I utterly despised every character in this book—except for Marx—and that is also, funnily enough, exactly why I loved every character in this book. I utterly despised every character in this book—except for Marx—and that is also, funnily enough, exactly why I loved every character in this book. They were all frustratingly complex and imperfect, which made them feel real to me. (I feel like I’m jumping on the bandwagon late, and almost everyone has read this Book of the Year by now, so you probably don’t need many of my thoughts.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a beautiful, ugly mess. I loved its messages about friendship, struggle, and, most of all, our shared connection with other human beings. I didn’t know anything about the world of video games or video game creation before reading this book, so I loved learning about those aspects as well.
My one caveat about this novel is that it deals with many heavy topics and contains mature content. Please check the content warnings below before you choose to read!
Content warnings: gun violence, suicide, sex, mature language, etc.
TL;DR: Wonderfully complex, depressing, and thought-provoking. ...more
This was the second self-help book I've ever read that I actually liked (the first one was The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons iThis was the second self-help book I've ever read that I actually liked (the first one was The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change). I've heard a lot of people criticize this book for being repetitive, but I think that's intentional—James Clear repeats the steps to forming new habits and making incremental changes so you internalize what you're reading and (probably) can better implement those steps into your life.
I listened to Clear read this (thanks, audiobook), and I think it's much more enjoyable that way. It came off more as a self-help podcast based on Clear's (and others') experiences, so I was more engaged in listening to his advice and found his instructions easy & accessible. He also has tons of worksheets and materials available on his website to help you if you actually want to take his advice and adopt new atomic habits. ...more
I wish I had adequate words to describe my feelings for this book.
After I finished, I kind of just stared out the window of the car and held the wordsI wish I had adequate words to describe my feelings for this book.
After I finished, I kind of just stared out the window of the car and held the words I’d just read close to my heart, like a beautiful moment that I wanted freeze for just a few seconds more.
This book is, undoubtedly, written in deep blue. It deals with authentic, real themes such as grief, death, divorce, and (the dreaded enemy of any teenage lovers) unrequited love.
The main characters, Rachel and Henry, felt like real people. Their backgrounds were not explored in depth, but the development over the course of the book was amazing. They both had their own struggles and their own voice. The book was split into POV between the two of them, and unlike most books that do this, I was able to distinguish between Rachel’s voice and Henry’s voice.
And even the side characters had amazing storylines, which is so rare in YA fiction these days. I loved Henry’s odd, cute, and lovable sister George. And Rachel’s connection to her brother, Cal, who drowns before the book takes place, is heart wrenching, heartbreaking, and heartwarming all at the same time. I almost wish the book had explored some of the side characters more, because they were all uniquely intriguing and I wanted to keep following their story.
One thing I loved even more than the characters, though, was the setting and the idea behind it. This mostly took place inside a bookshop that Henry’s family owns. It has a section called “The Letter Library” where people can leave notes in the margins of books or underline words for other people to find. Normally I am completely against writing in books, but in this context I think it’s a lovely idea.
The only thing I disliked about this book (at times) was the writing style. It fluctuated from being very descriptive to very succinct and precise and sometimes I just wanted more. Perhaps the author wanted it to be simplistic, but I thought it would benefit more in places if we were shown more and told less.
Overall, if you like books, oceans, and a bit of a happy sort of sadness, I’d say you would find Words in Deep Blue quite enjoyable.
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