Receiving a letter in the mail was a big deal when I was a child. It didn’t happen often, so the days I’d come home from school and find an envelope with my name on it sitting on the kitchen table were treasured. I’d rip open the envelope and start reading before taking off my coat, devouring the words the sender shared with me.
I think it’s my love for mail that launched my love of epistolary novels – books written as a series of documents, such as letters and journal entries. There’s something real about these stories because the reader instantly becomes part of the character’s personal life. Then again, there’s also a thrill that comes from reading another person’s journal – even if they're a fictional character.
Love letters to the dead
Ava Dellaira
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Dellaira Ava
Young Adult
When Laurel starts writing letters to dead people for a school assignment, she begins to spill about her sister's mysterious death, her mother's departure from the family, her new friends, and her first love.
Laurel’s correspondence to deceased celebrities highlights the isolation and confusion she feels following her sister’s mysterious death.
- Meredith
Attachments
Rainbow Rowell
FICTION Rowell, Rainbow
Fiction
Beth and Jennifer know their company monitors their office e-mail, but they still spend all day sending each other messages, gossiping about their coworkers at the newspaper and baring their personal lives like an open book. When Lincoln applied to be an Internet security officer, he hardly imagined he'd be sifting through other people's inboxes like some sort of electronic Peeping Tom. Lincoln is supposed to turn people in for misusing company e-mail, but he can't bring himself to crack down on Beth and Jennifer. He can't help but be entertained and captivated by their stories. But by the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late for him to ever introduce himself. After a series of close encounters and missed connections, Lincoln decides it's time to muster the courage to follow his heart, even if he can't see exactly where it's leading him.
A romantic comedy via e-mail thanks to company policy that gives Lincoln O’Neill the right to monitor the hilarious e-mails between Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder.
- Meredith
Love, Rosie
Cecelia Ahern
FICTION Ahern, Cecelia
Fiction
The relationship between Rosie and Alex evolves from childhood best friends into something more as separation, an unexpected pregnancy, and other romances turn their lives upside down.
Follow the friendship between Rosie and Alex through the notes they pass in class, instant messages, and letters.
- Meredith
Letters from Skye : a novel
Jessica Brockmole
FICTION Brockmol Jessica
Fiction
The story begins with a fan letter from David in America to Elspeth in Isle of Skye. An unlikely friendship follows, one we learn more about nearly 30 years later when their correspondence is discovered by Elspeth’s daughter, Margaret.
- Meredith
Boy meets girl
Meg Cabot
FICTION Cabot, Meg
Fiction
A quick read that will leave you with a smile on your face.
- Meredith
84, Charing Cross Road.
Helene Hanff
816.54 /Hanff
Nonfiction, Memoir
My all-time favorite book! I have to read the correspondence between Helene Hanff and Frank Doel at least once a year.
- Meredith
The bunker diary
Kevin Brooks
YOUNG ADULT FICTION Brooks Kevin
Young Adult
Sixteen-year-old Linus Weems, a street person since leaving his wealthy father's home, is kidnapped and taken to an underground bunker where he is soon joined by five others, ranging in age from nine to seventy, who are alternately cared for and tortured by their unseen captor.
I finished this book in two days and that's only because I had to take a break to sleep. And eat. And go to work. It will grab you from the first page.
- Meredith
I'll be seeing you
Suzanne Hayes
FICTION Hayes Suzanne
Fiction
"I hope this letter gets to you quickly. We are always waiting, aren't we? Perhaps the greatest gift this war has given us is the anticipation…" It's January 1943 when Rita Vincenzo receives her first letter from Glory Whitehall. Glory is an effervescent young mother, impulsive and free as a bird. Rita is a sensible professor's wife with a love of gardening and a generous, old soul. Glory comes from New England society; Rita lives in Iowa, trying to make ends meet. They have nothing in common except one powerful bond: the men they love are fighting in a war a world away from home. Brought together by an unlikely twist of fate, Glory and Rita begin a remarkable correspondence. The friendship forged by their letters allows them to survive the loneliness and uncertainty of waiting on the home front, and gives them the courage to face the battles raging in their very own backyards. Connected across the country by the lifeline of the written word, each woman finds her life profoundly altered by the other's unwavering support. A collaboration of two authors whose own beautiful story mirrors that on the page, I'll Be Seeing You is a deeply moving union of style and charm. Filled with unforgettable characters and grace, it is a timeless celebration of friendship and the strength and solidarity of women.
I love epistolary novels and this one about two female pen pals during World War II may be my new favorite. Bonus! One of the characters lives in Iowa City!
- Meredith
Readers know within the first page Charlie is a lonely teen because he’s pouring his heart out in a letter. We don’t know yet why he’s lonely, or even who he’s writing to, but we do know we want him to feel better soon.
- Meredith