Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Children’s, Teenage & Educational
Weblink
www.coreyannhaydu.com

THE CAREFUL UNDRESSING OF LOVE

Corey Anne Haydu

The Careful Undressing of Love is a disturbing and sensual story of the power of youth and the boundless mysteries of love set against the backdrop of Haydu’s brilliantly reimagined New York City.

The girls of Devonairre Street have always been told they’re cursed. Any boy they love is certain to die too soon. But this is Brooklyn in 2008, and the curse is less a terror and more a lifestyle accessory—something funky and quaint that makes the girls from the shortest street in Brooklyn special. They wear their hair long and keys around their necks. People give them a second look and whisper “Devonairre” to their friends. But it’s not real. It won’t affect their futures.

Then Jack—their Jack, the one boy everyone loved—dies suddenly and violently. And now the curse seems not only real, but like the only thing that matters. All their bright futures have suddenly gone dark.

Corey Ann Haydu is the critically acclaimed author of several novels for young readers novels, including OCD Love Story, which earned her a Publishers Weekly Flying Start. Her books have been Junior Library Guild, Indie Next, and BCCB Blue Ribbon selections. Corey lives in Brooklyn with her dog, her fiancé, and a wide selection of cheese.

Available products
Book Published 2017-01-31 by Dutton Children's
Book Published 2017-01-31 by Dutton Children's

Comments

Haydu explores such themes as differing expressions of grief, destiny versus free will, the unexamined expectation that a girl will love a boy, and the interrelation (or lack thereof ) between sex and love. The slight magical realism and parallel-world setting add to this wrenching novel’s lyricism—and make the pain somewhat easier to bear.

The Careful Undressing of Love is sad and strange and beautiful. I will be marveling over Corey Ann Haydu’s writing for days to come.

The Careful Undressing of Love is a book you relax into. For the first few pages, you’re picky, trying to sort Haydu’s magical world from our real one, and then it just takes you over. It’s weird until it’s not, and then it’s an examination of love and legacy and family, and the things girls do when we back them into corners and blame them for being there in the first place.

Both straightforward and lyrical, this is a compelling read, a decidedly ambiguous portrayal of love that will resonate with those tired of formulaic romances.

Portuguese Brazil: Record

A carefully layered exploration of the age-old question, “Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?

Heartbreakingly beautiful and haunting, Haydu holds your heart in her hands as you travel through the pages of this story.

This complex novel would be a good choice for a book discussion group or for those looking for a substantive, poetic YA read.