The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

Although the book is long, I finished it in about a day. This book is a bit like watching a slow-moving car wreck: you turned to look (or read) because you heard a noise - you were fascinated with what you saw (a woman who doesn't want to get married in 1714 and so makes a deal with the “darkness” to become immortal? Cool!) - you needed to watch to see how it ended (translates pretty well). This story had the feel of an ancient parable - with godlike figures possessing qualities sort of human...but not quite.

I've been hearing about this book for months, and it making the YALSA Teen Top Ten made me finally pick-up. For starters, this is not a young adult fiction novel. The content and the ideas that we're playing with are very mature: what does it mean to be alive? what is love? Is it better to love or to be loved? How can you tell if you matter? Deep, dark stuff here.

I loved reading about Addie falling in love, especially after suffering for so long. It was a sweet love affair, and I still am not sure if I love or hate the ending.

For me, the biggest con was the author failing to immerse us in Addie's immortal life. Though she often referred to grand adventures, the stories fell flat because we were hearing them as factual rather than an experience for the reader to share.

This book is worth the read - I would probably not read it at night if I could choose again.