The Library of Lost Things is a young adult romance novel at it’s core, but it weaves in weightier topics such as mental health and recovering from physical injuries. Darcy is a teenager hiding her greatest secret from almost everyone. Only her best friend knows that her mother is a hoarder. In order to keep their lives afloat, Darcy takes on all the responsibilities of maintaining their apartment, working enough jobs to support her mother’s spending illness, and keeping up a false image at school. Her solace from the mess of her real life is the fictional world of her beloved books. Darcy possesses a unique talent for memorizing passages, so she turns time and again to novels to escape from life or seek advice when her mother is unfit to help.

This carefully concocted coping mechanism is turned upside down when she starts falling for the boy who visits the bookstore where she works. In addition, her estranged father has reached out and now wants to connect with her. Is it worth putting aside her books in order to open herself up to unpredictable but real connections?

This YA novel is a delight for book lovers due to the plethora of literary references. The author is clearly a fan of books herself, so it’s endearing to read the numerous quotes, passages, and characters that Darcy mentions. I’m always a sucker for young love as well. The relationship is well-developed over time and never feels rushed or out of the blue. Plus, Darcy’s best friend is a fabulous supporting character. She provides just the right amount of advice to encourage Darcy while still acting like a high school teen.

My only complaint was the overuse of bookish metaphors during the conclusion. It felt a bit like the author was trying too hard to show how much Darcy loves books. Lots of “how will you write your story” and “putting aside your fictional life for a real life” type thing.

Overall though, it’s a delightful YA novel for any reader. And Peter Pan plays a central role in this story, so if that’s one of your favorite children’s classics you’ll enjoy this book even more!

Darcy Wells, named after Jane Austen’s most famous hero, collects words and stories. She memorizes stories without even trying and escapes into them to hide from her real life, namely the fact that her mother is a hoarder.

Darcy is navigating her last year of high school, and just trying to survive until her 18th birthday, when she is no longer in danger of being taken away from her mother. But when Asher Fleet, a boy she vaguely knew when he attended her school the previous year, starts to spend his breaks in the bookstore where Darcy works, she slowly begins to realize that just surviving might not be enough anymore.

This debut by Laura Taylor Namey is at times funny, sweet, serious, and heart wrenching. I have never read a YA book that handles mental illness in this particular way, and it really struck me. Darcy’s mother is a hoarder, and this is treated for what it really is, a mental illness. Laura doesn’t shy away from how this affects not only Darcy’s mother, but Darcy herself, and examines just how deeply the effects of this kind of disease can cut a family.

Darcy's best friend Marisol is unwavering in her support, but not afraid to make Darcy examine her life more deeply. Asher, the love interest, also pushes Darcy to try to do more than just survive. The characters in this book are fleshed out and real, and are not afraid to face their problems head-on, even if they need help with that sometimes.

Laura Taylor Namey successfully blends romance and real-world issues into her novel and has created an engrossing book. It will hopefully resonate with readers, and let some of them know that they are not alone in dealing with life’s problems, whatever form they may take.

I’m not quite sure what I was expecting of this book, but it blew my expectations out of the water.

Wow. I don't give many 5-star reviews, but if I could have given this book 6-stars, I would have. The Library of Lost Things is a fantastic read with bits of romance and classic literature woven into the story. The characters are all lovely, if a bit broken, and it is a joy to watch them try to piece themselves together. I will read this book again and again. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved The Library Of Lost Things. Thank you to #NetGalley for a copy of the ARC.

The very first thing that hooked me was the main character, Darcy, and her love of books. She works in a quaint bookstore and uses books to hide her thoughts and deepest secrets (and her family has quite a few).

The second thing I adored was her bff Marisol and the amazing friendship they have! Marisol won’t let Darcy do anything questionable without her. It made me appreciate the Marisol’s I’ve had in my life!

Oh and then there is the cute boy, Asher, who visits the bookstore from time to time.

You will find just the right amount of sweetness, some twists and turns and amazing book quotes in this book! Lots of sentences to quote and deep themes to ponder or discuss. Do yourself a favor and check it out!

No librarian could resist a book titled The Library of Lost Things. This story of a girl, about to turn 18, taking refuge in books from a dysfunctional home life is good reading for any book lover. The observations are those of a teen navigating a world of friends, first love and family disappointment. Some of the narrative is understandably superficial, as befits a teenager. However by the end of the story Darcy’s journey has led her to a wisdom and understanding that is conveyed through the writing itself. Frankly all the main characters are too good to be true, but I didn’t care. I loved them either because of that or despite that. There is also a fun reading list at the end which might lead you to some new literary delights.

Darcy is a literary genius, who started reading when she was three. She has entire passages of books memorized, but she has a secret. There's a reason there's no welcome mat outside the apartment she shares with her mother. She doesn't want anyone to know her mom's a hoarder. While there is a romantic component to Darcy's story, her self-discovery is the bigger tale to tell.

