Words in Deep Blue

This is a love story.

It's the story of Howling Books, where readers write letters to strangers, to lovers, to poets, to words.

It's the story of Henry Jones and Rachel Sweetie. They were best friends once, before Rachel moved to the sea.

Now, she's back, working at the bookstore, grieving for her brother Cal. She's looking for the future in the books people love, and the words that they leave behind.

Sometimes you need the poets

The new novel from the award-winning author of Graffiti Moon.

About the Author

Cath Crowley is a young adult author published in Australia and internationally. She is the author of The Gracie Faltrain trilogy, Chasing Charlie Duskin, and Graffiti Moon. In 2011, Graffiti Moon won the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Young Adult Fiction, the Ethel Turner Award for Young People's Literature, and was named an Honour Book in the Children's Book Council, Book of the Year. Cath lives in Ballarat, Victoria.

Review by Emily Meredith

This is definitely one of my top five books of 2016. Words in Deep Blue is set mostly in a second-hand bookshop which has (which I think is officially the coolest thing ever!) a Letter Library, where people can leave notes to strangers or friends in a specific shelf in the store.

Henry and his sister George live in the shop with their dad. They have a cat called Ray Bradbury. George was probably my favourite character – she wasn’t very trusting, having been bullied at school but she still had such heart.

Rachel used to be Henry’s best friend, before she moved away. She was in love with him, but he had his heart set on the selfish Amy. Rachel’s brother has died, and she’s come back to get away from her new life. Working at the bookshop, cataloguing the contents of the Letter Library, she slowly learns to live with her grief.

It was a truly wonderful story, told through both Henry and Rachel, as well as the occasional letter! Totally divine!