She is a master at portraying difficult emotions and reactions to traumatic situations. While I liked the other ones, though, this is still my favorite of her books. 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, 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, show more 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 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 show more 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

I thought this was a very engaging read. It actually almost had me in tears, which is rather a large achievement for a book, because it doesn't happen often. It was more than I expected from a book aimed at young teenagers, and I found it very interesting. It kept me hooked!

I really liked the main character because she was lovable but not perfect. I can't stand characters that are too good, and Aubrey wasn't.

And the ending was heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time, if that's even possible! Well, if it wasn't possible, this book made it possible!

A tragic accident has turned eleven-year-old Aubrey’s world upside down. Starting a new life all alone, Aubrey has everything she thinks she needs: SpaghettiOs and Sammy, her new pet fish. She cannot talk about what happened to her. Writing letters is the only thing that feels right to Aubrey, even if no one ever reads them.
With the aid of her loving grandmother and new friends, Aubrey learns that she is not alone, and gradually, she finds the words to express feelings that once seemed impossible to describe. The healing powers of friendship, love, and memory help Aubrey take her first steps toward the future.
Readers will care for Aubrey from page one and will watch her grow until the very end, when she has to make one of the biggest show more decisions of her life. show less