Review Detail

RETURN TO SENDER by Lauren Draper is a YA Contemporary novel that begins with Brodie returning to her small town to live with her grandma again. She’s been away at boarding school, desperately lonely, and harboring all the same grudges she held since she left. Coming back means facing her former best friend, Levi, her other best friend Elliott’s worsening home situation, and the mystery of the old letter writers from the Dead Letter Office. As she tries to uncover the truth of their identity, she also has to grapple with the truths in her own heart and risk breaking it all over again.

The voice in this novel is one of a kind. I loved it from the first sentence. It’s so refreshing and felt like I was talking to a witty friend. Not only that, but the tone of the novel strikes the balance between comedic, surprising, and evocative. It’s deliciously nostalgic as the author makes the reader yearn for a past time, both Brodie’s and the letter writers’. She also brings the setting to life on the page, and despite the tragedy that surrounds the main characters, there’s something comforting and enduring about it.

While I was confused as to how the Dead Letter Office would house all the correspondence of the mysterious writers, it made sense later on. Other than that, the plot is engaging, and the slow burn between Brodie and Levi kept me turning the pages. I do wish they had a moment where they told each other they loved each other, especially Brodie. However, it was of course understood that they do.

Overall, the combined elements of RETURN TO SENDER make a near-perfect read. This is a book I would return to again and again, and I’m very excited to explore the author’s other and future work.