The Library of Lost Things

So many YA romances these days involve heroines with a power -- looks that literally kill, the ability to save a planet, a society, or the leadership to lead an oppressed army to ultimate freedom while facing insurmountable odds. The heroine of this story, Darcy Wells, also has a super power, but one that only a book nerd would appreciate. Darcy is a literary genius who can read books and recite passages verbatim. As someone who reads all the time, but can only recite 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times', being a literary genius sounds pretty amazing. But no evil wizards are going to disappear just because you can recite Peter Pan verbatim. But that is what makes me really like this book. Darcy is a heroine who show more definitely has some serious challenges going on in her life, but she felt so real, so human, and so vulnerable. You'll find yourself rooting for Darcy to succeed, to fix her family issues and get the most out of life. So if you're looking for a feel-good YA romance, add this to your reading pile! show less

Oh wow, this book hit me hard. For those of you who don’t know, I’ve started my Master’s Program and reading hasn’t come easily lately. It’s been a struggle to do the very thing that defines who I am. So it’s no surprise at all to me that I instantly fell in love with Darcy. She’s a girl who is built of stories. Words are her fuel, and she builds herself a life within the pages of books. I’m Darcy. Darcy is me. This book and I already were meant to be before I even picked it up.

Can I please thank Laura Taylor Namey for really nailing down what it’s like to live inside your own head? Darcy’s growth from page one, right on to the end, felt realistic to me. Battling her mother’s hoarding, trying to stay afloat in a show more world that wanted to knock her down, and just trying to be a person who had a place in the world, all of that was pure Darcy. I was so glad to see that there was no sugar coating around her world. Darcy’s brain was a a place that I could take shelter in, because it made sense. Namey hit the introvert gene, the anxiety driven thoughts, the books used as walls, all right on the head. If you’ve ever felt the least bit like Darcy, you’ll know as soon as you start reading this story.

Oh, and the other characters were so well fleshed out as well! Not one person in this book is overlooked. Marisol’s family was vibrant, and full of wild love. Asher was sweet, but not overly perfect. Even Jase, Bryn, and Landon, who didn’t get as much page time, were all just perfect puzzle pieces in the overall story. I felt like I was living this right alongside Darcy. I felt like I was part of their small world of plays, bonfires, and magical memories. This is the first time in a while that I’ve really felt nostalgic for high school, and it was a feeling that I’ll cherish.

I could gush on and on, if you’d let me. I could share with you the page of quotes that I jotted down while reading this, smiling the entire time. I’ll let you experience it for yourself though, because this book is well worth your time. Pick up The Library of Lost Things. Get lost in the pages. Grow with Darcy. You won’t regret a minute of it. show less

YA Really well done. Of course, tempted by the title - anything with books, libraries, book stores...but really no literal library is the focus here - but definitely literary themes. Darcy Wells is a senior in high school - has been off the radar on the fringes of 'cool' kids - or at least theatre kids and that is how she liked it. She is hiding something: the mess that is the apt. she shares with her hoarder mother. Only BFF Marisol knows the truth - and this book was worth it for their amazing friendship alone! So authentic and more like sisters as well as a good balance between introvert Darcy and social butterfly Marisol. What makes this year different than others is a combo of events that all come together: Darcy's apt. complex is show more under new management, so she is trying to cover for her mother with the manager so they don't get evicted; college and paying for it are looming; her father who left when she was an infant writes her a letter; the Fall school play is Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, which Darcy knows by heart but would never seek the stage, and she meets Asher Fleet, a year older but still dating Sr. London, building the play set, and working across the street from Darcy's bookstore job. As she juggles all this stuff, physically and emotionally she learns a lot about herself and her own hoarder/hider tendencies with books -always her safe haven and retreat. Part of the conflict needing to be resolved is Darcy's relationship with her mother, whom she basically parents herself and the developing relationship with Asher and some of its attendant high school drama. Both require liberal doses of truth and facing reality. There are clever details woven throughout: word games, a parallel to Peter Pan, concepts of flight and home and all come full circle gracefully at the end. Thoroughly enjoyable! show less

I loved "The Library of Lost Things"! It was seeped in words, had a book-loving protagonist and a sweet romance, so how could I not? I adored the quotes at the start of each chapter and how Barrie's classic "Peter Pan" played such an important role in Darcy's story.

Books were the centre of Darcy's world and she used them to help her escape from her harsh reality and her mother's desperate need to shop and hoard. Her books not only gave her comfort but they also provided advice and coping mechanisms which her mother should have given her, but didn't. Darcy's ability to remember large passages from various books was amazing.

I also loved Marisol. Everyone should have a friend like her in their lives. She was always there for Darcy and was show more extremely supportive and protective of her. Marisol and her family gave Darcy the love and acceptance she desperately craved. The relationship between the two girls was heartwarming. I loved that Marisol had the courage and sass to push Darcy out of her bookish shell and into the real world.

