{Liza Reviews} Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

Love lives between the lines.

Years ago, Rachel had a crush on Henry Jones. The day before she moved away, she tucked a love letter into his favorite book in his family’s bookshop. She waited. But Henry never came.

Now Rachel has returned to the city—and to the bookshop—to work alongside the boy she’d rather not see, if at all possible, for the rest of her life. But Rachel needs the distraction, and the escape. Her brother drowned months ago, and she can’t feel anything anymore. She can’t see her future.

Henry’s future isn’t looking too promising, either. His girlfriend dumped him. The bookstore is slipping away. And his family is breaking apart.

As Henry and Rachel work side by side—surrounded by books, watching love stories unfold, exchanging letters between the pages—they find hope in each other. Because life may be uncontrollable, even unbearable sometimes. But it’s possible that words, and love, and second chances are enough.

That. Was. Beautiful.

What an incredibly good, breathtaking, heart wrenching story.  I wonder how Crowley was able to pack so much in 273 pages.  Words in Deep Blue is the story of Rachel and Henry, two best friends separated by a misunderstanding and the neediness of an outsider.  It’s a story about how Rachel grieves the death of her brother Cal and how that tragedy changed her past, present and future.

“We are the books we read and the things we love.”

Rachel came back to the city almost a year after her brother drowned in the sea they loved.  This changed Rachel and her family in different ways and after failing year 12, she decides to go live with her aunt and she’s hired to catalog books at Henry’s family second hand bookstore.  Henry is a lover books, poetry, words.  He reads anything and everything. In his world, books are people and words are food.  I LOVED how the bookstore felt like a character more than a setting.

“Sometimes science isn’t enough. Sometimes you need the poets.”

I feel in love with the Letter Library – a way to leave messages within the pages of a book – and with the bookstore.  The way Rachel and Henry fall back into friendship and later back in love is so sweet and messy.  The book is also very funny.  Henry and his sister George are honest and straightforward and that’s so refreshing. All other characters, Lola, Henry’s parents, Martin, Rachel’s aunt and the patrons of the bookstore make such an amazing cast.  I loved all of them.

“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. 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. We wouldn’t have learned to write. If they were just words, people wouldn’t fall in love because of them, feel bad because of them, ache because of them, and stop aching because of them.”

Crowley’s writing is awesome.  Insightful, funny, heartbreaking, gripping, please give this book a chance because it’s amazing.  The story is told from alternating point of views (Rachel and Henry) and between most chapters we get to hear from notes and letters left withing the pages of the Letter Library.  So good.

Overall

Words in Deep Blue is a story about grief, friendship, love and their power to heal. About words and how much they mean and how they can change and grow and fill the emptiness.  I loved it. 

Words in Deep Blue is my first book narrated by Hamish R. Johnson and Chelsea Bruland.  I really like them both. The voices were easy to understand and distinguish from each other.  I also love their accents and the acting. I highly recommend the audiobook. 

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Liza

Liza

Co-owner at Quite the Novel Idea

I'm an avid reader (since I learned to read at age four) and a book blogger (since May, 2011).I read mostly YA, but I also read romance, new adult and some middle grade.

Born in Puerto Rico, hola :), military wife for 22-years, and mother of three boys.I work full time doing something else that I love (sadly I don't get paid for reading!)

Liza

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