Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

GoodReads Summary:
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.
Review:
I’m binge-reading all of Brigid Kemmerer’s books because I’m going to her book signing on the 28th and I want to have read the book that I’m going to have her sign. I have heard nothing but good things about her writing and I was certainly not disappointed by Letters to the Lost. This story was interesting and thought-provoking, compelling and heart-wrenching.
Juliet and Declan were both such captivating characters. Each of them dealing with the death of a loved one, each feeling in their own way like that death was their fault. I really liked both of them. Juliet, dealing with the death of her mother, trying to get through each day to get her life back to normal. She finds that she can’t do all of the things she loved before her mother died. She won’t pick up a camera. She’s basically just going through the motions each day. I thought it was really interesting seeing how the deal of a loved one can affect your passions. Grief is more than just sadness and Letters to the Lost really shows that with these characters. For Juliet, it’s being consumed by wanting her mother back and losing interest in things she loved previously. For Declan, it was different. He put the responsibility on himself. So along with grief, he feels an overpowering amount of guilt. His grief shows in different ways than Juliet. He’s abrasive and volatile, embracing the ‘delinquent’ reputation that he has.
I found this story so relatable. Showing that everyone grieves differently is such an important message and its one that is shared so well by this story. Kemmerer tells a captivating story of love and loss and how to move toward loving and living again after losing someone you love.
Overall, I’m so happy I read this story and I can’t wait to read more by Kemmerer. Her writing was beautiful. It was also super interesting to read about the area that I live in because Kemmerer lives in a town near me (how cool right?) I definitely recommend reading this book if you haven’t already.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

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