Rating: 5/5 stars

In The Invisible Life of Addie Larue, V.E. Schwab takes us through the story of Addie, a young woman who makes a deal with some kind of god (the Dark) that makes her immortal–but also terribly invisible, forgotten by everyone as soon as they stop looking at her. That is, until she meets Henry, who remembers, even when Luc–the devil–has tried to make everyone forget.

This book absolutely stunned me. I’ve heard many good things about V.E. Schwab, especially about her Villains series, so I sought out her name in the school library, and this was the first book of hers that I stumbled across. Since it wasn’t the ones always being lauded to me, I didn’t expect much, but now, after attempting almost all of her books, I can say confidently that I’m glad I found this first.

For starters, the writing is lovely. Yearning and wistful, Schwab easily draws the readers in to Addie’s loneliness, but also her limitless love for life. Addie lives: that’s the whole book, really, that Addie lives. For some, this makes an incredibly boring and narrow novel, but for many including myself, it’s just a very thoughtful read.

The Invisible Life of Addie Larue touches a lot on topics of humanity and art, particularly what people want, what it means to be alive, and how art is immortalizing. It’s not a book filled with problems and actions, but it has a lot of deep conversations between characters and observations about the human experience, good and bad. Personally, I find that just as appealing.