Breakaway Books

Authored by V.E. Schwab; Published in 2020; Fantasy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️

What does it mean to be completely, totally free? That is the question sitting at the heart of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue—an extended meditation on if a legacy requires giving up even just a little bit of your hard-won freedom.

Addie is born in eighteenth century France, and she is determined not to be trapped in a dead-end marriage. Forced into an engagement by her tiny town, she escapes minutes before the wedding ceremony and makes a deal with a version of the devil, Luc. She is cursed never to be remembered or leave a mark of any form—but immortal. Over the centuries that follow, she enters a duel with the devil, pushing and pulling to obtain the life she truly wants, until she meets Henry, who miraculously remembers her.

The idea beneath this story is a fascinating seed and devastating in its execution. The evolution of Addie from French country girl to savvy urban thief is, at times, heartbreaking to witness, and I don’t know how a single reader could desire anything but what she ultimately receives: someone to remember and care for her. Addie’s ability to find loopholes in the curse through art that she inspires is a beautiful one, and the marks she leaves throughout history make for memorable signposts throughout the novel. An art lover would enjoy this running theme. 

Like many schoolchildren, I read Tuck Everlasting when I was young, and this novel flies in the face of everything I learned from it. It’s about a woman who survives decades after everyone she loves dies and manages to even thrive, rather than withering away out of sorrow. I am not like Addie—her life story made me cringe with loneliness—but for adventure seekers, I can understand how the vastness of her experience is a dream. Luc is more complicated than the average mischievous figure who strikes a fae-like deal, and the ambiguity surrounding him makes the rivalry between him and Addie all the more interesting. Addie’s love story with Henry is more simple and straightforward but brimming with sweetness, an element of satisfaction after longing for human connection.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is long, even epic in its span, but its legendary qualities make it worth the read.