There is something inherently interesting about notes in a book. I am always intrigued at those jotted notes or what a person chose to underline and highlight as they reveal something deeper. So, the idea of an entire section of a used book store devoted to this, a “Letter Library” was right up my alley. It made me wish I had something like this growing up, as it may have made more than a few steps in my adolescence easier.

This novel is all about changes and how to make the best of them. Everyone we are introduced to in this book is going through a change and they need make the best of it. The story opens with both Rachel and Henry being at crossroads. For Rachel, it is how to fully process her brother’s death and to learn how to live without him. For Henry, it is dealing with the umpteenth break up with his obnoxiously manipulative girlfriend and the looming reality that his family’s bookstore is going to fold if they don’t sell it. Their friendship starting up again requires forgiveness about perceived past misdeeds and the ability to process through their current pain. This is forced upon them when Rachel is hired to catalog the Letter Library in the bookstore, so there is record of this when the bookstore closes forever.

Rachel’s journey with grief was very real since her brother’s death didn’t happen off screen for her and she witnessed it. When someone experiences these tragedies on top of having to return to her original home and being forced to get back in the routine of life, such as going to school, it can be difficult. So, her apathy for most everything but the Letter Library, including rekindling a friendship with Henry is rather understandable. Henry’s challenge wasn’t his romantic life, as some may think, but rather the closing of his family’s store. That had been such a huge part of his life up until that point and wondering what will happen after that weighed on him.

The story itself wasn’t complex and most of the ‘mysteries’, such as why Henry didn’t get the letter Rachel left him and who his sister was writing to, were easy to figure out. However, that does not take away from the overall beauty of the story. Reading the letters that were left in the books was an experience on its own even if you didn’t find out who was behind every note that the book touched on. I’m a huge fan of the friends to lover’s trope. Reading Henry and Rachel slowly rekindle their friendship, which evolved into a romance was sweet and enjoyable as the relationship developed at a believable pace.

This was one of the best YA books I’ve read in a long time. And I read a fair amount of them despite being well past the intended age bracket. But life lessons on friendship, love, and loss are not just for a single age group. The last one I read that touched me this much was Fangirl, and like that one, I can’t say I was so enamored with it. But I was and this will be one book I will re-read in the years to come. It is beautifully written, and I would recommend it to any fellow bibliophile, if for no other reason than the Letter Library. I will likely pick up more by this author, since I was so pleasantly surprised by this one.