This review originally appeared on the book review blog: Just One More Pa(i)ge.

I saw this book in a photo on Bookstagram and, though I had never heard of it before, the title and cover just seriously called out to me. When I asked the person who posted the photo what they thought of the book (I wish I could remember who is was so I could give them a shout-out here…) and their answer was super positive, I knew I had to try it. Bonus: it is one of the best smelling books I’ve ever picked up (don’t even act like you aren’t into smelling book pages too). Honestly, I love a good hidden gem book and I want to start this review by saying that this is most definitely a hidden gem book. Totally under-hyped. So, here’s my attempt to change that!

“To many, I was myth incarnate, the embodiment of a most superb legend, a fairy tale. Some considered me a monster, a mutation. To my great misfortune, I was once mistaken for an angel. To my mother, I was everything. To my father, nothing at all. To my grandmother, I was a daily reminder of loves long lost. But I knew the truth – deep down, I always did. I was just a girl.”

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender is the most accurate and perfectly fitting title for this novel. Told by Ava, this book examines her family, her heritage, and how she ended up living the life she is. Ava is special, she’s different: she was born with wings. (If you are not a “magical” or “fantasy” type reader, bear with me through this, don’t leave yet!) Because of this, she lives a life apart, and decides to do some research to try and find out where, exactly, she comes from…to better understand her own self and her place in the world. Starting back with her grandmother’s emigration to the United States from France as a child and following the family through to Ava’s current day life, this is a family saga. But more specifically, it’s a saga of the women of the family, and of the blessings and curses of love in their lives.

“Happiness had a pungent scent, like the sourest lime or lemon. Broken hearts smelled surprisingly sweet. Sadness filled the air with a salty, sea-like redolence; death smelled like sadness. People carried their own distinct personal fragrances.”

This is definitely a magical realism story. Obviously, as Ava was born with wings, it’s not strictly contemporary. And there are some other small moments that pull the magical realism in and together also, like when her grandmother’s sister turns herself into a canary as she pines over a man who is into bird watching or when her mother has such a keen sense of smell that she can tell when someone is pregnant (even before they themselves know). There are small details like this throughout the book, thrown in as short descriptions or points of interest, that add depth and interest to the story, but are not overbearing. It’s the absolute perfect type of magical realism, the kind that speaks to my very soul – that infuses ordinary, everyday, life with mystical qualities that make it just a little more special and spectacular. However, if you are not a “fantasy” person, then I also give you my word that it’s not overwhelming (that’s why I asked you to bear with me earlier)…it’s more like contemporary lit with a twist. In any case, it’s written exquisitely. The flow and tone are smooth and lulling, the names are all evocative and apt, and overall it reads like a contemporary fairy tale. I cannot say enough positive about the writing.

“If she thought of her love as a commodity, and were to, say, eat it, it would fill 4,745 cherry pies. If she were to preserve it, she would need 23,725 glass jars and labels and a basement spanning the length of Pinnacle Lane. If she were to drink it, she’d drown.”

A far as the story itself. This is a tale of three generations of love. All kinds of love: platonic, unrequited, pining, heartbreak, betrayal, unconditional, passionate, slow burn, young, familial and friend, obsessive, at first sight, for gain, false, comfortable/convenient, and so much more. Each type, from the familial to the passionate, is relayed with full depth and no-holds-barred reality. And at the same time, the hard ones, like unrequited, are told with such sweetness and tenderness that your heart is both broken and comforted at the same time. It’s gorgeous story-telling. However, right at the end, when the tale of obsessive love culminates in one of the most horrific displays I’ve ever read, the language changes to match. It’s still fairy tale-ish in feel, but the tenderness of the rest of the novel is replaced with harsher descriptions that paint a scene just as deeply seen (and felt), but this time it’s a scene that hurts, one that you don’t want to see. I was blown away by the transition. And that jarring change makes it all the more impactful – the shock we feel as the reader lining up perfectly with the shock Ava experiences. I don’t want to say too much (spoilers would completely ruin the reading experience), but just trust me. It’s everything. And then the ending. It’s a perfect open-ended, magical realism ending. I think it’s left up to the reader to interpret a little on their own, which is something that can be very frustrating, but which fits the rest of the book and is the right way to end this tale. Plus, either way you choose to “read” it, it’s a conclusive closing of this chapter of Ava’s life. (If you’ve read this, what do you think is means?)

“Just because love don’t look the way you think it should don’t mean you don’t have it.”

Like I said in my intro, this is a hidden gem of a book that I absolutely think deserves more praise and a wider audience. In the Author’s Note on the inside back cover, Walton says she came up with this story while “…pondering the logic, or rather, lack thereof, in love – the ways we coax ourselves to love, to continue loving, to leave love behind.” Well, if exploring those themes was her goal with this novel, than it’s my opinion that she totally nailed it. This is a simultaneously whimsical and genuine tale and you’ll leave it with your heart both full and aching in all the best ways.