A Spoiler-free Review of V.E. Schwab's "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue."

I can't believe I'm actually going out of my way to do this. One fact about me: I am EASILY influenced. When something becomes a trend, I like to see it for myself. Some of them stuck around, some was passed off as a good learning experience. 

Just like everyone else, TikTok has become an addiction and the one thing I absolutely love getting myself invested in is #BookTok. It somehow awakened the 12-14 year old me's love for reading. One day, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue was highly recommended on my 'for you page'. 

This historical fantasy with romance begins in 1714 France where a girl named Addie LaRue wants much more than what her simple peasant life could ever offer. She's been warned to never pray to the gods after dark but one day, out of desperation, she does. She makes a Faustian bargain where she asks for more time and freedom. The darkness uses her words against her and she is then cursed with immortality and damned to be forgotten. Anyone she meets in the past forgets her and anyone she would meet in the future would immediately forget about her the moment she is out of sight. Her existence has been made to be forgotten that she can't even leave a mark of her own. Soon later in 2014 New York, she meets a guy who suddenly remembers her. 

A lot of reviews had these words related to it-

"Heartbreakingly captivating."

"Beautifully written."

"TEARS."

"I am broken."

"WHY."

My first thought when I read the premise was the movie "The Age of Adaline". Their names were the exact same too and I thought I could tell what was going to happen in the end. Boy, I was wrong. I cannot emphasize enough on how absolutely captivating this story was and I had NO WAY of predicting the ending. It was definitely a no wonder why Neil Gaiman himself was featured on the book's review section.

This book helped me to pick up my reading habit again (and probably made my standards go higher). I knew V.E. Schwab is well-known for her fantasy-themed works but this was my first book of hers. The writing style is beautifully arranged and crafted, it doesn't come off as pretentious. I've always thought most descriptions of characters and environment can be a bit exaggerated sometimes but this was one I definitely enjoyed. Each line I read, it was like a film playing in my head. I imagined Addie's adventures as the years go by, witness history itself and how the era changes each time. Not to mention the amount of flashbacks, you feel like you're travelling back and forth in time. 

Putting yourself in Addie's character is like riding a roller coaster. One moment, she's full of hope and dreams and before you know it, she falls into despair as an effect for outliving her loved ones without any of them remembering her. We see her human side once in a while, then we see how determined and stubborn she is to not give in to the darkness. If I had to put in my words in the list, it would be "maddeningly beautiful." For a character that is damned to be forgotten, Addie LaRue left a huge impression on me and now this book lives in my head rent-free. 

Did I cry? 

Of course, I did. 

Unexpectedly. For the first time, believe it or not.

I highly recommend this whoever is reading this post but be warned, it might get you into a reading slump (basically what happened to me). If you're into action-packed stories, then this might not be the one for you because it focuses more on existentialism. You tend to see a lot of flashbacks but in my opinion, that is one of the best parts about this book. You see how Addie's character develop over the hundreds of years. 

Don't get me started on the romance so perhaps I'll just let you experience it yourselves. However, if this book does make you think as deeply as I did, I'm always open for a friendly chat.

And now to end it with the famous (and my favourite) quote - 

"If a person cannot leave a mark, do they exist?" - Addie LaRue