The book The Invisible Life of Addie Larue is an emotional rollercoaster that takes the reader through the ups and downs of a girl who is cursed to immortality. The author, V.E. Schwab has written countless novels and was nominated for the 2020 Locus Award for Best Fantasy for The Invisible Life of Addie Larue. 

Everyone knows not to pray to gods that answer after dark, but desperate as she was to escape her arranged marriage, Addie makes a bargain with the Dark that makes her immortal, but is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. In return, the Dark gets to have her soul when she decides she has lived long enough. For 300 years, Addie lives like a ghost– leaving no trace of existence and having no permanent home. 

The story jumps back and forth in time, creating several cliffhangers and making it extremely engaging. As I read through her experiences, I felt sympathetic to Addie as she faced many challenges stemming from not being able to be remembered. I found her experiences to be very repetitive and predictable, but this might have been done on purpose to emphasize how Addie felt having to reintroduce herself and live through the same encounter over and over.

The third person omniscient narrator allows the reader to know everyones thoughts, which creates dramatic irony. I found it interesting to read the point of view of characters who couldn’t remember Addie after just meeting her. This added depth to the story because I understood not just Addie’s perspective, but also what it was like to be someone in her life without knowing it.

I also enjoyed seeing Addie’s character development throughout the book. She started as a hopeless girl full of terrible experiences, but over time learned how to find the beauty in life.

The word choice and beauty of the language made the book a delightful read. 

Overall, I found this book very touching and it was one of the most beautiful books I’ve read. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue entails fantasy and a bit of romance, and I would highly recommend it to mature readers as there are some explicit scenes.