Loved this book! I couldn't put it down. I think this is the first YA book I've found that addresses a parent who is a hoarder. This book has all the things a teen is looking for. I think it will be a very popular pick in my Middle School Library. I can't wait to see what the author comes up with next.

The theme of my reading life these days seems to be: I should have loved this book, but sadly...I did not.

Every single thing about this book appealed to me. However, I was so bored while reading it. I don't know if it's the writing or if the book just didn't go the course I thought it would when I picked it up. It moved a little too slowly for me and I found myself having trouble investing in any of the characters. I think, in the end, it's just not what I had been hoping for and it as a DNF for me at 35%.

A little predictable. Includes all the YA trappings. Dysfunctional parent. BFF. Frenemy. Cool boy. School play.

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for an advanced copy of this book.

To begin, I enjoyed this story far more than I thought I would and finished it in a day. As a sucker for a sweet romance, the relationships which developed throughout the story was satisfying, and I kept forgetting that these characters were as young as 18 and 19 years old. There is something very adultlike about their love; perhaps it had to do with seeing through your partner’s worries, insecurities, or handicaps and standing beside them despite it all—moral standards not always expected to be understood or respected by younger people.

As for our leading lady, Darcy, she was the epitome of me and every other introverted, book-crazed reader I know. She had a flair for words and a deep appreciation for their meaning. Like most introverts, she was quiet, observant, reflective, and doing her best to come into her own. Her books served as her greatest therapists in many ways.

I also loved the characters that made up her world: Marisol, her quirky, outgoing best friend; Asher, the older boy she has a crush on; her mother who is mending a broken heart from long ago and a hoarder; and Mr. Winston and Mrs. Winston, her boss at the bookstore and his business ‘neighbor’ ex-wife who he can’t stand yet somehow needs at the same time. Then there are additional supporting characters who make for a well-rounded, cute, inspiring story, as well.

The story wholeheartedly belongs to Darcy though and serves as a good reminder to the shy and reserved readers out there to not forget to live outside of our bookshelves. There is a life to be lived to the fullest for each of us. We all have our own stories to write.

A wonderfully written debut by Laura Taylor Namey!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. There were lots of positive aspects: literary quotes from other books, Darcy working through her mother's hoarding, a few unexpected surprises, good character development, Marisol is a wonderful best friend, cute romance, and Darcy shows a lot of emotional growth. I also appreciated the portrayal of Mexican American culture through Marisol and her family.

I wanted to like this book. I have read so many good reviews of it and it was ranked so high on Goodreads. However, it was highly unrealistic. I know that many books are unrealistic, but I felt like this book presented a very unrealistic view of a pretty serious mental illness. SPOILER ALERT: Darcy's mother is a hoarder. At the end of the book, her mother confronts her demons and suddenly isn't a hoarder anymore. I felt like this gave readers a view of the illness that is very far from the truth. Also, the character who becomes Darcy's boyfriend suffers from a head injury. At the beginning, we see the character, Asher, have mood swings because of the injury. However, other than a few headaches, he doesn't have any other mood swings or temper tantrums. There were a few other unrealistic aspects of the plot, but I won't go into those. Overall, I was disappointed.

This was such a charming and sweet book! I love books about books and book lovers.

I loved Darcy and her amazing memory about books. She essentially lives inside the books she loves, and would love nothing more than to spend all her time reading books instead of socializing. And I mean. Wow, that was me in high school so 100% can relate. Not that she's socially awkward (usually) - she just takes great comfort in books, in stories with romances and happily ever afters. It's also the best way to escape the mess that is her own life.

I really enjoyed her friendship with Marisol. Marisol is half-Mexican, half-Cuban and I loved the incorporation of her big Spanish family. She's also a fashion designer with a bad gum-chewing habit, but her and Darcy are best friends, and their opposing personalities work so well together.

Of course, I also loved Asher. I was a bit unsure about him at first, since his attitude could change randomly. However, there was a rational (surprise!) explanation for his behaviour. And he was just generally super sweet and cute. He and Darcy had the best discussions about books and ways of reading (slowly to savour all the words, or speed-reading by reading in chunks) reminded me so much of my boyfriend and I! (He reads like Darcy, I read like Asher ^_^) Also a cute boy who loves literature? There aren't enough of these in YA novels.

Finally, I really liked Darcy's precarious relationship with both her mother and grandmother.

I thought this book was really unique for its portrayal of hoarding and concussive effects after a traumatic accident. In general, I really loved the various relationships Darcy makes and has, and how she begins to live her own story instead of hiding in a book.

