Book Review: Lovely, Dark and Deep by Amy McNamara

Title:  Lovely. Dark and Deep
Author:  Amy McNamara
File type:  hardcover
Release date:  October 16^th , 2012
Genre:  NA, realistic, dark, contemporary

A resonant debut novel about retreating from the world after losing everything—and the connections that force you to rejoin it.
Since the night of the crash, Wren Wells has been running away. Though she lived through the accident that killed her boyfriend Patrick, the girl she used to be didn’t survive. Instead of heading off to college as planned, Wren retreats to her father’s studio in the far-north woods of Maine. Somewhere she can be alone.
Then she meets Cal Owen. Dealing with his own troubles, Cal’s hiding out too. When the chemistry between them threatens to pull Wren from her hard-won isolation, Wren has to choose: risk opening her broken heart to the world again, or join the ghosts who haunt her.

There are book that make you laugh at loud, in love or simply be thankful for opening your eyes every morning even if your life is far from being perfect. I would rather read a dark and gripping story because they truly make me feel alive. When you’re happy you don’t think about every aspect of your life, just about that one thing that makes it all good.

This book is perfect for a snowy day because it’s happening during December/January.  We follow Wren through her grieving process after she was in a car crash that killed her boyfriend Patrick. She moves to her father’s house that located in the woods. There she spends her days running and sleeping. After she meets accidentally meets Cal, everything changes and for the first time in months, she starts to feel alive.  Call brings her back from her shell and she opens up to him about the accident. But Call also has his problems and things don’t always go as planned.

 Both Wren and Cal are perfect for each other because they both went through similar things and yet they deal with grief in a different way. While Wren locks it all inside and refuses to think about the problem, Call brushes them aside and pretends they aren’t a big part of his life. But they draw strength from each other-Call lets Wren have her space when she feels crowded and Wren pushes more when Call pulls back.

I like the fact that Wren refuses to think about the accident that killed Patrick because she is not ready to go there. Most of the novels dealing with death go through the grieving process from the start to finally accepting the loss but this one just scratches the surface and I liked it because of it, because it was different from the rest. 

The writing style is so captivating. I am in love with this beautiful prose. In a way, McNamara’s writing reminds me of Maggie Stiefvater’s writing in The Wolves of Mercy Falls. Maybe it’s because of the woods and winter. If I was an author, THIS is the way I would want to write a book. Profound but calm at the same time.  One of the most beautiful debut novels I’ve read. Just beautiful. 

"Pain is everywhere. I’m just another sorry story. All these people wearing smiles, dragging themselves around—do they all know already? Do they realize how fast the world can change?"

"I open my eyes and look at Cal. His beautiful face. How
did I find him? How did we end up here? Lost and found in the dark and terrible winter woods?"

“I’m a failure of a person.”
“Shut up.” He laughs, knocking his shoulder against me gently. “Everyone is.”