I thought this was a really fun idea — a book of letters about letters — but the execution fell flat. Fundamentally I disagree with the implication that stuffy/stilted language is more "elevated" so I may have been predisposed to dislike the writing style, but I also thought that

Spoiler

the switch to creative spellings toward the end, when I guess too many letters have been lost to just avoid them

was a bit of a cop-out, in addition to giving me a headache to parse; it was cute and somewhat symbolic to have

Spoiler

LMNOP and Ella Minnow Pea be the last letters/person left

but the pacing seemed a bit dragged out to make it happen since I had spotted

Spoiler

the pangram in Ella's dad's letter: Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs

when it appeared, long before

Spoiler

Ella discovers it and acts on it

.

Overall this was a primarily concept-driven book, so there wasn't much in the way of character development or relationships, or a strong sense of atmosphere/setting, to make up for the aforementioned areas of disappointment. I wouldn't say I regret spending the time to read this, but I don't think I'd reread or really recommend it.

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CONVERSION: 6 / 15 = 2 stars

Prose: 3 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 2 / 10
Emotional Impact: 3 / 10
Development / Flow: 2 / 10
Setting: 5 / 10

Intellectual Engagement: 2 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5