Lovely, Dark and Deep

By Amy McNamara

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 with her friends as planned, Wren retreats to her father's isolated 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. And 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Nov 8, 2012
• ISBN: 9781471116193

Amy McNamara

Amy McNamara is a writer whose poems have appeared in numerous journals and have been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her first novel, Lovely, Dark and Deep, won an ILA Children’s and Young Adults’ Book Award, was an ABC New Voices Pick, and was nominated as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. When she’s not reading stories, telling stories, or thinking about stories or poems, she can be spotted, camera in hand, documenting the incredible city she calls home. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Visit her online at www.amymcnamara.com.

Reviews for Lovely, Dark and Deep

[baileymm-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is definitely an interesting read. At first I hated it. It took me over a month to read this book, which is super abnormal if the book isn't for school. I ended up putting it down for almost 3 weeks. Today I picked it up again, and let me tell you my opinion completely changed. It deals with grief and depression in the best way I have read yet. I now realize that the relationship does make a lot of sense, whereas at first I hated it. I thought it was unhealthy, but now I see it differently.I think this is a great book to read when you are in similar state to Wren. When you are putting yourself back together after being shattered. I think that it is raw and real.

[kidbookfabulous · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amy McNamara's first novel Lovely, Dark and Deep is an emotional tale of a young girl's darkest hour following the tragic death of her high school boyfriend. Now a recluse in the northern reaches of Maine, McNamara's Wren Wells struggles to escape a vicious cycle of grief and despair that leaves her sanity hanging on by a thread. Desperately trying to remain buried deep within herself to avoid feeling anything at all, Wren is cut off from her family, friends and society and can't seem to find her way back. Quite unexpectedly, Wren is literally hit by the boy who will help her emerge from darkness.Cal Owens, who is not without his own pain and baggage due to a recent MS diagnosis, enters the story just when the flicker of hope in Wren is about to be stamped out. Cal and Wren have an instant connection and the chemistry is there right from the start. Together, they are able to stay afloat and buoy each other against the harshness each faces. Cal forces Wren to feel again for the first time since her world was turned upside down. Without giving too much away, there isn't a story book ending with everything tied up in a pretty bow but I was left with a feeling of satisfaction. I appreciated the author finishing the story the way it began; raw and emotional.The writing is beautiful and written in present tense which really helped me feel as if I was in the moment with Wren, Cal, and the other supporting characters. McNamara offers just the right amount of intensity and her character development and the pace of the novel is spot on. Lovely, Dark, and Deep is exactly that. Bravo on the cover art too!

[jqtrotter · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

More of my reviews can be found at my YA blog.FIRST IMPRESSION:The writing is worth reading. Not a whole lot happens at the start and you can tell that's going to be the atmosphere of the book -- Wren thinking about how depressed she is and possibly not doing anything about it. But the writing, the skill McNamara has, is worth reading regardless. THE PLOT:There's not one. Aside from Wren being wrecked and trying to unravel herself and get better. There's not a lot of forward motion. There's a lot of lamenting, of hitting a wall and not being able to get around it, and just ... depression. High moments. Low moments. The plot isn't why you'd read this book.It took about a 100 pages for me to really get into something aside from the writing. By around page 150, I thought the story could wrap up nicely. The book is around 350 pages, so it doesn't. It just keeps going. There a lulls were the writing is all that kept the book in my hands, then there's action that makes me actually interested in the outcome. The story dragged near the end. I thought there were parts that could have been cut altogether to make it tighter and more ... eventful. THE CHARACTERS:They make the book worth while. WREN is the main character, she's fragile, broken, and self-centered. She's not the most original character. I can think of a few other MCs just like her -- Claire from EMILY'S DRESS & OTHER MISSING THINGS or What's-her-name (I want to say ... Anne?) from REVOLUTION by Donnelly. They were both whirling from a lose, by mega-sad.CAL is probably my favorite character in the story. He's unique, special, and always interesting. I felt for him and respected his strength. MARY is my other favorite. She's such a unique, weird, artistic character that can drag even gloomy Wren out of herself. I was so sad when she left the story.WREN'S DAD was someone I had a like-loath relationship with. Sometimes he was awesome, other times he'd say things that weren't so awesome -- borderline sexist remarks. Over all, I liked him.WREN'S MOM was a bitch. I couldn't stand her. I was just hoping someone would punch her. MEREDITH was ... ughhhhh inducing. Even if I didn't like the characters, the fact that McNamara could make me feel so extreme about them was great. THE ROMANCE:This was another reason to read the story. Wren and Cal's weird little dance. I felt it more from Cal's side, and wanted it to work out for his sake. I knew that it was probably Wren's only chance of becoming someone again. Plus, it was a tragic romance and I love those. There's some hope that somehow everything will magically work out but ... with his sickness, you know it can't last forever. THE WRITINGCompletely and utterly the biggest reason I read this book. It was powerful and beautiful all at once. It made an otherwise already-been-there-done-that story different and lovely. Just like the title says, the writing is lovely, dark, and deep. McNamara has a talent for describing depression without being blatant about what it all means. How one moment Wren can have so much energy and the next she can't get herself out of bed. CONCLUSION: This book is going to stick with me.

[letstalkbooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amy McNamara's first novel Lovely, Dark and Deep is an emotional tale of a young girl's darkest hour following the tragic death of her high school boyfriend. Now a recluse in the northern reaches of Maine, McNamara's Wren Wells struggles to escape a vicious cycle of grief and despair that leaves her sanity hanging on by a thread. Desperately trying to remain buried deep within herself to avoid feeling anything at all, Wren is cut off from her family, friends and society and can't seem to find her way back. Quite unexpectedly, Wren is literally hit by the boy who will help her emerge from darkness.Cal Owens, who is not without his own pain and baggage due to a recent MS diagnosis, enters the story just when the flicker of hope in Wren is about to be stamped out. Cal and Wren have an instant connection and the chemistry is there right from the start. Together, they are able to stay afloat and buoy each other against the harshness each faces. Cal forces Wren to feel again for the first time since her world was turned upside down. Without giving too much away, there isn't a story book ending with everything tied up in a pretty bow but I was left with a feeling of satisfaction. I appreciated the author finishing the story the way it began; raw and emotional.The writing is beautiful and written in present tense which really helped me feel as if I was in the moment with Wren, Cal, and the other supporting characters. McNamara offers just the right amount of intensity and her character development and the pace of the novel is spot on. Lovely, Dark, and Deep is exactly that. Bravo on the cover art too!

[flying_monkeys_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Rating: 3 of 5Nothing original but certainly realistic in its portrayal of an 18-year-old dealing (or mostly not really dealing) with her grief and depression. Recommended for older young adults seeking an authentic story of loss and in its aftermath the struggle to reconnect with life. "It's too much to be trusted with someone else's heart. I don't think it ever ends well (p.198)."

[russianlovemachine · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Unfortunately, there is nothing lovely, dark or deep about this book. I have to admit, I picked it up because I thought the cover was beautiful. I know, I know... but I was hoping the content would live up to the stunning design of the book. Nope. The main character, yeah, I cannot even remember her name, that's how fantastic the writing was, is involved in a tragic car accident her senior year of high school. (It was some type of bird...Robin? Wren? Wren! That's it.) Wren walks away from the wreck without a scratch, but her boyfriend is not so fortunate. This sends her into a semi catatonic state where she refuses to talk to anyone or participate in life at all. She moves in with her father in his rural North Eastern house on the coast where she lives in a seclusion for about a year. Then she meets a boy. Surprise! Boy drags her out of herself and she wonders how she would ever live with out him, blah, blah, blah. She is weak, dependent, and fragile and it takes a boy to save her. Like I haven't read that one a million times before.

[brittdonohuewhite · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Engaging story of 18 y/o girl recovering from catastrophic life event. Typical teenage struggles with parents compounded with struggle to deal with her role in the death of her newly ex-boyfriend. Goes on a little long, with the protagonist wallowing to a point that tries the reader's patience. Overall-good, believable story.

[loveydoveybooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Debut author, Amy McNamara’s, stunning portrait of a young woman’s grief in the most extreme stage shall touch the heart of every reader. Lovely, Dark, and Deep’s Wren Wells may be a pseudo-recluse living in a secluded area in Maine with her father, but she lays her pain on the table for any who bother to see. The death of Wren’s boyfriend, Patrick, and the many factors that surround his death, sends her life off-course. Living with her sculpting father, Wren hopes to get herself straightened out and back to pursuing her carefully laid out goals. Her time spent out of touch with society: friends, work, and passion, leave her parents worried and her mind close to shutting down. The aspect of living in the small town that Wren didn’t count on, was finding a reason to emerge from the darkness in which she’s shrouded herself.Wren is strong, even when she feels like hiding away from the world, but she knows that her misery is something that’s physically and mentally holding her back. Characters that are, at least, partially aware of themselves in such a manner are fascinating to read about. Wren walks herself towards moving on from a tragic accident, though not without help, but she pushes readers toward encouraging her, backtracks toward pitying her, then comes full circle to hopefulness that she’ll finally make real progress. Cal Owens flows into the novel like a knight in shining armor, almost. He has his own story that I wish McNamara could have explained in more detail, because I wasn’t too familiar with the source of his troubles, but overall he added to the path of hope Wren could choose to ignore or follow. Wren and Cal are drawn together by their similarities and differences when it comes to dealing with grief. Wren draws into herself, vowing to remain silent until she can sort through her issues, while Cal pretends his situation isn’t as grave as it really is. His quick temper contradicts the calm he radiates for Cal, molding him into one of the most realistic characterizations of a love interest I’ve seen in young adult fiction.McNamara’s style of writing is easygoing, yet packs a wallop of emotion. The writing excellently portrays Wren’s flow of consciousness through a variety of sentence length and structure. The dialogue is straightforward, even when a moment of profundity surrounds the speaking character. Knowing that the characters are saying more with fewer words lends the reader a sense of time. It never feels as though a scene is unnaturally long, or that a person in real life would never say so much at one time. Lovely, Dark, and Deep sends a riot of emotions through me when I just think about Wren’s story. Reading her story is a comfort and an experience, because it is such a possibility. This is truly a universal story that will not only entertain readers who love a sad story that pushes its protagonist toward happiness, but also speaks to the many people affected by grief and other strong emotions. *ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review* 

[renkellym · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I’m sure other reviewers have said this, but I’ll say it again, just in case: Lovely, Dark and Deep is just that: lovely (the writing), dark (the turmoil within Wren) and deep (the level of my affection for this book). Lovely, Dark and Deep is a world apart from other stories about grief: McNamara’s prose raises the bar for YA literature (after reading, it comes as no surprise that she’s got a MFA in poetry). I could luxuriate in her words all day—and in fact, I did. Lovely, Dark and Deep is a book best read beneath the covers on a cold day. It’ll make you feel like winter.