I don't know what it was about this book, but I really couldn't get into the story. It went very slow for me.

In Words in Deep Blue we learn the story of Rachel and Henry in alternating chapters from each character's point of view. They were best friends before Rachel moved away from their small town in Australia, leaving Henry a love letter that he never finds. Rachel returns three years later, having lost her brother in a drowning accident, which she does not disclose. The bookshop Henry manages is up for sale and Rachel is hired to catalog the shop’s most unique feature, the Letter Library, which contains books with inscriptions, notes, and years of correspondence between lovers and strangers. Although things are strained between them, they begin to rekindle their relationship as they work side by side. Interspersed with excerpts from the Letter Library, this story of missed connections plays out, revealing a universal story of love, loss and second chances. This is an essential read for lovers of literature. Filled with literary references and philosophical meanderings, the book bears witness to Henry's quip, "Sometimes science isn't enough. Sometimes you need the poets."

Fans of Rachel Cohn, David Levithan, or Jay Asher will love this book. The story is strong and original, the characters are developed and easy to identify with, and the formatting of the novel is original. I highly recommend this book. You will not regret reading this book.

I started reading this, but didn't find it very compelling and also mildly confusing. So much going on. Dead brother. Note in a letter on a shelf meant only for putting letters in books? Too much.

I've had this book to read for a long time but some reason I didn't do it until now. When I first saw it on NetGalley I really liked what I read about it and I was super excited to read it but to be honest I haven't been in the mood for young adult so it took me a long time to do it. It helped a lot that both Cristina and Kat read this book before me and kept raving about it and making me curious about it.

I really loved this book and how beautiful it was. The thing I loved the most was how it was written. It was such a beautiful read. I loved how not only had POV's from Rachel and Henry but how also had letters and notes that help us to get to know other characters. That made everything better because it showed that Henry and Rachel were not the only important characters in the book. Another thing I love was that this book is about books. First of all, Words in Deep Blue is set mostly in a bookstore and not even a simple bookstore but a bookstore that has a Letter Library. I loved the concept of that and I want one near me so I can write notes and letters in amazing books. However, there's so much more in this book. This is one of those books that makes you feel everything. It's happy and sad at the same time and it's such an emotional read especially because it deals with loss and grief.

The characters are also awesome. Rachel is such a great girl who lost the joy of her life after losing one of the most important people of her life (which led her to lose even more things afterwards). Also, can we talk how much she's into marine biology?? As someone who actually studied and has some background on marine biology I was really happy about that :D. Then we have Henry... to be honest I wasn't happy with him at beginning because he couldn't open his eyes about certain stuff but he was such an amazing guy. I loved him and I loved his relationship with Rachel and how they supported each other when they needed the most. I also really loved George and Martin. I even loved Cal a lot. These were all such amazing characters and it was difficult not to grow attached to them.

Overall, this was such an amazing book. It's one of those reads that makes you feel everything. You'll cry and laugh and cry a lot but it's worth it because in the end it's such a beautiful read that it would be a waste not to read it.

♥ Quick Thoughts and Rating: 3 stars! Even though I desperately tried to manage my expectations for this novel because Crowley's Graffiti Moon is one of my all-time favorites, I fear I missed the mark. I almost want to cry because I didn't love this more. It's not that it's a terrible book by any stretch of the imagination because I enjoyed it quite a bit, it's just that it didn't hold a candle to her previous work and I didn't connect to it or its characters as much as I had hoped I would.

That said, this book was certainly a love letter from the author to book lovers everywhere. The book shop, Howling Books, and its Letter Library, along with the way the characters lived and breathed books just as much as any living reader was my absolute favorite aspect of this novel.


