Review: The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey

THE LIBRARY OF LOST THINGS by 

LAURA TAYLOR NAMEY

Publication date: October 8, 2019

Published by: Inkyard Press

Series: Standalone

Genre: YA romance

 

Synopsis
From the moment she first learned to read, literary genius Darcy Wells has spent most of her time living in the worlds of her books. There, she can avoid the crushing reality of her mother’s hoarding and pretend her life is simply ordinary. But when a new property manager becomes more active in the upkeep of their apartment complex, the only home Darcy has ever known outside of her books suddenly hangs in the balance.

While Darcy is struggling to survive beneath the weight of her mother’s compulsive shopping, Asher Fleet, a former teen pilot with an unexpectedly shattered future, walks into the bookstore where she works…and straight into her heart. For the first time in her life, Darcy can’t seem to find the right words. Fairy tales are one thing, but real love makes her want to hide inside her carefully constructed ink-and-paper bomb shelter.


Still, after spending her whole life keeping people out, something about Asher makes Darcy want to open up. But securing her own happily-ever-after will mean she’ll need to stop hiding and start living her own truth—even if it’s messy.

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Praise for The Library of Lost Things

"Watch out or you'll lose your heart in this library! Laugh and cry and look up words of the day with your new favorite heroine, Darcy, as she finds first love. This story will give you All the Feels!"  -Kelly deVos, author of Fat Girl on a Plane

"A poignant tale about a young woman with a book-shaped-heart who finds the courage to write her own story." -Nancy Richardson Fischer, author of The Speed of Falling Objects

About the Author:

Laura is a Cuban-American Californian who can be found haunting her favorite coffee shops, drooling over leather jackets, and wishing she was in London or Paris. She lives in San Diego with her husband and two superstar children.

This former teacher writes young adult novels about quirky teens learning to navigate life and love. Her debut, THE LIBRARY OF LOST THINGS will be published 10/08/19 from Inkyard Press/HarperCollins. Her #ownvoices sophomore project, A CUBAN GIRL'S GUIDE TO SWEATERS AND STARS is coming fall 2020 from Atheneum Simon and Schuster.

You can find her on:

Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Website | Instagram


REVIEW

The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

    He was the home for all my words, even the ones I hadn’t defined yet. He was the home for all my stories, even the ones I hadn’t imagined.

This book had me at "literary genius heroine." I loved the secret gift she had for memorizing passages of her favorite books. Darcy Wells is exactly the type of character I have a weakness for. Shy, intelligent, not exactly nerdy but feels socially invisible. Then to find out that she's named after my ultimate book hero, the dashing Mr. Darcy??? How could I possibly dislike her after that? Spoiler alert: I couldn't. Books are the center of Darcy's world, they're her escape from the harsh reality of her mother's shopping and hoarding addiction. Inside the pages of her books was invaluable information she could stockpile in her brain to get her through a stressful time. Because her mother just isn't there for her to give advice and guidance the way she is supposed to be. She's a young girl trying to cope in the only way she knows how.

    What skills had my mother taught me? How to fall apart, but still look presentable? How to pretend and lie to survive, or shop your bank account dry? I’d learned more about life from books than my own mom.

She knows her mother loves her, but through the years, their roles have become reversed and Darcy has taken on the responsibility of many things she shouldn't have to worry about at her age. Her mother has completely checked out and spiraled into an anxiety ridden maze of denial and comfort spending. If you've seen the show Hoarders, you probably have some horrific images in your head about what kind of filth they're living in. Their situation isn't quite that dire. Her mother holds down a well paying job selling make-up, and on the outside, you'd never guess that their home is stacked with so many piles of stuff that you barely have enough room to walk from room to room.

Darcy has adapted and learned how to project the perfect image and blend into the background so no one asks too many questions. Her best friend's cousin is called in for a favor when a repair needs to be made in their apartment. Her grandmother's monthly allowance is used to buy groceries or pay a bill that wasn't taken care of. And no one, absolutely no one, is allowed to step foot inside her home, because the fear of child protective services removing her is one that she lives with every day. She's one month away from turning eighteen, and she needs to keep their skeletons firmly in the closet until that day. Then suddenly her house of cards starts tumbling down around her. She's hit with one problem after another and everything is on the verge of collapsing with one wrong move. It's all she can do to take one shaky breath at a time.

Asher was such a refreshingly sweet hero. Yes, he's a little moody and unapproachable in the beginning, but his behavior wasn't just teenage angst or bad manners. When Darcy runs into him a few times and starts to get to know him better, she realizes that his mixed messages are coming from a place that he has no control over. Asher is one year ahead of her and just recently graduated, but he's been working for family while he heals from a traumatic car accident that destroyed his plans for the future. I enjoyed the fact that these two formed a friendship first and you could tangibly see their feelings grow into something deeper. To Darcy, he is the unattainable popular guy that she could never hope to capture. She's quirky, secretive, and would rather read a book at a party than socialize. He sees much more of her true self than she thinks and there isn't a part of her he doesn't like.

    “I watched you almost every day.” He smiled. “Watched you tuck hair behind your ear and fall in love with words. And you’re more than pretty. You’re all the places I want to fly to. Your mind is brilliant and so full, it spills out all over you.”

Darcy's best friend Marisol was amazing and every girl should have a supportive person in their life like her. The Peter Pan book that plays a big part in the book was pretty special, and I really enjoyed the relatable quotes at the head of each chapter. I guessed early on how the book tied into the plot, but it was such a creative thing to do that I didn't mind at all. Throughout the story I thought this would be a simple and sweet teen coming of age romance that's low on the angst and high on the cute factor. Then out of nowhere at the end, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself choking back emotion as Darcy navigated the broken relationship with her mother. This is definitely more than your average YA fluff, it has lots of heart and introspection in it.

I thoroughly loved Laura Taylor Namey's debut and I cannot wait to read more from her in the future.

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