A young woman is cursed to live hundreds of years in a world that does not remember her in The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, V.E. Schwab's enthralling novel of history, philosophy and magic.
"What is a person, if not the marks they leave behind?" Desperate for a life beyond her 18th-century French village, Adeline (Addie) LaRue prays to the old gods for time and independence. Addie is then granted youthful immortality with a terrible price: she "slips from the minds of others with the slightest push.... Unable to leave a mark on anyone, or anything." Forgotten by all who meet her, she is unable to write, draw or even say her own name. Though she cannot tell her story, Addie lives an extraordinary life spanning 300 years, surviving in defiance of her curse and learning to leave subtle imprints through the creations of others in her wake. "I can't wield a weapon or make someone remember. But art... is about ideas. And ideas are wilder than memories." Then, one day, she meets someone who changes everything with three impossible words: "I remember you."
In The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, fantasy author V.E. Schwab (Shades of Magic trilogy) has created a remarkable, genre-defying epic of a woman fighting to thrive in a world that denies her existence. Schwab's intoxicating characters and storytelling shine as she weaves hope, despair and resilience through alternating chapters of Addie's past (beginning in France, 1714) and present (New York City, 2014). Fans and newcomers alike will be absorbed by Schwab's gripping exploration of what it means to exist in the world. --Jennifer Oleinik, freelance writer and editor