Have you read a book where the main characters exchanged letters and did not know each other’s true identity for a while? Letters to the Lost is set in this trope. It was quick read and though Ariel and I discussed it a lot throughout our reading, it did make it to our favorites books this year. This review is a little bit spoiler-y so please read with that in mind. At the end, we also suggest other books in this trope which we enjoyed a lot! Ariel’s comments are in bold. Let’s take a look at the synopsis and then we will dive into our discussion.
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.
Content Notes: Infidelity, references to death of parents, suicidal ideation, emotional familial abuse, and references to alcoholism
Letters to the Lost – Whole book Discussion
I will be honest – I was looking for a tear jerker of a book. That premise had given me hope but I guess it was misplaced. Though Letters to the Lost does begin with letters and tries to tug at heart strings, most of my emotional response to it was related to the superficial characters. At first, both Juliet and Declan were so similar – commenting about the handwriting of the letters, making judgements about gender and age, having similar issues with parents and feeling like they were being set up by the other person. It took awhile for the two protagonists to truly differentiate themselves.
I agree! It took awhile for the characters to find a rhythm to distinguish who they were and what they wanted. It also doesn’t help that the characters come off as unnecessarily abrasive, to the point where it seems unbelievable that the characters (and side characters) would be so rude for no apparent reason.
Of the whole cast, Declan was probably the most well developed and Rev and Dec’s friendship was an asset of the story. Juliet’s attitude, Rowan’s rudeness were major points of contention for me. Did Rowan not have any common sense at all?!
For a best friend, Rowan didn’t seem to do much to support Juliet!
And don’t even get us started on the parents! Ahhhhh.
Honestly the parents were the worst part of the cast for me. It’s a good narrative to have commentary on adolescents learning that their parents are not perfect human beings, but there were levels of emotional abuse and manipulation that seemed to just resolve itself way too easily at the end.
I agree. We did not need both set of parents to be like that!
I liked the commentary in the book where Declan said it is always easier to blame someone who has done something bad. So many times in the story, Juliet and Rowan gang up on him because he has a bad reputation, without even trying to know his side of the story.
I think that was a major theme of the book- that people aren’t what you seem from the first impression. But that idea gets hammered in over and over to the point that I was tired of being told that “appearances and attitude isn’t everything” by the end.
Oh ya. Not just the young adults but also the teachers were giving the same message!
On a more positive note I guess – I am a teacher and this was the first time when I reflected on the presentation of teachers in a YA novel. I can’t think of other books right now but it seems pretty common to show how boring high school is when it comes to the core subjects. Teachers put a lot of effort into the classes and getting to know the kids and I am glad that Mrs H had a positive effect on Dec, as did Mr G on Juliet’s photography.
Concluding thoughts
I had high expectations of Letters to the Lost. What worked for it was that it was a fast read. What didn’t work was that so much happened and most of it did not need to be in there. The characters were still not well developed after 350+ pages. I know this is favorite for so many people but sadly, for us, we were not enchanted by it. Fun to read together though and identify similar gaping holes in the plot together! 🙂
Yes! At the end of the day, if you turn off your critical mind for a minute, I think this book has the potential to be a very fun read. It’s quick, it’s light, and it can resonate on a lot of deep levels. You and I just love analyzing and picking apart books, so that’s why we’re at where we are with this book. But over all, this book has a lot of potential for enjoyment, so we hope that if this book sounds interesting to you, that you have fun with it 🙂
That’s all for our discussion for Letters to the Lost! You know we love describing our reading experience to you! Here is a summary of our read:
Interested in reading Letters to the Lost and adding to our discussion? Find it on all retail stores. Here are the Amazon links for your convenience. I would recommend finding it at your local library.
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
We recommend
Other books in the exchanging-letter category which we loved:
- Love, Rosie by Cecilia Ahern (written in the form of letters and messages exchanged between two best friends from childhood to adulthood)
- This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (Two opposing time-travel agents write letters over time in a poetic prose)
- They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera (Two teens who learn they will die in 24 hours are connected on a messaging app to cope with existential thoughts)
- Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (coming of age high school drama with anonymous email correspondence as a major plot point)
Cover Photo on Unsplash
Great review! This reminds me of a book I read called ‘Love, Virtually’ by Daniel Glattauer – it’s a series of emails sent between two people who haven’t met.
I will check that book out! Thanks, Tilly! 🙂