by V. E. Schwab
First sentence: “A girl is running for her life.”
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Content: There is a handful of swear words, including the f-bomb, some drug use, and some tasteful on-screen sex. It’s in the science fiction/fantasy section of the bookstore.

Where do I even start with this one? I put off reading it for months and months (I had an early copy) because I was afraid. Mostly because I enjoyed Schwab’s other stuff and I didn’t want this to be awful. And then I put it off because so many people came into the store asking for it, and not the usual science fiction/fantasy-type readers either. Maybe it was one of those books that was too Literary for me and I wouldn’t like it. But this past weekend, after a long week of work, it seemed just the right thing.

And it was.

It’s nominally the story of Addie LaRue, a woman who, on the eve of her wedding in 1791, makes a deal with the darkness: she wants to live a free life. The darkness, in return, takes away her ability to be seen, to be remembered. It’s her story as she flits through the ages, living, trying to figure out her curse, locked in a battle of wills with a fickle god. But it’s also a book about Humanity and Art and the little things that make life worth living. (Hint: it’s being loved, yes, but it’s More Than That, too).

And it was beautiful.

I loved Addie and her story, and Henry — the one person in Addie’s 300 years that actually remembered her, and the twists and turns. It’s a gorgeous book, full of life and heartbreak, and it’s a good thing people are buying it on their own, because I would be a wreck trying to handsell it.

Which is to say, if you haven’t read it yet, you probably should.