♥ Review: I'd rather not discuss in great detail my biggest issues regarding the plot because it certainly has parts considered spoilerish by some, but I will say that even though some elements were a tad predictable and the pacing slow at times, Crowley has definitely maintained her fantastic writerly quality that keeps her readers invested in the happenings of the book and her characters' developments. For me, though, I was frustrated for the better part of the book by Rachel, Henry, and especially Amy, and the entirety of the circumstances surrounding this tangled trio and the romance between them. The whole dynamic had me wanting more for them all, or maybe I wanted them to want more for themselves. More so, I found it odd--though a little compelling--that the main characters weren't even my favorite parts of this book. That award goes to the book shop, Howling Books, its Letter Library, Henry's sister, George (looooooved her!), her new co-worker, Martin, and even Rachel's deceased brother, Cal. (Honestly, I'd really love to read the book for George and Martin if someone can make that happen!)

This novel had bookish love in spades and I certainly loved that whole element the most!


♥ Teaser Quote:
I'll show Mum the catalog of the Letter Library. I'll tell her about the people who have loved and lost and left a record of it. I'll tell her to prove we're not alone, and that all the different stories that there are somehow all add up to one. I'll tell her about Cal and George. I'll tell her about the idea that memory can transmigrate, from the dead to the living. I'll tell her about the beautiful, impossible thought that Cal might have, at the moment of dying, transmigrated. I'll tell her that I think he had been transmigrating all his life: leaving himself in the things he loved, in the people he loved. He brimmed over the edges of his own life, and escaped.
–quote taken from the eARC of Words in Deep Blue at 97%


♥ Rec It? Sure. Honestly, I really feel (and have already noticed from other reviews on Goodreads) that other readers will love and connect with this book more deeply than I was able to, so take my review with a grain of salt. Additionally, as much as I tried not to let my personal life affect my reading mood, it inevitably happens. I recently lost two very important people to me and since this book deals in grief, I don't know if it was the right book at the right time, especially considering how everyone handles grief differently and part of my irritation in Rachel's behavior was how she was handling hers, which was vastly different from mine. So, like I said, my review... grain of salt... it's a good book, so read it.

♥ A very special thanks to Knopf Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this title.

I was curious with the title and when I read the synopsis, it totally caught my attention.

Words in Deep Blue is the best Young Adult novel that I've read this 2017. I'm recommending this book!

I understood where Rachel came from after a heartbreaking thing that happened to their family. I can see most of millennial teenagers with Henry. My heart ached with George and Cal who wasn't given a chance to meet and date.

These two characters who are in love with books and a bookshop, made me believe of second chance of love, moving on and taking a risk. I enjoyed the exchange of letters via The Letter Library section.

I HAVE A NEW FAVORITE! THIS BOOK JUST WENT RIGHT INTO MY FAVORITES LIST, BECAUSE IT’S JUST GORGEOUS AND AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL AND I LOVE IT!

This book is told in dual POV, Rachel and Henry’s points of view, but then it also has amazing letter and notes, dated, between several characters in the book, and ARGHHH, it’s beautiful! The writing is amazing, the letters are amazing, the voices are distinct. I’m in love with the writing on this book.

I love how all the characters are so different but they all complement each other so well. I loved Rachel, even when she was grieving so much, I felt like she was real. Actually, all the characters felt real, because they all had these imperfections, something that made me want to punch them at one point or the other, but they were amazing all the same. Henry was a beautiful soul, who just needed to see what was right in front of him, but who was a little bit blind to the idea of love, to actually see it… but he’s amazing, so I forgive him. I had a blast with George and Martin, and I’m so glad for those side stories.

But this book is as much about loss as it is about love. All characters need to learn how to deal with major losses in their lives, from people they love, to a dream or an identity. I loved the plot and how all these major things were intertwined and explored.

Overall, this book made me laugh and sob and ugly cry, but it made me happy and sad, and it made me want to buy a physical copy and write the hell out of it. It made me want to share my love for books and the written word even more. It made me want to read poetry for the first time in my life. It just made me feel a hell of a lot.

I LOVE IT. I TRULY MADLY LOVE IT. AND YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY READ IT. NOW!

