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  • Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley
  • Kate Quealy-Gainer
Crowley, Cath Words in Deep Blue. Knopf, 2017 [288p]
Library ed. ISBN 978-1-101-93765-5 $20.99
Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-101-93764-8 $17.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-101-93766-2 $10.99
Reviewed from galleys         R Gr. 7-10

Three years ago and right before she moved away, Rachel tucked a love letter to her best friend Henry in one of his favorite books in his family's secondhand bookstore, but he never replied. Now, at eighteen, she's returning to town and doesn't really care if she sees Henry; in fact, she doesn't care about much at all after the drowning death of her brother, Cal, so she doesn't really put up a fight when her aunt finds her a job at Henry's family's store. Meanwhile, Henry, oblivious to both Rachel's past affections (he never got the letter) and recent tragedy, is moping about the bookstore after a bad breakup. Cue meet-cute, or in this case meet-again-cute, and the wheels of a somewhat subdued but still familiar romcom start turning. Yes, there's plenty of contrivance to get Rachel and Henry together, and yes, initially they both play very much to central casting, Henry the starry-eyed poet and Rachel, the acerbic girl with a broken heart. It's the shadow of Cal's death that brings the emotional heft to the froth, and Rachel's revelation of her loss to Henry is simple and heart-wrenchingly direct. It also comes in the middle of the novel, not as the climax, and as such allows both characters to break out of type, with Henry learning how to be a good friend by focusing less on himself, and Rachel remembering how to accept help when she is most vulnerable. Fans of Natasha and Daniel's romance in Yoon's The Sun Is Also a Star (BCCB 10/16) will find this a pleasing read-alike.

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