jillmarie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Car accident, and Death of parent
leonorscpaixao's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
joraliasbooklover's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
cassie_edwards's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
hecklyx's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
5.0
brittany_tellefsen's review against another edition
5.0
I started writing this review over pages before I finished the book....because the emotions and thoughts it was producing were too much for me to contain.
If you were to ask what my idea of a perfect contemporary book was, this would be it. Hard-hitting. Flawed but redeemable characters. Beautiful story-telling. Touching relationships. Grief. Loss. Strength. It has it all.
And I am calling it now...that this is now one of my favorite contemporaies OF. ALL. TIME!
It has been several months since Juliet Young's mother was killed in a tragic car accident, but Juliet is still lost in her grief, barely able to manage the mundane tasks of everyday life. Her father is even worse, making their relationship distant. So Juliet spends much of her spare time at the cemetary, writing letters to her mother, trying to cope with her loss and feel connected all at once. She leaves them on the gravestone each day, and when she returns, they are gone, thrown away by the maintenance people never to be seen again..
Declan Murphy has a past, one that has landed him community service at the local cemetery. One day, he stumbles upon a mysterious letter left at a grave side, and feels so touched by the message inside, he writes back.
From there, an intense and instance connection is formed between these two, bonded by their grief. But what they don't know, is that they are not strangers to one another as they think....in fact, they may been connected more than they could ever have possibly imagined.
Okay. Deep breath.
This book had some of my favorite tropes e...and they were done SO damn well.
First, is what I have deemed the "You've Got Mail," trope: Two strangers correspond anonymously, falling for eachother as time goes. But in real life, they do know eachother, and are not on the best of terms. Meanwhile, one finds the identity of the other, but continues to remain anonymous.
Yes, it's long and oddly specific. But I LOVE it. Especially since it combines a good hate-to-love trope, with the power that comes with an anonymous connection. Bonding through words rather then physical attraction.
Secondly, this book as the "bad boy with a trouble past but heart of gold trope" that I just snort up like Steven Tyler with Cocaine.
And the way these two tropes interwined in this story was so incredibly beautiful and angsty and I was LIVING for it.
But at the heart of this story, it is about grief, loss, and surviving an event that you never thought you'd make it through. Learning to cope in a life without someone you loved dearly, or dealing with a life that has been changed after such a catastrophic event.
But it is also about forgiveness, and recognizing that one day does not define you as a person, even if society tells you otherwise.
I absolutely loved Juliet and Declan. I felt their anger and grief as they have to deal with situations that are not their fault and they have to cope with the mistakes of those who were supposed to protect them.
And this book had the best ending, because at it ends at a point that feels abrupt, but yet it totally concludes the book. And it leaves you wanting more. I didn't want that to be the end, but I knew that is where it needed to end.
This book was amazing. If you love hard-hitting contemporaries, you need to pick this up. Now.
If you were to ask what my idea of a perfect contemporary book was, this would be it. Hard-hitting. Flawed but redeemable characters. Beautiful story-telling. Touching relationships. Grief. Loss. Strength. It has it all.
And I am calling it now...that this is now one of my favorite contemporaies OF. ALL. TIME!
It has been several months since Juliet Young's mother was killed in a tragic car accident, but Juliet is still lost in her grief, barely able to manage the mundane tasks of everyday life. Her father is even worse, making their relationship distant. So Juliet spends much of her spare time at the cemetary, writing letters to her mother, trying to cope with her loss and feel connected all at once. She leaves them on the gravestone each day, and when she returns, they are gone, thrown away by the maintenance people never to be seen again..
Declan Murphy has a past, one that has landed him community service at the local cemetery. One day, he stumbles upon a mysterious letter left at a grave side, and feels so touched by the message inside, he writes back.
From there, an intense and instance connection is formed between these two, bonded by their grief. But what they don't know, is that they are not strangers to one another as they think....in fact, they may been connected more than they could ever have possibly imagined.
Okay. Deep breath.
This book had some of my favorite tropes e...and they were done SO damn well.
First, is what I have deemed the "You've Got Mail," trope: Two strangers correspond anonymously, falling for eachother as time goes. But in real life, they do know eachother, and are not on the best of terms. Meanwhile, one finds the identity of the other, but continues to remain anonymous.
Yes, it's long and oddly specific. But I LOVE it. Especially since it combines a good hate-to-love trope, with the power that comes with an anonymous connection. Bonding through words rather then physical attraction.
Secondly, this book as the "bad boy with a trouble past but heart of gold trope" that I just snort up like Steven Tyler with Cocaine.
And the way these two tropes interwined in this story was so incredibly beautiful and angsty and I was LIVING for it.
But at the heart of this story, it is about grief, loss, and surviving an event that you never thought you'd make it through. Learning to cope in a life without someone you loved dearly, or dealing with a life that has been changed after such a catastrophic event.
But it is also about forgiveness, and recognizing that one day does not define you as a person, even if society tells you otherwise.
I absolutely loved Juliet and Declan. I felt their anger and grief as they have to deal with situations that are not their fault and they have to cope with the mistakes of those who were supposed to protect them.
And this book had the best ending, because at it ends at a point that feels abrupt, but yet it totally concludes the book. And it leaves you wanting more. I didn't want that to be the end, but I knew that is where it needed to end.
This book was amazing. If you love hard-hitting contemporaries, you need to pick this up. Now.
ogatka's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
morganbrabender's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. This was incredible and deep and emotional and powerful. It reminded me of All the Bright Places, which says a ton because I was so affected by that novel. I loved Letters from the Lost and I’m so sorry that it had been sitting on my TBR shelf for almost 2 years. Loved this and can’t wait to read more by this author.
melissamissonnier's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
5.0