Without further ado, the most popular book on the children's books site over the past month is … The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Lesyle Walton! Described by our site members as 'intriguing', 'bittersweet' and, a bit more ambiguously, 'very strange'!

Ava Lavender is born with wings, and when she becomes a teenager, decides to go on a journey through her past to discover where she came from. Site member XoXo, BOOK WORM_98 beautifully summed up the storyline: 'From a picturesque little family to one irrevocably broken … It is the complicated journey of three young women interlinked by a bond stronger than blood - two extremely unlucky in love and another born with wings!'

'This has to be one of the weirdest books I've read this year!' commented Helloitsheath, who also attempting to classify what kind of story the book was: 'It falls somewhere between a love story, a story of history and a fantastical story with more than one unbelievable twist!'

So it's genre-busting, as all the best books are, but that wasn't all that our reviewers found to praise about it. Helloitsheath was also quick to admire the characterisation of the novel: 'The characters were rich throughout the book and even though three main different stories were being told, each character within each story was well rounded, diverse and interesting in their own way.' CaraErica also thought that the book 'should be remembered for the devastatingly beautiful character of Ava Lavender and how she depicts just what it is to be different.'

Our reviewers highly recommended the illustrated aspects of the novel, as laura,thespecialone explains: 'The front cover has been designed well, and I need to mention how intercut the design is.' Helloitsheath agreed: 'Another plus of this book is the gorgeous cover art and the family tree illustration at the start of the book.' So it seems you really can judge this book by its cover!

One of our reviewers, however, took issue with the length of the novel. 'I think it was a bit longer than it needed to be' thought Bookworm1408; 'It was one of those books where I cannot imagine it being real. I think if it was shorter and had less long descriptive paragraphs then it would be better … but it took ages to get to the story!'

CaraErica had no complaints about the length, but did express doubts about the potentially overwhelming complexity of the storyline: 'The many ideas vying for your attention show Walton's creativity, but perhaps too much is contained within too few pages to fully impact the reader.'

Ultimately, though, the overall tone was positive and our site members were quick to recommend the book for older readers, as laura,thespecialone justifies: 'This book is very good and well written but I think for anyone under the age of 12 it might be confusing as it sometimes uses more old fashioned language or hints to something that takes a bit of decoding.'

XoXo, BOOK WORM_98 aptly summed up the book: 'Lyrical and astounding - it will change you and show you what pain lies out there! … It was a sweet, harsh, bittersweet and lyrical read!'

Need some more inspiration for tip top reads? Other popular books this month included:

• Tony Robinson's Weird World of Wonders: World War II by Tony Robison

• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (again!)

• The Lottie Project by Jacqueline Wilson

• Thirteen by Tom Hoyle

• Vampire Spy: Operation Golden Bum by Tommy Donbavand

Want to tell the world about a book you've read? Join the site and send us your review!