Then there was Asher. He was recovering from a car crash that had left him severely injured and unable to fly. When he first entered Darcy's life he was lost and adrift, and he was rather moody and aloof. However, his determination and courage was admirable and I enjoyed his backstory. It was sweet how he and Darcy slowly became friends before their attraction deepened into romance.

I thought Darcy's mother's mental illness was handled well. It howed how this condition not only affected the hoarder but those close to them. It broke my heart how her mother's issues negatively impacted on Darcy's life in so many ways.

I didn't realise "The Library of Lost Things" was a debut until I had finished it, so I congratulate the author on an entertaining, heartwarming read. show less

"The Library of Lost Things" is a beautiful slow burn romantic realistic fiction novel that captures your attention from page one. Darcy's ability to remember huge chunks of novels from Shakespeare to contemporary fiction makes me wish that was my superpower. The blending of pain and love and fear and happiness perfectly encapsulates the human experience and the complexity of all relationships. Darcy's hoarding mother, bossy grandmother, fashionista best friend, and physically broken crush all spring to life from pages of deft description and convincing interactions. I feel like I know these people and I want to spend more time with them. This book leaves me with a sincere longing to hang out at Darcy and Marisol's favorite Starbucks show more and talk about books and clothes and life. show less

Hooray for YA romance that is fun to read and doesn’t make my eyes roll constantly. It did have some of the usual tropes (main character is different from all of the other girls, adults are fairly useless, rich kids hosting awesome parties), but it has enough good going for it that I didn’t mind.

Darcy is nearly 18, super smart, book-obsessed, and keeping a big secret: the single mom that raised her after her father left their volatile relationship before her birth is a hoarder. Darcy’s best friend Marisol is the only person that has been to her apartment, and Darcy is worried the new building manager will see the mess and kick them out. She’s worried about children’s services finding out and taking her from her mom, and works show more to help pay expenses since so much of her mom’s money goes to shopping and hoarding. Darcy has never been kissed and lives inside her books and stories. One day, a damaged boy walks into the bookstore where she works, and things start to change.

Things that I love about this book:

Darcy is great. She’s the kind of extreme bookish that I can appreciate, she’s practically a genius, and she has excellent taste in books (if I do say so myself). She’s a little dramatic and whiny at times, but I was that way at 18, too. And for a little while last Tuesday, and many other times in between, so I’m ok with that. show less

I was going to give this 4 stars, but considering what I felt after By The Book, this was definitely 5 stars.

The best thing about this was the relationships. No, not the romance, though that was pretty good too, but the friendship with Marisol and her mother was just amazing! There actually wasn't an angsty romance part of this, it was more an angsty mother-daughter-relationship part, and an angsty best-friend relationship part, and there was a tiny angsty romance part.

That's not to say I didn't love the romance as well! I really liked Asher, and I really liked Darcy (Yes, I know, more on that later) with him.

You get an insight into post-concussive disorder in this book, and though I have read a bit about it, and seen it in show more Elementary(CBC), this gave me even more knowledge about it.

Another thing I loved, was that though this book too had literary references like By The Book, most of them were from Pride and Prejudice, which, having read a lot of retellings of, I mostly got. And there were not that many references. And she could talk properly.

The book really revolves around a Peter Pan book, which I have also not read, but having seen enough Tinker Bell and Neverland things on Disney, I didn't have that much of a problem with that as well.

A thing I didn't like: when you have two childhood best friends, who are like the bestest of friends, they don't talk like this:

Marisol looked me over. “Now for your outfit.”
I tugged my black tee and tan shorts. “I’m already wearing an outfit.”
“No,” Marisol said with a slow head shake. “There’s a big difference between wearing clothes and wearing an outfit.” She pointed at my closet. “Get that denim shirt I made you buy and layer it on top, opened, sleeves rolled. Your tee has a little rip.”
I glanced down. Grimaced.
“Then the necklace with the dangling blue stone that’s hanging in your jewelry caddy, by your black jacket. And swap the flip-flops for sandals. The black ones with silver buckles.”
“How in the—”
“After all this time, you’re actually questioning it?”

No, she should actually not be questioning it. It is quite obvious that these two are comfortable with each other, and that Marisol loves clothes, so I don't need this bit forced into my face.

Same with the scene before this, where they were taking about the boyfriend, this kind of familiarity? I know they have a bond. You don't need to regale me with anecdotes real people probably don't in real life. Those kind of things need to be inferred, or it feels artificial somehow.

I know it isn't that much of a problem, which is why I didn't change my rating because of it. Also, this was only in the beginning, and it doesn't happen a lot like that later, so all was forgiven.

One other thing that irked me; her name was Darcy. I thank God that this didn't turn out to be a retelling (I think), but the name was kinda putting me off in the beginning.

I really liked it, and I recommend it to anyone who likes romance, focus on relationships other than romance, slight insight in PCD, insights into hoarding, and books in books. show less