#25 The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

For the 1/4 of a century I felt the need to pick a book that I truly loved. And this my friends and readers... is truly magnificent.

I am almost speechless at what to talk about. I bought this book through Waterstones as they were doing their "double stamps" offer. I had seen it on TikTok so often that I thought it must be done.

The simple description is that Addie is a teenage girl growing up in rural France in the 18th century. She is a girl who is interested in travel and adventure... not marriage to a widow with children. On her wedding day, she makes a run for it and finds herself praying to her gods for a way out of the situation. What she doesn't realise... is that she does not end up praying to the gods of the day, but the darker ones that roam at night.

A mysertious man, some call the Devil but she names Luc, offers her her freedom in exchange for her soul one day. So he grants her immortality with a twist.

This slight twist dramatically changes her existence; she can never be remembered. As soon as she's left their eyesight, she is forgotten. She cannot speak her name, or write it down, even in later times she is blurred in every photograph and video.

The story flips between 21st century New York, and the tales of her 300 years in different places throughout history.

After taking a long time to come to terms with the cards that have been dealt, a boy utters the words that she never expected to ever hear again: "I remember you".

Not only does this book take you through the adventures of immortal life, but also through the heart aches that accompany being forgotten by everyone you ever meet. I found myself silently weeping at the way in which V.E. Schwab has written this book. It is so poetic and I found myself contemplating how I view my own life and its value.

It was a beautiful story and some may deem it for a "Young Adult" audience but I truly don't think that is the case. If only one person reads this book because of this post, then I will feel as if I have succeeded in life. It may sound dramatic, but I just want to share this book with others because its so special.

I did find myself crying at the end drastically, but not necessarily because of a sad ending but because I felt completely fulfilled and grateful for the life I have. My father even asked: "is everything okay? Who died?" and then he saw the book and went "FFS".

I honestly put this book in my top 10 of all time. Please give it a go.

All my love,

H x

[copyright/credit: Booktopia]