I highly enjoyed this book and can’t wait to pick up more by this author. I will absolutely be continuing this series.

Even though I couldn’t relate to Juliet on a personal level, having never lost a parent, I still found that I could see where she came from. I loved reading her and Declan’s story.

I decided not to finish this book because I didn't feel a strong connection to the story or characters. I will not be rating it or writing a full review, but I appreciate the opportunity.

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer is powerful and emotional and brings out the most conflicting emotions at the same time, like heart-wrenching sadness and heartwarming happiness. Like, do I smile or cry? Or do both? At the same time? Declan bore right into my heart. Juliet tore me apart with her grief. They each have an absolutely amazing best friend, and I loved them too. Rev. Oh my goodness, what a sweetheart. He's been through so much, yet still has so much to give. and Rowan won't let Juliet go through anything alone. All humans need healthy friendships like these, with people who build them up and make them better. And I love that friendship is... it. There's no romance, just friendship. How refreshing. I cam away feeling so sad, yet uplifted. This book is so heavy, but in a way that so many readers will be able to relate to and feel seen. I whole heartedly recommend this.

This was such an beautiful book, and a little haunting. Not in an ghost type of way, but in grief, and realizing how things are not always what you thought it was.
I love the chemistry between Juliet and Declan. The idea of writing letters back and forth to an stranger is interestingly romantic.
I was super surprised by how things turned out at the end. Did not expect that little little twist.

Letters to the Lost is one of my favorite Brigid Kemmerer books.....oh the feelings!!! I devoured this one and have read it several times since my first read in 2017. It was just so heartbreaking at times and the resolution so just well done. Can't recommend it enough.

This is very emotionally packed, and very carefully written. The situation is very real and yet very unique and strange. It's a beautiful take on coping with tragedy and grief, and I think that's important to share in fiction especially. It's one of those things that teens need to know they're allowed to experience in their own individual way, and I think this encapsulates that perfectly.

Loved this! Lots of tension and parts uncovered as you read. You really feel for both characters as they work to overcome the losses in their lives and learn to view each other in a different light.

Letters to the Lost is a very powerful story and I am so glad that I was able to read it. I felt like this book had so much raw emotion. It definitely had a great message and I found myself really enjoying the story. Declan and Juliet are such great characters. I really appreciated that this book was a tough one to read because I felt like it was very rewarding in the end.

"We are all united by grief, and somehow divided by the same thing."
So, I'm probably going to keep this short and simple because I just noticed that I wrote down more quotes than actual thoughts and this is the first time this has happened in a while... if ever.
This was my first book by Brigid and she has now become an author I deeply admire. The way she writes is a truly lyrical experience and I couldn't rip my gaze away from the pages long enough to blink.
"Sometimes you get to a point where it hurts too much, you'll do anything to get rid of the pain. Even if it means doing something that hurts someone else."
The emotion every character was feeling easily bled through the pages and made their way deep into my heart. Brigid had me smiling like crazy and crying uncontrollably until pain consumed me from the outside, while also seeping into me with every word. This book was extremely difficult to put down and I couldn't stop myself from wishing this were turned into a movie. I ached for so much more; I wanted to be able to witness every breath, every facial expression, every body twitch... I could almost see it all as vividly as if it really were a movie.
"I read the letter again.
Pain flares in every word.
The kind of pain that makes you write letters to someone who will never read them.
The kind of pain that ISOLATES.
The kind of pain you're certain no one else has felt, EVER."
I am seriously growing to love letters in books. For some unknown reason, I always seemed to stay away from them but lately I've been loving the extra connection we get to the characters through them. There is something so raw and vulnerable about reading the words a person so delicately chose to write down on paper instead of a text in the heat of a moment.
"I didn't realize I'd been so far adrift until he grabbed hold of me."
This book follows Jules and Declan as they're both grieving in different but similar ways.
Jules loved to write letters to her mother and she still does so after her passing. But all that takes a turn when Declan replies to one of the letters she leaves at her grave. They end up corresponding with each other from there and we get to follow along as their stories weave and unravel into an emotional ride.
I really liked Jules and I found myself really enjoying her thought process throughout the novel. The things she went through in this novel were nothing short of somber and it all seemed to suffocate me with how intensely it affected me. The only thing that kept me sane was her wonderful sense of humor throughout it all. She had me clutching my stomach from laughter way too many times to count.
"..the two people who should have my back stand here driving me into the ground."
Both of their lives were heartbreaking in many ways and I related to both of them differently but I feel like Declan's situation was the most similar to mine when it came to his relationship with his family. He's way too good of a person to have gone through everything mentioned in this novel.
Their character developments had me cheering from the sidelines. I wanted nothing but the best life for them and Brigid did an exceptional job at fulfilling my wishes. These two broke me apart and mended me many, many times. They were so real to me that I felt somewhat uncomfortable reading their letters to each other. I know they wouldn't have been okay with such an invasion of privacy and it made me want to apologize profusely when I finished the last page.
I wanted nothing more than to remain deeply rooted in between the pages of this novel. Not even the rough ride it thrust me into could deter my reluctance to see this novel end.
Basically, if you picture a girl laughing out of her bed and ugly crying into her pillow with heartache all in the span of one minute in a never-ending loop... That would be a perfect representation of me as I read this novel. This was the most perfect blend of epic humor and grief and it made an addict out of me.
I had a feeling I was going to really like this book but I didn't anticipate the tremendous impact it would have on me.
(Did I keep it short? I don't know if I did. My fingers turned possessed when I started writing this.)

