The Careful Undressing of Love, Corey Ann Haydu
The Careful Undressing of Love, Corey Ann Haydu
3 Rating(s)
List: $23.99 | Sale: $16.79
Club: $11.99

The Careful Undressing of Love

Author: Corey Ann Haydu

Narrator: Julia Whelan

Unabridged: 7 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/31/2017


Synopsis

Set in an alternate New York City, a girls boarding school holds a centuries old curse that was dismissed as legend . . . until it strikes again.

“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.”—E. K. Johnston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Thousand Nights

The girls of Devonairre Street are cursed. For decades, the old women of the block have told the young ones that any boy they love will die too soon. But today, the curse is less a terror and more an eccentric accessory—something that makes the girls from the shortest street in Brooklyn special. To fight the curse, they never cut their hair. They always wear keys around their necks. When they pass, regular people stare and whisper “Devonairre” to their friends.

These days, Devonairre Girls don’t truly believe. Their futures are limitless.

Then Jack—their Jack, the boy everyone loved—dies suddenly. And in an instant the curse seems not only real, but like the only thing that matters. All their once-bright futures look hopelessly dark as their city turns against them.

About The Author

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.


Reviews

I thought living in a small space meant we shared everything. But so much can be hidden even in the most cramped apartment on one of the shortest streets in Brooklyn. Even love. This is why magical realism is one of my favourite genres. As with books like The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava L......more

Goodreads review by Natalie

“Love happens at night,” Angelika says, whispering like it’s a secret some of us might not know. “So we’ll take away the night.” This was such a quick read, almost impossible to put down. I wasn't sure at first if I would read this, but then without noticing I was twenty pages in and feeling invested......more

Goodreads review by Korrina

3.5 stars. The writing was good, and it kept my interest all the way through. But I felt the ending was a little weak and rushed, and made me wonder what the point of it all was.......more

Oh my heart. I've just finished The Careful Undressing of Love and yet again I'm in awe of Corey and her beautiful writing. Wow! Delightfully strange & magical.......more


Quotes

Praise for The Careful Undressing of Love

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."—#1 New York Times bestselling author E. K. Johnston

“Haydu explores such themes as differingexpressions of grief, destiny versus free will, the unexamined expectation thata 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 Horn Book

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

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


Praise for Corey Ann Haydu


“Haydu explores a sweet, unconventional romance alongside her characters’ well-known (but little-understood) disorder. Heartwarming, frequently funny, and wholly honest, this debut novel is, well, compulsively readable.”The Horn Book, starred review of OCD Love Story

“Witty, affecting, and ferociously individual.”BCCB, starred review of OCD Love Story

“Tender, wise, and heartbreakingly lovely, this story is as brilliant as a stolen star, and every bit as magical. Prepare to be enchanted.”—Katherine Applegate, Newbery-award winning author on Rules for Stealing Stars

“Haydu masterfully portrays the stress of living with an alcoholic parent. . . . A well-crafted blend of realism and fantasy. Give to fans of Holly Goldberg Sloan’s Counting By 7s and Sarah Weeks’s So B It.”School Library Journal, starred review of Rules for Stealing Stars