"More than a stunning debut. It is the announcement of a bold new literary voice"
—Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I know that you’re not dead.I just wanted to to know that your book helped me in many ways. Also, helped me to realize that alive people can be also dead. I’m so sorry that my love letter is in Spanish but I think that is important for you to know that your book has passed around the world. That’s huge. Glad to understand a little piece of you (Hope you read this).

I haven’t forgotten about you. I just feel the aching pain lessen everyday. 5 years seems a long time and sometime they come rushing and crashing back to me and I can’t deal with it all. Other times I feel happy with my life and I don’t want to think about how it all feels. I enjoy life and I have great friends. Sure I get bullied and teased but I can fix it. I know you probably won’t read this but I hope that other people will. I am doing Love Letters to the Dead in school for a book I want to talk about and try to ‘sell’ to my classmates.

I still love you and I hope I won’t forget you.

When reading Love Letters to the Dead I didn’t even think about listening to ur band I thought that it wasn’t for me I know crazy right? But I felt a real connection in this book like my soul that I had lost was there for me waiting. I just fell in love with the entrys that Laural addressed to u I’d always get so excited because well I thought out of the people she wrote to u would understand me better than anyone else & then I listened to “smells like teen spirt” & I just listened to it over & over it was really good. So I thank u & ur music in helping me find my soul again & thank u ava for writing this book to because I feel whole every time I look at it & become instantly happy.

I know you aren’t dead, but our once blossoming relationship is. We started off friends, you were best friends with my neighbor. Then once you got the courage you asked me out, on October 13, 2014, to be exact. We went to the Halloween dance together that Friday and you left early to see a movie. On December 7th we had our first kiss. I remember the taste of cheap Dr. Pepper chapstick on your lips. We made it an inside joke, if we saw each other we would yell “DR. PEPPER!!!”. On February 13th, we went to the Valentine’s Day dance together. That was when we had our first picture taken together. That night was also the fist time we slow danced together. I remember the song ‘Stay With Me’ started playing and you came up behind me and asked me to dance. Later that night, we and couple other people, went to go see a movie. The only movie that was playing ended up being the new Spongebob movie. So during the whole movie we just played in each other’s arms. In March I found out that I was moving to North Carolina. We planned on trying long ... Read more

In this book the first letter goes to you. I want to write you this letter because while I was reading this book, I started tearing up when you were mentioned. I know, why would some 14-year-old girl be writing to Kurt Cobain? Well, I was influenced by a band to listen to Nirvana. I fell in love with the music. I connect with you so much as well. I’m that weird kid who listens to punk ruck and alternative, while everyone else is listening to rap and what not. But you inspired me to learn guitar. The first song i learned was ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ (cliche right?) But you’re message is inspirational. Thank You

It’s been a while since I’ve written to you, my love. I had the pleasure to read Love Letters to the Dead this weekend and, to be honest, at first I was only going to read it because I saw your name in one of the pages… but it ended up being a pretty good book.

The thing is, River, that I felt angry when I saw that Laurel was writing to you. I usually feel like that everytime someone mentions you, but it really pisses me off, because… because, it’s like they’re taking you away from me. Like you’re being stolen. It’s really stupid because I didn’t really know you and I know that you’d hate those kind of things if you were alive or something like that, but I can’t help it. I have known you since I was ten years old and now that I’m almost eighteen you’re still on my mind everyday.

I don’t want this to sound like the typical fan letter because I know you’ve received many of them and I want to make a difference, but at the end, I’m still a fan. But I feel different. I feel like… like I’m one of those ... Read more

I remember the first time I heard one of your songs. It was Come As You Are, which is played on the radio constantly. I remember listening to the lyrics, and hearing the emotions. I think I said something like “how have I never heard this before” and my mom said that I had. I realized that I had heard it, but I didn’t listen until that day. The minute I got home, I looked up so many of your songs. You sounded like you were trying to fight your demons thru every lyric, and I loved that. In some ways I feel like you, cause I put on a great show for others while I wrestle my demons. Sometimes I get mad cause you killed yourself. It seems like you gave up, and you had so much to live for. But then I have my bad days, and I feel what you must have gone thru. My demons get to tough for me, too scary, and I wonder if that’s why you did it, cause your demons got too scary.

I really love how Laurel could connect to you so much, and I can connect to you too. I remember when I first heard about your death, I almost started to cry because it was so upsetting. Even though you died a couple of years before I was born, it still hurts because you are honestly one of my biggest inspirations.

Last year for Christmas my dad got me all of Nirvana’s albums because I only had them on my iPod. My favorite albums are “Nevermind” and “In Utero.” I love listening to your music because I can really connect with you, and you understand me as a person. You scream in front of the monsters, just like Laurel and Sky said. You weren’t afraid of being yourself, and that’s what I love about you.

You were such an amazing and inspiring person, and it’s so horrible that you died. Your life was hard, it was not easy. The hardest part was probably your parents divorce. My parents got divorced when I was young, and I was really angry at them for the longest time. I hated feeling ... Read more

I know you aren’t a real person, but life is like being dead anyways, so why don’t we just use you as a perfect example.

I already know I am probably going to end up screwing my future/life. I honestly never really cared about school, I mean yeah, i’m in honors classes, and I get pretty good grades. but I’m not one of those people that doesn’t like school but does their work anyways. the only way I get by is by getting answers off other people. I’m not stupid, I’m actually really smart. and all my friends are convinced that ill be a writer one day.

maybe I will be, maybe I wont be. but with my bad behavior is school, I might never get into college. and I don’t think people can be an author and not have gone to college to get a literature degree or whatever degree it’s called, I don’t know.

oh and life, you know I love sports. but I can’t play it in school because of my bad behavior. oh well.

I just wish I knew what to do in life beside always drinking and partying and having sex and just being plain reckless.

but i’m young ... Read more

you were the perfect example of a person who looks okay on the outside, but is really on the edge of a cliff on the inside.

I’m having this problem where I am 99.9% sure I have ADHD.

All my life I could never concentrate in class, my thoughts always wondering. my teachers would always make my parents come to the school and tell them how I couldn’t focus in class. But my mom is a very spiritual person and she just thinks it’s because negative energy’s are just attached to me. and I not a spiritual person, so it makes me really aggravated.

I can never even have a decent conversation with some people, it makes me so mad.

you might have never gotten through your life in one piece, but I desperately want to.

I always seem to find myself stuck between two roads, one with a sign that says, “live good, but never be happy,” and the other, “die, and be happy with what you have accomplished in life.”

I mean, you’re dead and you can’t reply back to me, but that’s okay. I was never really a person to listen to peoples advice and feel perfectly fine ... Read more