The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey was a unique premise for a YA read. Darcy loves books. She has the library of the father she's never met in her room, and she works at a part-time bookstore. Beyond the books, Darcy is struggling with her mom's hoarding. She has to keep this secret from pretty much everyone, especially their new landlord, and it creates all the stress as she navigates. While working at the bookstore, Asher walks into Darcy's life - literally. He's a complex human with his own secrets, and he's also struggling that his dream of being a pilot is no more. He starts coming in to the bookstore each day, and he and Darcy start to form some kind of relationship although they each keep their secrets with them. While in the bookstore, Darcy finds an old copy of Peter Pan, and she starts to ponder what the previous owner's notes mean for her. For this, I do have to say that part of my evolution as a reader means I consume and feel differently about YA than I once did. However, if I take that time machine back into my twenties, this is the kind of book that would totally be my jam. This has family secrets and complicated romance, and even some cheese at times. It was a light read with some layers of drama at times. It's just a nice, little read that will be out in October, and I was able to check out thanks to NetGalley.

I couldn't get into this one and didn't finish. It was just too sad and depressing at the start.. The author's use of language had too much of a flourish. I also questioned the author's use of hoarder. Some of the characteristics described didn't seem to really match that diagnosis.

This book takes the reader through the life of a young woman dealing with forced adulthood while wrestling with the normal life decisions a teenager must make. Darcy’s mother suffers from a mental illness - a secret she keeps from everyone except her childhood friend. As the book progresses, we see each characters personal growth and development. This is a coming-of-age story. A story about trust, true friendship and love.

I dont have words to describe the ferocity of feeling and meaning in this book. The author has captured the daily life of teens, the uncertainty of next steps, and the acknowledgment of reality no matter how monumental or mundane. The case of the mental health syndrome of hoarding that has been overlooked in many of the newer novels that do tackle this reality for an unknown number is presented in an eye-opening story. All without dismissive judgement. All of this phenomenal-ness (the only way I know how to describe it) is wrapped in a flow of poetry and words that capture the essence of life. I cannot wait to purchase this for my library and recommend it accordingly. Amazingly well done!

Darcy isn't exactly a normal teenager. She's a bookworm with an almost photographic memory of her favorite books (these include Peter Pan, Jane Austen, most of Shakespeare). More pressingly, her mother is a hoarder. The book starts with some bad news: the apartment complex Darcy and her mom live in is having renovations done, and this means people want to enter the apartment that Darcy has worked for years to keep hidden. Second, Darcy's grandmother, who has been providing financial support to Darcy, plans to cut things off on her eighteenth birthday to encourage Darcy to move in with her and leave her mother. Further complicating things, her father reaches out to her for the first time in 18 years, and there's a cute boy named Asher who is making serious eyes at Darcy. How can Darcy protect her mom but still take care of herself with all this going on?

There's a cute boy mixed up in this, so you will likely enjoy this book if you're a fan of light, fluffy family dramas combined with puppy love stories starting a bookworm of a heroine. I say "light" because this truly is hoarding on light-- Darcy's mom seems to mostly hoard expensive makeup and bourgie housewares rather than more stereotypically hoarded items (junk mail, newspapers, old food, and so on), so this isn't a gross read. The book emphasizes both the value of family members setting healthy boundaries to protect themselves and the importance of professional therapy, which are both good lessons.

The end of the book is a bit messy with all of these subplots coming together-- her mom's hoarding, keeping a secret from a friend, resolution on the cute boy plot, unexpectedly pinch hitting for a starring role in the school play-- along with several surprises, but everything ends up being wrapped up.

My biggest issue with the book is how several things are equated to hoarding because I think this misrepresents the severity of hoarding and puts a negative cast on what are usually some very positive things. In both cases, it seems like a real missed opportunity to distinguish between collecting and hoarding. At one point, when thinking about how much love and happiness coalesce at her best friend's house during a family gathering, Darcy thinks that they're hoarding these things. Several times later in the book, including while confronting her mother about her own hoarding, Darcy says that she's a book hoarder. I think both instances are inappropriate uses of the term because both familial love and books bring the parties involved so much pleasure-- there's a positive and beneficial cast to both that's missing from the portrayal of hoarding, which is filled with self-recrimination and self-loathing.

My favorite part of the book was the janitor. That guy definitely has stories to tell.

I could not put down this book. It was so interesting and the writing was great. I will definitely be recommending this to customers at my work!

My official rating would be 4.5 stars, I very much enjoyed reading this book. This is a young adult novel which centers around Darcy, a young lady who hides herself within books and words. She has spent most of her life viewing her world, friends, and troubles through book characters and vocabulary. The friendship between Darcy and her best friend, Marisol, is a genuine, heartfelt relationship, one that many teens have experienced or strive for. Darcy's mom suffers from mental health issues, which becomes a key part of the story. Darcy has support from her maternal grandmother but, even that relationship is rocky at times. While Darcy is working at a local bookstore, she becomes friends with Asher, Tess, Jase, and others in her town and at her high school. The characters are engaging and the storyline moves at a pace that allows for easy reading. I would recommend to any teen, or adult, who is looking for a read with characters who overcome mental health hardships, teen angst, romance, and friendship.
- Thanks to NetGalley for the eBook copy.