Rachel's family moved to the coast a few years ago, leaving her best friend/the boy she was secretly in love with. Now her brother has died in an accident, Rachel is lost, and her family is sending her back to the city to live with her aunt. Now she finds herself working at the book store that her former best friend's family owns and having to confront the friends that she dropped when she moved. This is a good, but sad, book with a realistic view on grief. I enjoyed the ample literary references and the bookstore. aspect I wish I had one of those in the coastal town that I live in. The characters are likable and the writing is excellent. The best friend/unrequited love Henry is a complete idiot and his girlfriend Amy is awful, but you still end up liking Henry despite his many, many flaws. Words in Deep Blue is one that will stick with you for awhile.

Years ago Rachel had a huge crush on Henry. Confessing her crush in a note left in his favorite book, she is left waiting as Henry choses another girl. Rachel moves away and gets new friends and relationships, but tragedy strikes and she finds herself back in town, and working at Henry's family's book shop. Tasked with archiving the store's unique library of books with notes in them before it's closed, Rachel tries to avoid Henry and her former friends. But a mystery regarding Henry's sister and a secret admirer as well as Henry coming clean about his own feelings will push Rachel to reveal what happened to her and how she feels.

LOVELY Read!

This is a beautifully written book. I tell everyone about all the quote worthy sentences it contains. Sweet story.

Words in Deep Blue is a realistic look at loss, grief, love, and the importance of words. Told in alternative points of view and packed with emotions, each of the characters go on a journey from hopelessness to second chances of living again. Rachel Sweetie's world changed forever the day her brother Cal drowned. Since his death, Rachel has failed to graduate from school and alienated most of her friends. She has become a zombie, feeling numb and unable to move on. Rachel's family seems to think returning to live with her aunt in their old hometown will help. She's up for the change of scenery, if only it didn't mean seeing her ex-best friend Henry. Before moving, Rachel mustered up her courage, became vulnerable and confessed she loved Henry in a love letter that she left in his family's bookstore. Henry never responded.
Like Rachel, Henry is also dealing with a loss of his own. His girlfriend suddenly dumps him without any explanations and his refuge and his parents bookstore, Howling Books, may have to be sold due to abysmal sales.
As a bibliophile myself it didn't take me long to get wrapped in this book. I liked Rachel right away. With moving back home, she is given another chance to live her life again. I enjoyed watching her grow as she accepts her failures and finally embraces her grief. I appreciated that the author didn't reduce her character to be Henry-centered. I also enjoyed how organic and authentic her friendship and later romance with Henry felt.
I had a harder time liking Henry. Henry reminded me of John Cusack in Say Anything. I loved that he is a reader and a dreamer. What annoyed me most about him was his tunnel vision in getting his girlfriend back, a person that everyone can see is not good for him. There were many times I wanted to shake him and hit him upside the head to show him that Rachel is the one he needs. It's so obvious to everyone else but him. I did however love Henry's sister George who is rough on the outer edges but soft at heart. I loved watching her come out of her shell. She too has her own journey in the book that broke my heart and eventually wove my broken pieces back together.
I absolutely loved the setting of Howling Books. I wished there was a bookstore such as that near me. I would never leave. The bookstore also has a Letter Library in which customers communicate with one another by writing in and marking up a select set of books and by leaving letters in between the pages. I liked how these letters varying from funny, touching, and sad were interspersed throughout the book. Though the book doesn't end with a nicely tied bow and I would have liked a bit more of a resolution with some of the plot threads, it does make the story realistic. Words in Deep Blue is a love story, your traditional romance but also a love story to the written word.

I enjoyed Words in Deep Blue. This is a good read for fans of Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and other similar authors. The plot is not overly complicated, but it draws the reader in. Fans of print books and bookstores will love the references to some of the favorite works and will be intrigued by the Letter Library

“Words in Deep Blue” is not much about whether Rachel and Henry belong to each other even after years of distance and falling out. The book never puts a doubt to the answer to that. The two of them were close since childhood, bestfriends in fact. Right from the first page we see Rachel’s three-year old love letter to Henry. Rachel’s been away but in the first chapter, she’s about to go back to her childhood town. Then the next chapter began with Henry’s girlfriend, Amy, breaking up with him. It’s perfect timing. The stars have aligned for Rachel and Henry to be together again.

