There has been a lot of hype surrounding this book so far this year, both on Tumblr and BookTube, so Ive been super eager to pick it up. I'm so glad I did.

When I started this book, I expected that there would be a letter here in there to break up the story, but no, the whole story was written in the format of her letters to various dead famous people. I was worried that I wouldnt be able to lose myself in the storyline, and that the letters would feel disjointed and wouldnt flow, but I was oh-so beautifully wrong. However, I have to mention that there were points in the book where I would forget who Laurel was writing to, so when she would directly reference them, I felt a little lost and had to go back to remind myself of who shes talking to.

I actually really liked Laurel. At times I was a little annoyed at her, but everyone grieves in different ways and Laurels way of getting through her sisters death just happened to slightly irritate me. I loved her friends and family; they each brought something different to Laurel's character.

I feel like May was sort of like Laurels manic pixie dream girl and this book was mostly about Laurels journey to recognising that her sister was not perfect. But rather that she was a terribly flawed teenager who was just trying to find her way through life, in the very same way that Laurel finds herself doing now.

Towards the end of the book I started getting a little disillusioned with the plot and it ended up being a solid 4 star read. It was incredibly enjoyable and easy to get through.

When Laurels sister May died, Laurel felt like she had no one left. Her mother moved to California to some kind of retreat and she hasnt had a real conversation with her father in a long time. When her English teacher sets the class an assignment of writing a letter to someone who has died, Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain her late sisters favourite singer. What starts as a piece of assessment turns into so much more. Laurel finds that she can tell dead celebrities all the things she keeps bottled up inside. Musicians, poets, actresses and even the voice of Mister Ed each of them means something different to Laurel. Though her letters to the dead, Laurel finds her voice.

This book is a story about friendship, secrets, coming of age and grief. Laurel is grieving the loss of not only her sister but May was also her best friend and closest ally. Its hard for Laurel and changing schools so she can start anew with people who dont know about May only isolates her further. This book is at times a difficult read. Not for how it was written but because of the subject matter. In trying to cope with Mays passing, Laurel makes some decisions which take her down some scary and dangerous roads. She is so young and comes across as so naive but the more we get to see Laurels journey we see how hard her life was even before May died.

Love Letters to the Dead is also about first loves. The romance in this book was so hopeful and optimistic with all the awkwardness and problems which come with teenage relationships. The depth of friendship is also explored and witnessing the ups and downs of these relationships was amazing. Laurels friends may be unconventional and have their own things going on but they are still there for each other when they need it most.

This book is beautiful written. Laurels thoughts are poetic and poignant but her conversations with the living were often clumsy. Laurels letters were never really to celebrities but rather a way to sort out her feelings of guilt and unhappiness. She grows so much over the course of the novel and it took a while for Laurel to come to terms with what happened. Her refusal to deal with Mays death was portrayed in a realistic manner and Laurels pain was palpable.

There are pop-culture references scattered liberally throughout the novel and while there are recent ones, I wondered while I read it if this book would have been more appropriate if it had been set n the nineties. Kurt Cobain, his music as well as River Phoenix are a driving force behind many of the letters Laurel writes and there are times when I almost forgot this book was set in the present day. Despite this this book is still relevant to all those reading no matter when the references were popular.

Love Letters to the Dead is a thought-provoking and emotional read. Dealing with some very adult issues like drug use, depression and death, this beautifully written book is both heartbreaking and moving.