Letters to the Lost
I really have to give full credit to my boyfriend for the fact that I have been able to read SO much in such little time. He has not complained once about my nose being stuck in books, or me not really being 100% present because I've been completely absorbed in these books lately.
"Sometimes I think fate conspires against us. Or maybe fate conspires with us."
Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer
I loved this book. I loved the plot, I loved the characters, I loved it all.
The book starts with Declan finding a letter in the cemetery where he is mowing for community service. It's a letter to someone's mother, and it seems to have been left at her headstone. Against his better judgement Declan finds himself responding to the letter. The letter was written by Juliet, a 17 year old girl from the high school in town. She is trying to cope with her mother's death, and the best way she knows how is to write letters to her everyday. Juliet is pretty livid that someone has read her letter, and also written a response on it. The two then begin writing letter to each other, that eventually turns to emails, all without knowing they are going to the same high school and they have actually had a couple different interactions. The both of them are just trying to navigate fitting in, coping with a loss, and finding acceptance.
"When everything goes to hell around you, the only way to go is forward."
I loved this story. It was very sweet. It definitely leaned more on the YA side, there weren't any sex scenes, which actually after having read several lately that have been loaded with them this was a nice change. I also liked the secondary characters. I liked how there wasn't a "bad guy". This was just a book about two people finding each other, finding someone to talk to that understood them, and finally learning how to love themselves while also letting themselves live again.
"Sometimes you get to a point where it hurts too much, and you'll do anything to get rid of the pain. Even if it means doing something that hurts someone else."
I thought Juliet was a very strong young girl. She was broken, and she was mad that her mother had passed, but she was trying to overcome her grief. I think a lot of times she came across judgmental, but I also feel like that was her trying to cope with her emotions, I don't feel like she was a bad person or was intentionally mean to people. I honestly feel like she didn't know who she was without a mother, and it took her some time to figure that out.
"I wonder, If I keep faking it, will I eventually believe it? A part of me worries that I'll keep faking it and completely forget what's real at all."
I loved Declan's character the most. He was really struggling with his loss. He was struggling with his parents and he was struggling trying to find out if he even belonged anymore. He was closed off and confrontational. He made a mistake that ended with him doing community service, his supervisor there ended up being a pretty good friend to him, and he turned out to be someone Declan could really open up to when he needed someone to talk to. I loved his best friend, Rev. He had been through so much pain in his life, yet he was always there for Declan when he needed someone. He always gave him the best advice, and he always had the right thing to say. I think the people Declan had around him played a huge part in helping him get better.
"There's not a joy the world can give like that it takes away, when the glow of early thought declines in feeling's dull decay."
I enjoyed the story line of the book, because it kept you guessing as to when these two were going to figure out who the other was. One of them finds out before the other and chooses to keep it a secret. I was worried that was going to cause problems in the end, but it actually didn't. I think they related to each other so much that they understood why they wanted to hold on to the secret a little bit longer. I was very happy with the ending, and I thought the story stayed on a good pace throughout the whole book. There wasn't any moment that I was bored and wanted to put it down.
"Am I stronger than you thought I was? You're exactly as strong as I thought you were."
Overall I am giving this book 5 STARS. I loved it. I loved the premise of the story, I loved the characters, and I loved how it ended. I haven't been in any book slumps lately, obviously, but if you have I think this would be a good one to help get you out of one! Very good read, and I will definitely read more from this author in the future!
"Sometimes I think fate conspires against us. Or maybe fate conspires with us."
I loved this book. I loved the plot, I loved the characters, I loved it all.
The book starts with Declan finding a letter in the cemetery where he is mowing for community service. It's a letter to someone's mother, and it seems to have been left at her headstone. Against his better judgement Declan finds himself responding to the letter. The letter was written by Juliet, a 17 year old girl from the high school in town. She is trying to cope with her mother's death, and the best way she knows how is to write letters to her everyday. Juliet is pretty livid that someone has read her letter, and also written a response on it. The two then begin writing letter to each other, that eventually turns to emails, all without knowing they are going to the same high school and they have actually had a couple different interactions. The both of them are just trying to navigate fitting in, coping with a loss, and finding acceptance.
"When everything goes to hell around you, the only way to go is forward."
I loved this story. It was very sweet. It definitely leaned more on the YA side, there weren't any sex scenes, which actually after having read several lately that have been loaded with them this was a nice change. I also liked the secondary characters. I liked how there wasn't a "bad guy". This was just a book about two people finding each other, finding someone to talk to that understood them, and finally learning how to love themselves while also letting themselves live again.
"Sometimes you get to a point where it hurts too much, and you'll do anything to get rid of the pain. Even if it means doing something that hurts someone else."
I thought Juliet was a very strong young girl. She was broken, and she was mad that her mother had passed, but she was trying to overcome her grief. I think a lot of times she came across judgmental, but I also feel like that was her trying to cope with her emotions, I don't feel like she was a bad person or was intentionally mean to people. I honestly feel like she didn't know who she was without a mother, and it took her some time to figure that out.
"I wonder, If I keep faking it, will I eventually believe it? A part of me worries that I'll keep faking it and completely forget what's real at all."
I loved Declan's character the most. He was really struggling with his loss. He was struggling with his parents and he was struggling trying to find out if he even belonged anymore. He was closed off and confrontational. He made a mistake that ended with him doing community service, his supervisor there ended up being a pretty good friend to him, and he turned out to be someone Declan could really open up to when he needed someone to talk to. I loved his best friend, Rev. He had been through so much pain in his life, yet he was always there for Declan when he needed someone. He always gave him the best advice, and he always had the right thing to say. I think the people Declan had around him played a huge part in helping him get better.
"There's not a joy the world can give like that it takes away, when the glow of early thought declines in feeling's dull decay."
I enjoyed the story line of the book, because it kept you guessing as to when these two were going to figure out who the other was. One of them finds out before the other and chooses to keep it a secret. I was worried that was going to cause problems in the end, but it actually didn't. I think they related to each other so much that they understood why they wanted to hold on to the secret a little bit longer. I was very happy with the ending, and I thought the story stayed on a good pace throughout the whole book. There wasn't any moment that I was bored and wanted to put it down.
"Am I stronger than you thought I was? You're exactly as strong as I thought you were."
Overall I am giving this book 5 STARS. I loved it. I loved the premise of the story, I loved the characters, and I loved how it ended. I haven't been in any book slumps lately, obviously, but if you have I think this would be a good one to help get you out of one! Very good read, and I will definitely read more from this author in the future!
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