One of the book’s pleasure comes with discovering how Rachel and Henry would finally catch on with their real feelings for each other. The book is in first person dual points of view, alternating between Rachel’s and Henry’s narration. Some same scenes in this book are seen from both their eyes, like when Henry confronted Rachel about her love letter. It’s a nice touch how the same sequences differ depending on who is telling them. The twist and turns of their love story involves the making up of their friendship, comforting each other’s grief and heartbreak, saving Henry from the bullies, an exchange of letters, saving a bookshop from being sold out and a handful of lovable supporting characters.

I love the Joneses, Henry’s family, warmth, complications and all. I want to sit with them in one of their traditional Friday family dinner solely dedicated to dumplings and book discussions. I want to visit and shop at the Howling Books, a secondhand bookstore owned by Henry’s parents. I am partial of course to Henry’s dad, Michael, and his sentimentality towards the bookstore and his favorite book, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. But I also understand Henry’s mom, Sophie, who argues for the practical side of things. Henry’s younger sister, George, is the source of a few laughs with her snarky comments to Henry’s misery. Plus they have a bookshop cat named after an author, Ray Bradbury! You might already know that I want to be a bookshop cat or a library cat in my next life so yeah, I think I’ve seen a glimpse of my good life ahead, slinking through books and people thru Ray Bradbury. I love Rachel’s and Henry’s third bestfriend, Lola, who makes her own music with bandmate, Hiroko. I love Howling Books’ patrons, especially the sage septuagenarian Frederick. And oddly enough, my favorite character of all is Cal, Rachel’s dead brother. Cal is not just someone mentioned in passing for Rachel to mourn for. He felt so real to me. I got to know him so well – his interests on time theories, his favorite things, his letters, his hopes and dreams for the future – that I can’t help but feel for Rachel’s loss.

“Words in Deep Blue” heavily referenced a lot of books and authors. It covered a wide spectrum of genre from classics to contemporary YA, from John Steinbeck to John Green. I am honestly not familiar with every literary citations but I mildly obsessed about the idea of maybe checking them out later that I took notes and made a list of all the books mentioned in the book. The plot is not that extraordinary but the writing is exquisite. There’s this beautiful mental picture that Rachel thought while lying on the floor next to Henry holding a book over their heads: “The words could rain on us, I think. I have a strange image of us drinking them.” There is a significant mention of the color blue all throughout: the blue velvet couch in Howling Books’s fiction section, bluestone walls of the reading garden, Frederick’s deep-blue ties, Rachel’s 1990 dark blue Volvo, George’s dark hair with a blue stripe running down on one side, Rachel’s blue bathing suit, Rachel’s blue eyes, and even Amy wore a blue dress on one occasion. Blue, being the color of sadness maybe? I will not dwell much on the significance of the imagery but still, nice mental pictures. Sandwiched between each chapter are notes and letters in the Letter Library. These extra parts added a whole lot of charm and character to the book. The Letter Library is a special section of Howling Books, where customers are allowed to circle words and highlight the lines that they love. They may write notes in the margins or leave letters between the pages of the books. Patrons may write to anyone (to authors, to their ex-lovers, to strangers) and anyone can also write back.

“Words in Deep Blue” will surely make a bookworm’s heart flutter. The book puts the written words as the central figure that has a great effect on its characters. One character, Frederick, said that books, words, music, and art are lights that reappear in a broken universe. When we come to think of it, these things are artificial. Man-made. Words are only strings of letters. Words are mundane, we use them everyday. They are just that, words. But most times when put together, they become stories or poems or songs. They become magic that conjures feelings and inspirations. They can hurt, but more importantly, can also heal and give us hope. And when written, as Rachel observed, they’ll always exist. With these thoughts in mind, I suddenly feel that we owe a lot of gratitude to all the people who put themselves out there and write. It’s thanks to their writings that words get to be shared or spoken or sung, again and again, across generations, to people who might need it the most at the moment. This is what exactly makes “Words in Deep Blue” beautiful. It’s a book about books and more. It’s a sort of tribute to written words: with all the books in Howling Boooks, to Henry’s favorite poems he recites to Rachel and to the lyrics of Lola’s and Hiroko’s songs.

