Review of Words in Deep Blue

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley (2016)

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

We are the books we read and the things we love. – Rachel Sweetie (Crowley, 2016, p. 336)

I am aware while writing this review I am in the minority, am I one who did not enjoy Words in Deep Blue. I found the characters frustrating, the writing stylistically interesting, but the whole thing unmemorable. I just couldn’t attach myself to the characters, the story, I couldn’t fall into their world and live there for a while.

The main two characters in Word in Deep Blue are Henry Jones and Rachel Sweetie. Rachel is grieving the loss of her younger brother; her life has fallen apart in the months since he died. Henry’s family own Howling books a second-hand bookstore, the story leans quite heavily on his family and their regular customers. Henry is in an on again off again relationship with the self-obsessed Amy. I found all the two main characters intolerable. Rachel’s selfishness in hiding her brother’s death from his former friends aggravated me and I can only sort of understand her reaction to her grief. Henry’s behaviour towards Amy was pathetic and I just couldn’t deal with it. The other character of note is George, Henry’s younger sister, she is a redeeming character in the book. I have met people like her, using strength as a shield. Also, regular customer Frederick who I guess was in a way Cal’s potential future, I did connect with him.

Put simply Words in Deep Blue is about discovery. People finding out who they are, where they fit in and where their futures lie after the rug is pulled from beneath them. All in that messy year right after high school where the safety net is already gone. The plot revolves around Rachel coming to terms with the death of her brother and Henry’s family deciding whether to sell their bookshop. Words in Deep Blue is a character driven book, if you don’t like the characters or if you can’t attach yourself to them it will be a difficult book to read and enjoy. I couldn’t engage with it, I couldn’t become emotionally invested. I think it was almost certainly the characters that were the issue.

Cath Crowley has chosen an interesting style for the book; love letters play a major role in the development of the story. The letters are the key, once the letters are understood the book can be understood (look at the dates is all I’m saying). The language used fits contemporary young adults, the descriptions used by each of the narrators fits their frame of reference and the chapter markers are brilliant. I liked the pacing, it felt a little slow to begin with but contextually its. The pacing feels timed to the friendship of the narrators.

A lot of my feeling towards this book has to do with my own inexperience with grief, the only family death I have experienced there was no grief from really anyone (not that he wasn’t loved, it was just a long time coming the grief happened a long time before). This could be an interesting book to read again once I have had that experience I think my feeling may change. I know I am in the minority with my response to Words in Deep Blue and that is fine by me. I can see the appeal, it just isn’t for me. On my usual library scale, I think this is one that should be in all public and school libraries, grief is universally relatable once you experience it, young people need that mirror or a window if someone they know is suffering. Just an insight into what is being experienced. For that, the importance of Words in Deep Blue cannot be underestimated.

My reading experience in a gif:

Crossposted from Goodreads

References

Cover for 9781742612386. (n.d.). Pan Macmillan Australia. [Image File]. Retrieved from https://www.biblioimages.com/macmillanaus/getimage.aspx?class=books&assetversionid=435100&cat=default&size=large&id=22184

Crowley, C. (2016). Words in deep blue. Sydney, Australia: Pan.

McPherson, C. (2018, April 28). Catherine McP's review of Words in Deep Blue. Goodreads. [Goodreads Review]. Retrieved from https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2371205533

movieclips. (2013). Destiny forget story gif. tumblr. [Image File]. Retrieved from https://78.media.tumblr.com/84c9c7ccb6db8b8a267fb8fbd6c37bdd/tumblr_o3hj1qOv691qcjzvuo1_400.gif