Book Review: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

Warning: There may be spoilers ahead 😅

There was a girl who lived in a small town in Villon sur Sarthe, France, during the 1700's and her name is Adeline LaRue. She had big dreams for herself, she wanted to see the world. But her mother had different dreams for her: to stay in Villon, get married and have kids - just as any other woman did in their village.

On the day of her arranged marriage, she prayed to every god she knew and out of desperation, she makes a Faustian bargain to live as she pleased. In return she was cursed to live forever and is forgotten by everyone. She wakes up everyday, meets people, but as soon as they turn their heads away from her, she is instantly forgotten.

After 300 hundred years, her life takes a turn and finally meets someone who remembers her.

I absolutely enjoyed this book. This story portrays what humans are capable of doing when put in such a desperate situation. You know that saying, "be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it?" Yea, well, Adeline got her wish for freedom, but of course, we all know, magic always comes at a price.

It also touches on power dynamics. While the book is about Addie selling her soul to Luc (the devil), overtime their relationship with each other evolves. It started out as human vs. supernatural, but as the story progressed, it comes to a point where they start to have feelings for one another. Further on, when Addie meets Henry (the boy who finally remembers her), she obviously can't help but fall in love with him and with that, manipulation comes into play. What Addie and Luc has, is obviously a representation of an abusive relationship, and their story, in my opinion, kind of depicts real life scenarios...sometimes, when a person can't get out of a toxic cycle, the only thing left to do is get into the mind of their abusers to try and give them a taste of their own medicine. Which is how the book kind of ended: Addie manipulating Luc into getting what she wants because Luc thinks he's a know it all. I, for one, would like to know - if ever Schwab decides to write a continuation - how Addie will save herself finally.

Schwab also tackles depression with Henry's character. A guy in his twenties who's clearly lost purpose. He doesn't know what to do with his life and even though it feels as if he wants to disappear, there's a part of him that also just wants to be seen and to be enough. This scenario is rampant in today's era and I'm glad this part of him was included in the story, because honestly, it's okay to feel this way. This also shows how important it is to have someone to talk to, and have someone to listen to you.

Finally, Luc, the supernatural force that only appears when someone is at their weakest. He takes advantage of a person's desperation to get what he wants. If we're going to apply this in the real world, I'm sure you've come across people who've done the same to you. At the end of the day though, everyone will get their karma, which is why in the end, Addie was able to talk her way through saving her soul until the time is right for her to strike.

So those are my thoughts about the book. I liked it because it was written with such conviction. The little twist in the ending of how Addie LaRue came to life was also nice. It was so good that it makes me want to believe that Addie is real. If you plan to read this book, I have to warn you, it's long and it's mostly because the author also wrote about Addie's trials as she went through different time periods.