A love note to books and words and the people who love them.

WORDS IN DEEP BLUE by Cath Crowley is a new YA novel from an award winning Australian author who says, "We are the books we read and the things we love...." In this novel, Crowley explores the nature of grief and the power of words. The main character, Rachel, has recently lost her brother (Cal) and tries to escape her mother's sadness by moving back to the town where she grew up. There, she gets a job working at Howling Books, the shop owned by the family of her best friend, Henry, a boy for whom she cared deeply. Henry is facing his own losses, including a break-up with self-centered Amy and the potential sale of Howling Books.

WORDS IN DEEP BLUE has plenty of fun dialogue, multiple narrators, and tons of relationship ups and downs. For example, Lola, good friend to Henry and Rachel, has her own band and struggles to honor her partner's wishes. Another older patron provides wisdom gained from dealing with his wife's death. There are also numerous references to books and poetry, ranging from T. S. Eliot's Prufrock and Other Observations to Pride and Prejudice and Zombies from Seth Grahame-Smith. The Letter Library at the book shop is centered on a tradition of leaving letters and marking meaningful passages; Crowley used these devices to carry the plot forward at times and to explore yet another potential romance and friendship for Henry's sister, George. Perhaps that sounds complicated, but it's not. WORDS IN DEEP BLUE is actually a quick, engaging read which received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus and School Library Journal.

A key quote: "Words are important. ... If they were pointless, then they couldn't start revolutions and they wouldn't change history. If they were just words, we wouldn't write songs or listen to them. We wouldn't beg to be read to as kids. If they were just words, then stories wouldn't have been around since before we could write. ... people wouldn't fall in love because of them, feel bad because of them, ache because of them and stop aching because of them."

I received this ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. A big thank you to the publisher for accepting my request.

Even since her brother drowned, Rachel Sweetie has lost her will to live. Everything seems meaningless without him. The fact that for the past three years she has moved away from her hometown and the people in it doesn’t help either. Or that Henry, her best friend, still hasn’t apologised for that night. But it’s not like she cares or likes him anymore right? At least that’s what she says to herself when she moves back to town and has to work with him in his second-hand bookstore.

This has been a very highly anticipated release of mine, I mean blurbed by Jennifer Niven??? Sign me in. Unfortunately, it did not live up to the hype. *sigh*

It was not awful, just not what I expected. For starters, the writing style was not for me. I was 20% through the book and I still hadn’t figured out the timeline, or if her brother was older or younger, or other general things about the novel. I was just reading things that seemed to not flow as much as I would have liked.

Another thing I did not like was Henry. My god Henry was making me so ANGRY everytime I read his point of view. This obsession with that Amy girl, ugh, not good guys. As far as Rachel is concerned, I feel kinda…. meh? I don’t like her, but I don’t dislike her either. Most of the time the scenes taking place in this book did not feel realistic and I couldn’t relate, I think that’s my main problem with this.

Now moving on to the things I did like. GEORGE. George is a queen. She is smart, sassy and knows what she wants. I loved her dynamic with Martin and the jokes between them made me snort with laughter every now and then. I also liked the way this deals with loss. I don’t want to spoil anything but it goes through the stages of loss pretty accurately. Denial, holding on to the person etc.

Lastly I cannot NOT give points to Words in Deep Blue for what a major role the bookshop and books in general played.

“Words matter, in fact. They’re not pointless, as you’ve suggested. If they were pointless, then they couldn’t start revolutions and they wouldn’t change history.”

I loved this book! I plan to buy a classroom copy.

Four and a half stars: A beautifully written story about life, love, loss and a cozy bookshop.

