Book Synopsis
Juliet Young always writes letters to her mother, a world-traveling photojournalist. Even after her mother's death, she leaves letters at her grave. It's the only way Juliet can cope.
Declan Murphy isn't the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he's trying to escape the demons of his past.
When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can't resist writing back. Soon, he's opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither Declan nor Juliet knows that they're not actually strangers. When life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, sparks will fly as Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart. Letters to the Lost - Goodreads
Declan Murphy isn't the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he's trying to escape the demons of his past.
When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can't resist writing back. Soon, he's opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither Declan nor Juliet knows that they're not actually strangers. When life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, sparks will fly as Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart. Letters to the Lost - Goodreads
My Opinion
4.5/5 stars
I requested this book somewhat blindly from NetGalley. It looked and sounded interesting so... I thought I should give it a shot. Oh, boy! I was not disappointed.
It was a light read and easy to follow with a nice flow of events. Letters to the Lost brings into question the society and its views. Perfect families are not perfect. People can be both villains and heroes at the same time. People are people no matter the age. Lack of communication and expression of feelings can get you in deep trouble with those around you. Being misunderstood is a consequence of that. From all these books I am reading lately, including this one, I get this feeling that they are trying to transmit a message: Do not lie or, so called, protect the children from problems because things have their own way at getting back at you and backfire. Secrets are not good in a family. Children do not need to be protected from problems all the time. They need to understand and have someone to guide them through problems because they need to learn. You can't just dump the problems onto a child's shoulders either. There has to be a balance. In my opinion, this book does a great job at presenting all these ethical issues. Also... Let's just say that in some parts... it does too much and, for me, it was quite far fetched. Oh! That might be the case because I've seen that plot twist so many times in books, movies, and TV shows. I mean, come on! It was obvious. :D
The dynamic between the main characters is interesting. We are able to see the general two sides of human nature: the societal act and the true self. I can say the anonymous conversations were good therapy sessions for the two of them. Overall their story has a realistic-ish but beautiful resolution - too fast maybe? The romance factor was... yes and no at times. Don't get me wrong, it played nicely for the overall story. Although, it lacked some depth due to the issue I am going to discuss below.
The females in the book felt shallow and underdeveloped as characters. I was more connected with Declan which is not a bad thing... I wanted to see more sides of Juliet through her grief and sorrow. And this is my mature brain speaking, she spent a great deal of the book over idolizing her mother than paying attention to herself and others. And her best friend was just there. By the end of the storyline, I was not able to comprehend her existence in this novel. She had lots of potential from the bits of information I got about her from Juliet. Throughout the whole book, I was expecting her to be a back stabbing traitor but it was not like that - thank goodness! More details about the females characters were needed compared to the male ones. I do not know... You can say it was understandable since it is a light tragic young adult novel. (I cannot believe that I've jut put "light" and "tragic" in the same sentence and in close proximity.) Or, that is just how I perceive it.
It was a light read and easy to follow with a nice flow of events. Letters to the Lost brings into question the society and its views. Perfect families are not perfect. People can be both villains and heroes at the same time. People are people no matter the age. Lack of communication and expression of feelings can get you in deep trouble with those around you. Being misunderstood is a consequence of that. From all these books I am reading lately, including this one, I get this feeling that they are trying to transmit a message: Do not lie or, so called, protect the children from problems because things have their own way at getting back at you and backfire. Secrets are not good in a family. Children do not need to be protected from problems all the time. They need to understand and have someone to guide them through problems because they need to learn. You can't just dump the problems onto a child's shoulders either. There has to be a balance. In my opinion, this book does a great job at presenting all these ethical issues. Also... Let's just say that in some parts... it does too much and, for me, it was quite far fetched. Oh! That might be the case because I've seen that plot twist so many times in books, movies, and TV shows. I mean, come on! It was obvious. :D
The dynamic between the main characters is interesting. We are able to see the general two sides of human nature: the societal act and the true self. I can say the anonymous conversations were good therapy sessions for the two of them. Overall their story has a realistic-ish but beautiful resolution - too fast maybe? The romance factor was... yes and no at times. Don't get me wrong, it played nicely for the overall story. Although, it lacked some depth due to the issue I am going to discuss below.The females in the book felt shallow and underdeveloped as characters. I was more connected with Declan which is not a bad thing... I wanted to see more sides of Juliet through her grief and sorrow. And this is my mature brain speaking, she spent a great deal of the book over idolizing her mother than paying attention to herself and others. And her best friend was just there. By the end of the storyline, I was not able to comprehend her existence in this novel. She had lots of potential from the bits of information I got about her from Juliet. Throughout the whole book, I was expecting her to be a back stabbing traitor but it was not like that - thank goodness! More details about the females characters were needed compared to the male ones. I do not know... You can say it was understandable since it is a light tragic young adult novel. (I cannot believe that I've jut put "light" and "tragic" in the same sentence and in close proximity.) Or, that is just how I perceive it.
Finally, get some melancholic instrumental music, ask for magical power to make the weather gloomy and - by the end of the book - sunny, and see if this is your cup of tea.
This is my sole opinion. ^_^
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Language: none to mild
Sexual content: mild
Violence: moderate
Drugs/Alcohol: moderate
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