Such a beautiful book. I'm a bit speechless. A new addition to my favorites list. WOW! This one hits hard.

I absolutely adored this book. I loved the format of letters at the beginning of every story and the story was so incredibly moving that it made me cry a bit. Both Declan and Juliet are so full of grief and angst and I loved their developing friendship. I also loved that there was so much friendship. There was the friendship between Juliet and Declan and they also had amazing friendships apart from each other. And the writing was just beautiful. I definitely plan on reading more of this author's work. Amazing book!

In 2017 I opened Letters to the Lost, a book I hadn’t heard much about, and didn’t close it until I finished all 391 pages. And since then I have not been able to accurately describe how Declan and Juliet’s story made me feel. Simply put and the only adjective I can think of that is fitting for this story is beautiful, and that still feel inadequate. It was an emotional read from start to finish. Declan and Juliet were dealing with so much pain and heartache but they found each other and found an unexpected kindred soul. This was my first Brigid Kemmerer book and it is the book that made me a fan for life.

This was gorgeously written and deeply moving. Kemmerer really knows how to pull at the heartstrings. I found myself tearing up at times too. If that doesn’t make you want to read the story even more, I don’t know what will.

This book was not what I expected in a good way. I liked the rawness of it all, but also for being the sensitive, touching and romantic book. I really enjoyed it.

Letters to the Lost is a story about a young girl who lost her mother. To feel close to her mother she writes letters to her and places them at her grave never expecting someone will pick them up and read them......or write back.
Letters to the lost is so much more than a love story. It portrays the struggle of a child who lost her mother and how she and her father deal with that loss. The emotion and struggle feel real and you will not want to put this book down. I can't wait to read More Than We Can Tell.

Before reading Letters to the Lost, I just was not sure it would be a Christina book. It sounded way too sad and melodramatic. I’m not generally into bad boy books, and grief books can be just absolutely the most painful (see: Second Chance Summer). I should have trusted in Gillian (Writer of Wrongs), who loved this and is basically my book twin, because I was captured by the voice and narrative style on the first page, and I couldn’t put this book down.


Well, okay, that’s a slight lie. I did put the book down, but only at like 1:30 AM, because I needed to get some sleep bc goddammit Monday and responsibilities and this is why we can’t have nice things. I slept pretty terribly, which I think might be the book’s fault, but I’m not even mad, because I woke up early and got to finish before work. Honestly, if something took the place of sleep and I don’t hate it, that means something. I very much value my sleep.

Letters to the Lost opens each chapter with a letter or email, or occasionally the painful absence of a message. One thing that may not be super apparent from this blog is that I LOVE epistolary novels a whole bunch; they’re just aren’t a ton of them, so it’s not something I get to squee over too often, epistolary novels having peaked in popularity before the 20th century. Epistolary novels are fantastic for bantery readers, because these exchanges are ALL communication. It’s not the same as back and forth dialog, but it’s a similar principal where the characterization depends heavily on how they present themselves in a written form, rather than the descriptive narration.

Juliet’s mother died the previous May in a hit-and-run accident, on the way back from the airport. Because Jules asked her to come home early, she feels guilty for her mother’s death, and she’s unable to process her grief. She and her mother exchanged letters when her mom was (frequently) away on assignment, and now she writes letters and leaves them at her grave a couple of times a week. Declan, assigned to mow lawns for his community service requirement after drunkenly crashing a car into a tree, finds one of Jules’ letters and responds. This begins their correspondence, initially in anger and then in kinship.

Both Juliet and Declan are trying and largely failing to manage their grief. Declan’s incident, combined with other shit that happened to his family, left Declan with a reputation as a bad kid. Though he’s a good guy, he’s big and grumpy and kinda scary (sorry, Declan), so no one notices that he’s a kind, smart kid. Then again, he’s living down to that bad reputation because people always assume he’s up to no good no matter what, which has made him lash out at others. He has a really great narrative arc here.