Rachel struggles to breath every day. The lovely blue ocean which she used to adore, she now hates. In an attempt to save herself, Rachel heads back to the city. She is nervous to go back, and especially worried about coming face to face with Henry, her best friend, whom she hasn't spoken to in three years, not since the night she left a letter expressing her feelings in the book shop's letter library. When she ends up getting a job at the very bookstore she wanted to avoid, she must face her feelings, and come to terms with her grief. Can she really start over when her grief threatens to strangle her?
What I Liked:
*If you haven't experienced a book written by the uber talented Cath Crowley, I urge you to do so. This is my second foray with this author with mad writing skills, and it proved to be another exceptional reading experience. This is a book for everyone, but it is especially appealing to anyone who has endured a great loss. Just read it.
*I adored the book shop, Howling Read, which is the soul of the book. The bookshop sells second hand books, which at first doesn't exactly sound all that appealing, but Ms. Crowley shows us how magical a used book can be. Especially when it comes to the letter library. The heart of the book is the letter library, a large shelf of books that can't be removed from the store. Customers are encouraged to write in the books, leave notes in the margins, underline passages and even leave letters for other people in the pages of the books. In the letter library, there are letters of love, loss and memories. It is a beautiful and magical experience to immerse in this book store. I wished that I could visit the letter library.
*The characters are realistic, flawed and interesting. Rachel is the lead character, and she is just a few months beyond a tragic, life changing loss. She is a shadow of her former self as she struggles with guilt and grief. This is mostly her story of learning to live again. I admired Rachel and her courage. I felt and understood her emotions. Henry, is a tougher sell. I wasn't fond of his decisions most of the time, but I did like his sense of humor, his love for his friends and sister and when it mattered he stepped up. George, Henry's sister, is prickly, eccentric and hilarious. She will make you laugh. I also loved Frederick the old man who is also learning to live after a great loss. This is an exceptional cast of characters, who will feel like old friends once you finish.
*I loved the incorporation of all the letters in the book. Some are funny, while others are heartfelt and sad. It was fun to find a letter from Ms. Crowley herself in the book explaining the inspiration for the story.
*The story reads like a slice of life. It is a jumble of emotions as the characters deal with real life issues. I liked going on the journey with them, and even though I was disappointed that it ended, I had fun along the way.
*The writing is outstanding. Ms. Crowley has a way with words. Her descriptions are rich and detailed and breathtaking. I love the way she can capture emotions and feelings and paint them into being with her words. You must experience her talent.
And The Not So Much:
*Even though I appreciated that the ending was realistic, I wanted more. It felt to open ended. I wished for a different outcome in so many ways. I wanted things to work out for Henry and his family and the bookshop. I wanted the book that was always being searched for, I wanted more of the romances, more letter library... want....want.... want. I guess when you get a good thing, you hate to let go. It was especially hard to let go of the book shop.
*I liked that we got some of Cal's voice from his letters. I just wished that I had a little better idea of his personality. I would have liked a bit more of his story.
*Ugh... Amy. I could have done without her. However, she serves a purpose.

Words in Deep Blue is a beautifully written book that takes on life, love and loss. It is a magical experience that I think you all should have. Just pick this up and read it. The writing is enchanting, the characters are memorable and the books and letters are unforgettable.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

For a more in-depth review watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv7hcxbnwHA&feature=youtu.be

I received a copy of an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Henry and Rachel were best friends but then Rachel wanted something more. In a moment of bravery Rachel leaves Henry a note confessing her feelings the night before she leaves town. Henry never responds and the two drift apart. But a few years later Rachel is back and working in Henry's family's bookstore and secrets, old feelings, and future destiny may all be revealed.

I just really enjoyed this book. I read Crowley "Graffiti Moon" many years ago and was impressed by how much story she can tell in so few pages and she did it again with "Words in Deep Blue". The story is bubbling over with wonderfully developed characters filled insecurities, emotional scars, and future dreams that felt so real that you couldn't help but care about them and their stories. I highly recommend this book and have added Crowley to my must read list.