Suzanne LaFleur’s debut novel, Love, Aubrey, will be released in June 2009, and I can’t wait to sell it to our customers. It is honest, heartbreaking and hopeful and it brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. Truly a remarkable debut.
11-year old Aubrey’s little sister and father were killed in a tragic car accident. Her mother, who was driving, and Aubrey survived. When the novel opens, Aubrey’s mother has slipped so deeply into depression that she has abandoned Aubrey in their Virginia home. At first Aubrey enjoys the days of eating cheese & crackers and watching TV; but then she runs out of food and the emptiness of the house overwhelms her. At that point her maternal grandmother arrives, worried since her phone calls have gone unanswered for many days in a row.
Gran takes Aubrey home to Vermont where she steadfastly helps Aubrey slowly put one foot in front of the other to come to terms with both the terrible loss of her father and sister but also the abandonment of her mother and the guilt she feels as a survivor. One day, one list, at a time Aubrey slowly comes back to life until she is able to find peace and hope and make decisions about her future.
The tenderness, keen observation to detail, and the grace with which these characters are portrayed is fabulous. I felt Aubrey’s confusion, grief, pain, and hurt; but it wasn’t just Aubrey that LaFleur crafts with such care – Gran, Aubrey’s new friends, and even her mother – are all given emotional depth and complexity. This book is an emotional powerhouse and I am glad to have read it.
- Posted by Cori