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beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Kidnapping and Toxic relationship
Minor: Violence and Sexual content
carireadsbooksandtarot's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I don’t read YA very often but when I do, it’s something that has been mentioned to me by my sister, a middle-school librarian. She knows me well and it shows in her recommendation of Words in Deep Blue. Set in a bookstore, and filled with literary references, we follow Rachel, reeling from the death of her brother, as she returns to live with her aunt in the town she left several years ago. No one there knows that her brother is dead and she’s forced to come face to face with Henry and the broken friendship left behind when she moved away. Henry, who has just been dumped by his girlfriend, is heartbroken and determined to get her back, but everything is upended when Rachel gets a job in his family’s failing bookstore. The bookstore features a library of books, not for buying, but for leaving notes and letters in for others to find. And here we get a spattering of delightful epistolary entries! Rachel and Henry’s story is flanked by other well-drawn characters in this small Australian town. As I’m thinking back over it a week later, I can’t believe how much character and feeling Crowley was able to fit into a 250ish page YA novel. Even more rare than reading YA for me, is reading a romance. When I do, I find that I prefer YA romance. No judgement from me for those out there who enjoy smut, I’m just more of a “OK this is fine, but can we get back to the story?” kind of gal. I found this to be an engaging, well-paced, and touching story. Every time I read a good romance, I think I should read more romance, and this is one of those times. Recommendations welcome!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Child death, and Alcohol
victoria_elaine06's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was a cute romance book but hooded with issues of self-identity, grieving, and mental health. It was such a beautiful story!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Child death
meghanm404's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Grief
caitlino's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
elodie123's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really liked the book! I first gave it a 5 stars but then I changed it because I realized it didn't affect me that much.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Death
spaley's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This is going to be a very unpopular opinion. I wanted to like this book, I really really did, but I just couldn't. This isn't an action-packed story, so the meat of the book is the character development, and it felt really flat and predictable to me. The problem with dual POVs is it can get really tedious, and even irritating, if you don't like one of the narrators, and I don't like Henry. He was whiny, self-absorbed, and very immature. His only redeeming quality was that he was quotable:
"I love books in a way that's beyond logic and reason. That's just how it is. I love them the way those people in the Letter Library love them. It's not enough to read- I want to talk through the pages to get to the other side, to get to the person who read them before me. I want to spend my life hunting them, reading them, selling them."
Sadly, that wasn't enough to make me like him. He just felt so superficial compared to George and Rachel, and this just dragged the book down for me. I really liked Rachel. She felt real and her emotions were complex and I even cried while reading about her grief. She's a great character, but I don't like the implication that the way for her to "move on" from her brother's death is to replace him with Henry, "I think I knew when I came back to the city that this moment would come. The moment when I wouldn't feel overwhelmed by sadness for Cal, when I'd feel overwhelmed by Henry." I think the story would have felt more real, more complete, if Rachel and Henry ended as friends with the possibility for romance in the future. The way the book ends just feels rushed and a little too much like they're both on the rebound (her from grief, him from heartbreak).
My issues with the plot and characters doesn't lessen the impact of the beautiful writing and the poignant story of grief and loss in all its various forms. It's a decent, fast read, it just didn't change my life or anything.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
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