Love, Aubrey by Suzanne La Fleur, is a moving story about a girl called Aubrey and her life after two of her relatives are killed in a car crash. It is set in Virginia and New Haven.
The main character, Aubrey, is an eleven- year- old girl who has a bit of an attitude. After her sister and father die in a car accident, her mother abandons her. Aubrey has a very strong character and looks after herself well for a week. She even buys herself a pet fish with some of her birthday money, called Sammy, who stays with her for the rest of her adventure. Her grandma finds her after a week, coming to investigate after her calls were unanswered. She is a kind and understanding woman and helps Aubrey through the rest of her journey. Another main character is Bridget, who is the same age as Aubrey and lives next door to Aubrey’s grandma with her family. They become friends quickly and Aubrey likes the fact that Bridget doesn’t ask too many questions about the accident.
The book starts with Aubrey being alone at home, abandoned by her mother. Her grandma takes her back to her house in New Haven, where she meets Bridget and they get on well. After a few weeks, Bridget and Aubrey have to start school again and Aubrey has counselling to help her with her losses and to get her back on track. But trouble starts when her mother is found and Aubrey has mixed feelings about seeing her again. Will she go back to live with her?
The book is written from the point of view of Aubrey so it is in simple language and is easy to understand. Because it is in the first person, you are thrown into all her thoughts and this draws you into the book.
I recommend this book to readers aged 11+ because from this age you can understand and relate to the characters more and comprehend the situations easily. I like how it is narrated by an eleven-year-old because this way it is not too childish and also doesn’t have any annoying teen dramas in it, that are usually included when books are in the point-of-view of a girl. You can almost sense how Aubrey is feeling because her thoughts are straightforward and not too complex.