Review: Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

Title: Letters to the Lost
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Series: Stand Alone
Published By: Bloomsbury Children's (April 4, 2017)
Source: ARC Copy Provided by the Publisher (in exchange for an honest review)
Genre: YA Contemporary
My Rating: 5 Stars!

Book Description:
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.

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The Elemental Series, Kemmerer's debut, was an almost instant hit for me and when the series ended I was so sad that it was over. I was so eager to get something, anything else from her. I missed her writing style and her unique quirky characters and the hidden messages about family, strength and staying true to who you are in every book. 

And even though I didn't have much luck with her last stand alone novel, when I saw Letters To The Lost and read its description, that fire, that passion, flared up again and I was once again eager to read one of her stories.

I won't lie and say I went into this without any apprehension because truth be told I did but after the first chapter, I knew I shouldn't be worried, this was classic Kemmerer. The author I had come to know and love and I dove right into the deep end and happily didn't come back up for air until the very last page was read.

There are stories that you love because they just call to you. Touch some part of you in a way that you didn't expect. They bring out emotions and feelings and you can't control how much they are impacting you or how much you have completely fallen for them and Letters to the Lost was one such story. It called to me heart and soul and so many times I found myself just feeling. Tearing up and smiling, and overjoyed. It was both terrible and completely wonderful and I wouldn't change a moment of it.  I connected with it like I haven't with this genre lately and it truly was amazing.

This is such a heartfelt coming of age story. One about moving on, dealing with loss and becoming who we truly are and were meant to be. 

*All thoughts and opinions are my own and were not influenced by the author or publisher. I was not compensated for this review.*