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Book Review: Ava Anna Ada

Cover of Ava Anna Ada paperback book - Scottish modern fiction
Buy Ava Anna Ada

Ava Anna Ada

by · ISBN: 9781399613514
★★★★☆
Fiction Dystopian Climate Psychological

Overview

Ava Anna Ada is a contemporary novel about two women, Ava and Anna, in a near future where heat and dread hang over everything. Anna is grieving her dead daughter and living in a fraught landscape. When Ava enters her life in a single week, their desires and fears twist together and unravel in strange ways.

Writing & Voice

We found the prose intense and unflinching. Millar writes with urgency that matches the oppressive setting. The voices of both women shift quickly, drawing us into their minds without settling into easy answers.

Content & Perspective

The story moves between Ava and Anna as they grapple with personal loss, climate crisis and unsettling relationships. The setting feels close yet distant, a world tipped beyond normal life where survival and passion collide in unpredictable ways.

Themes

Ava Anna Ada explores grief, desire, identity and the weight of the world around us. We were struck by how the novel blends personal trauma with larger ecological unease, pushing characters to question what they want and what they fear most.

What Worked

  • Bold and raw exploration of grief and need.
  • Evocative setting that feels urgent and fraught.
  • Compelling dual perspectives that blur boundaries.

Minor Quibbles

  • Some scenes unsettle more than they clarify.
  • The pace can feel erratic at times.

Final Thoughts

We found Ava Anna Ada urgent and disquieting, blending grief, desire, and climate anxiety into a claustrophobic week that resists clarity and lingers in the mind.

Rating: ★★★★☆ / 5

We recommend this to readers who want character driven fiction with psychological intensity in a vivid near future setting.