Letters to the Lost

I don't think I can even explain how much I loved this book. I read it in two nights and I loved every single page. It was such an engaging story, I felt like I was there with the characters myself. I haven't cried over a book ever, tears in my eyes sure, but this book made me sob. The emotion that Brigid Kemmerer was able to convey with this was incredible. Even though it deals with heavy topics, it wasn't a heavy read like CoHo books are. I loved the high school setting. Speaking of which, Mrs. Hillard. I loved her so much and she is an amazing teacher, everyone should have in their live. She talked to Declan without any prejudice and just tried to get him out of his shell. Melonhead or Frank, surprised me as well. At first I couldn't tell if I liked him or not but just I started to understand Declan so did he. The scene in the car had me sobbing. His daughter was the cutest and him saying that that kiss was worth the drive, like so soft. I didn't quite like that Alan got the redemption arc, but it made sense for closure and the story as a whole. Not gonna lie I hated Alan, hated how he treated Declan, and I felt Declan's helplessness, frustration and anger. Didn't really like his mom either. I don't want to say too much about her tho, because I haven't figured her out myself. Rev, was a great friend. He was always there for Dec and their friendship is absolutely everything. I loved seeing them together and how much of a unite they are. He was such a sweetheart and even though some people might think him speaking his mind was kinda harsh I think it was very necessary for Dec to hear that, and it must have taken a lot of courage. Now for Juliet and Declan. My gosh, where to begin. First of all, my only complaint. IT WAS TO SHORT, I WANT, NO I DEMAND MOREEE. Declan, my boi. I get emotional just thinking about him. The way he fixes Juliets car, even though he didn't know her. The way he acted with Marisol. His ability to understand all the poems, but not being able to speak is mind. The way he dropped everything and ran to the hospital. All the guilt. All the anger. His story destroyed me. He didn't deserve anything that happened. Sure he made a very stupid decision but that shouldn't stand above everything else he's done. He is so kind and caring and I love his character. He has some anger issues, but he is trying. He is a good guy, who has been dealt shitty cards. And that made him isolate himself and not want to be nice to those, who judge him without even trying to get to know him. I must say Juliet wasn't my favourite. For a female MC, I felt for her a lot tho. I just have a hard time actually liking female MC( I am trying). Her character development was amazing and I loved that she was able to let go of her prejudice towards Dec.I loved the parts with her dad, them slowly getting to rekindle their relationship again. I am so glad that she was able to move on from that extreme grief and learn to live with it and the memory of her mom. I liked that Brigid Kemmerer didn't give Juliet a perfect growth, just letting her character be and showing how hard things were her. So yeah this is on of my new favourite books and I am so glad I read it. Thanks Sunny Kim, lol. There were so many important topics and in my opinion they were dealt with amazing. The characters felt so real and I love them.

This book is exactly what my old edgy romantic teenage self nedded.

3.5

„Is there a way to show more of ourselves? Or are we all trapped in a single photograph that doesn’t tell the whole story?“ „You do know who I am. Find me. Grab me. Shake me. Please.“ „I mean a photo is just that: a moment in time. We don’t know what’s really going on with the people in the picture. And we don’t know what’s going on with the photographer. What makes it important is what we bring to the photo: our assumption of who is the bad guy and who is the good guy. What makes it important is how we feel when we look at it. And a photograph doesn’t have to be about riots or death or famine or children at play in a war zone to make an impact.“ „Rev. You will not hurt anyone. And they are your parents. They love you. Nothing is going to happen. I promise. Nothing.” He’s quiet for a while, and I can see him rolling that around in his head. “But what if it does?” Nothing is going to shake this loose right now. The thought has wormed its way into his brain and lodged there. I reach forward and hit his hand. “Then I’ll keep you out of trouble. Like you do for me.” That seems to settle him. He looks across at me, then turns his hand to grasp mine, hard. “Deal.“

I had hoped for something more emotional. Also, this would have been better without the love story and a focus on Declans character growth

Nach langem Zögern (4,5 oder 5) schließlich doch die vollen 5 Sterne für diese sehr emotionale, tiefgründige, aber auch humorvolle authentische Geschichte mit wunderbaren Charakteren. Insbesondere die Dynamik innerhalb der Familien der Protagonisten und wie die Figuren miteinander kommunizieren ist hier für mich sehr gut umgesetzt worden, sodass das Buch sich anfühlt wie ein Film. Im Nachhinein weiß ich nicht, warum es so lange gedauert hat, bis ich es nun endlich beenden konnte, da ich durch das letzte Drittel regelrecht geflogen bin. Eine große Empfehlung im Contemporary Jugendbuch Bereich und meiner Meinung super leicht verständlich im Original zu lesen ! Ich freue mich auf den nächsten Band, indem Revs Geschichte dann im Fokus steht. ♥️

I had a hard time getting into the story, which resulted in me putting the book on hold. At the end I must say that I really enjoyed reading this.