As seen on my blog: 
 5+++ STARS 
 I want to let you know, first of all, that every word I write of this review is loaded. It is filled with emotion so strong that I wasn't sure I would be able to write this at all. I want to let you know that this book, this disturbingly beautiful, haunting, book, it changed the shape of my heart. It held it, and squeezed it so firmly that I am convinced that it no longer resembles anything familiar. I want you know that I need to refrain from using words that aren't even words-I want to make up words that could possibly mean MORE. I want to sit still and convey my emotions to you telepathically, because my GOD, these words aren't going to be enough. 
 The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender 
 is, without a doubt, the best YA book I've read of 2014. It was the brave, and completely unexpected. I loved that the title misled you into thinking this book was only about Ava. Because it wasn't, it was a heart beating louder than anything I've ever heard. It was the unraveling of three generations, beginning with Ava's grandmother, to her mother, to finally, Ava's own tale of happiness and woe. Leslye Walton needs to be allowed to do nothing else but eat, and write books. To be mildly cliche, I drowned in her words. I felt the atmosphere she created like a thick fog around my head-I have never yearned so badly to literally step foot into a narrative. Walton's words were magnets for emotion, and painted the most vivid scenes. Each jump in the timeline was written seamlessly, but with the most clear indication of change. You existed separately with each woman, and felt their stories right down to your bones. When each story line finally became one with Ava's, I was determined to never finish this book, not because I began to dislike, but because I was sure I would never love written words so strongly again. 
 This book was a marvel, and something I will never stop forgetting to remember. You will be doing yourself a horrible injustice if you don't eventually read 
 The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender 
 . 
 A horrible injustice. 
 Recommended for fans of: Magic Realism, Historical Fiction, 
 The Lovely Bones 
 by Alice Seabold, A.S. King, controversial issues.