The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue Review

** May contain spoilers for The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by. V.E. Schwab

The truth can set you free but what if you were forced to live a lie?

Okay, wow. I picked up this book after my sister read it in a day. A little background for those who haven't read it. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a story about a girl, Adeline LaRue, who is born in rural 17th century France. From a young age, she is curious and intelligent and adventurous and wants not only to have a good life but, she wants to live. She wants to be independent and see the world and not just be resigned to marriage and death. There is a woman in her village named Estelle, who prays to a different G-d than the Christian one. She encourages Addie to pray to them as well but, never pray to the G-ds who come out after dark. She is able to put off her fate for many years until her parents arrange a marriage for her to a man from her village. Desperate on the night of her forced matrimony, she runs into the woods and prays to the G-d after dark and makes a deal with him, she will have her freedom and the life she dreams of and when she is done, he can have her soul. The dark spirit twists this deal into a curse. No one she has met will remember her and anyone she meets will forget her as soon as they leave her presence. She cannot say her name or write it down and she cannot leave a trace of herself in this world. Destined to be forgotten by all for the price to live. She goes on this way, until one day, she meets someone who remembers and her whole world changes.

Now for the review,

Let me begin by saying that normally when I read books, I get so invested in them that I finish them within a day, sometimes it will take me two. With The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, I had a completely different experience. I wanted to read this book in small doses and not all at once and at a slower pace. It took me about 3 days. Instead of rushing I wanted to savor the experience of going through Addie's life with her.

I liked how the book went back and forth in time so that we could see how Addie got into the place she was. I like books that let you experience the character's memories without the character's having to explicitly tell you what they've been through because you are able to draw your own conclusions from their experiences.

I felt very emotionally invested in this book. In addition to feeling bad for Addie, I found throughout the book I felt bad for the person that she met that forgot her. It really killed me every time that someone didn't remember her. Especially when she met Remy Laurent. I just wanted to reach into the pages and make him remember their connection from the previous night. Addie had a profound impact on in the moment. I wish that the moment wasn't just a blur in a character’s mind that they couldn't make clear. Ironically, even though she couldn't leave a mark, Addie was still impacting the world around her.

At first, I wasn’t really connecting with Henry or his story as much as I was with Addie’s. However, as the book progressed I fell in love with his character and how his storyline really played well with Addie’s Storyline. Henry is the little voice in all of our heads that tells us we will never be enough. That we are a burden on this Earth. I think that it is an interesting contrast between Addie and Henry. Henry felt like he was a burden and unloved and almost ended his life because of it and wanted to erase himself meanwhile, Addie was dying to live and leave any piece of herself.

I think both an Addie and a Henry live inside of us all. The side of us that is dying to live and have adventures and live outside of the walls that society has built for us. On the other hand, we try to conform to society to be loved or to just be enough so that we can make our loved ones proud. These characters show us the two extremes of life and desire.

I'm very conflicted about Luc. I just don't know. I think that he thinks he's in love with Addie but, I also don't think he understands how to love. I think while he may be fond of Addie and care for her, he is more concerned with possession and control.

I'm also very conflicted with the ending. She says that she is going to play Luc but, I wonder if that will destroy her in the end too. What it would cost to spend her existence trying to destroy someone else's even if it happens to be the person who took everything from her. I imagine it would take a part of your soul. I guess she already sold her soul to the devil anyway.

This is the first book of Schwab's that I ever read and I can't wait to read more of her works. I absolutely loved all the attention to detail that Shwab had.

For example, at the end, I will say that I felt very special when she drew the reader in and made it as if we were reading what Henry had put together on her life.

I didn't put this together until after I finished reading the book (which made me feel stupid, whatever) but, all the art pieces that were listed at the beginning of each part were works that Addie's presence had influenced and I thought that was really unique and special.

This book made me think a lot about life and mortality and what we really search for as humans. More than not having anyone remember her name but her not being able to write or draw. There wasn't a piece she could leave behind. It made me think about the material. I never thought about when I die that it would matter to have something on this earth of mine live on but, it does.

I think the concept this book is trying to convey is so important, especially in this moment of time. For example, social media. Everyday millions of people feel compelled to leave a permanent mark on history by leaving little crumbs of their lives in the form of photos and comments and likes. As a reader, thinking about your own life, could you imagine not being able to share anything at all? And since we are so fortunate to have our time on Earth, however long that may be, how do we want to spend it? What is truly important? What do we want our legacies to be?

I'm 99.9% sure this was a standalone but if she wanted to write a sequel, I’m down, just saying.