Weirdly, though I was into the romance, my major feels actually came from the family dynamics and friendships. Though Declan’s friend Rev doesn’t really have a plot of his own, he’s awesome. He’s been through terrible shit, and he’s come through it scarred but determined to be incredibly caring. He and Declan have this feels-making moment of connection and true understanding towards the end, and I want to give them both giant hugs.

Jules has a fairly typical grief narrative arc; she’s always idolized her photographer mother and looked down on her boring father, but over the course of the book realizes she hasn’t truly understood either of them. Jules and her dad gave me definite feels. And the teachers who care enough to help them (while also following school rules!)killed my emotions, my god. Actually, even Declan’s talk with his step-father did. Kemmerer does a really nice job capturing that all of these people have made big mistakes, they’re all deeply flawed and screwed up, but they all can choose a better path in the future. Just because they fucked up royally doesn’t mean it’s game over.

For all the darkness of the plot and set up, Kemmerer resists turning this book melodramatic. The expected narrative beat of a big fight at the revelation of who the pen pals were doesn’t come. Kemmerer manages to walk that line between fluff and darker contemporary, and she does it very well. This book is funny, sweet, sad, and inspiring by turns.

I will assuredly be going back and reading Kemmerer’s paranormal series I was a bit skeptical of because of the unfortunate covers. Letters to the Lost was a surprise hit. Give it a shot!

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for the opportunity to read and review Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer! Two teens that have each lost someone they love begin an ongoing anonymous conversation by adding to a letter left and then found next to a cemetery headstone. The conversation moves to email for convenience and these two strangers help each other grieve. Declan has lost his sister and his father is in prison and no longer part of their family. His mother has married Alan, who isn’t the nicest to Declan. Juliet has lost her journalist mother in a hit and run car accident and she lives with her father. Declan has an amazing best friend, Rev, that’s dealing with his own traumatic past and Juliet’s best friend, Rowan, is supportive and caring. The email relationship remains anonymous and grows deeper and more meaningful as their grief is dealt with together. Letters to the Lost melted my heart with the complicated storyline and endearing, real characters. I love everything about this story, from the caring, helpful teachers to the awkward friends to the dysfunctional family members. All of these components create a beautiful realistic fiction novel worth 5 stars!

Just a few days ago I was talking with some bookish friends about genres I love, genres I don't love so much. And as it always does, romance found its way to the top of my "least favorite genre" list. And then here I find myself giving a five star review to, you guessed it, a romance. Not a psychological thriller with some romance thrown in. Not historical fiction with an underlying romantic tone. Nope, just a romance. Go figure.
Juliet and Declan are both suffering the recent loss of a parent although in very different ways. Still, this common thread is what brings them together. The only way Juliet has been able to cope with her mom's death is by spending hours at the cemetery, writing letters that her mother will never be able to read.
But somebody does read them. Declan finds himself at the mercy of the court after a big screw up. Community service, mowing lawns at the cemetery it is. When he comes across Juliet's letters curiosity gets the best of him. And then he writes back. And she answers. Thus begins an unconventional relationship. Their letters fill a hole in each one of them, though. They find comfort in words. But when real life begins to interfere, is it better or worse to keep their true identities hidden from each other?
Romance aside, this is a good story. It pulled on my heartstrings, imagining the pain that each one of these young people must be going through. A few little twists thrown in towards the end keep it interesting up until the last page. A great, safe read for young adults as well!

I've been meaning to read this for over a year, I think. And I don't know why it took me this long to read it, because I've really enjoyed her other books. And I kinda thought that it was published around December 2016, but I think I got it slightly confused with her other title, Thicker Than Water, or else I would've read it sooner. Ah, well!

This is a book that you could basically say was about anything, from a story about loss and learning how to move on, to a romance between two teens who didn't know how alike they were. It has a lot going on, and one element feeds very well to the next!

Declan's family, especially his step-father, really frustrated me. Charing Declan for stealing when it was his dad's car? The whole thing that he tried to commit suicide but ends up being charged with no treatment? Yeah, that was really uncool! It turns out that the whole story wasn't presented, but it was still a rough time!

When I read this book, I didn't know that it was a series, but I'm glad that is. We saw Declan and Juliet find a happy ending in this book, but his friend had issues of his own, so he'll get his happy ending, and hopefully we'll see more of Juliet and Declan's! Yeah!

Really, this book was fantastic, and I really enjoyed reading it!

It was sad and sweet at the same time and the characters were complex and very real.