Hearth and Pages: Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner

“Funny how people move through this world leaving little pieces of their story with the people they meet, for them to carry. Makes you wonder what’d happen if all those people put their puzzle pieces together.”

I win a signed ARC of Goodbye Days from OwlCrate Giveaway on Instagram. Thank you, OwlCrate! OwlCrate is one of the most awesome YA book subscription box, check them out on their website here.

Goodbye Days is the second YA novel by Jeff Zentner. It tells a story about Carver Briggs who lost three of his best friends when he sent a text to one of them right before they were killed in a car crash. Carver can’t stop blaming himself, and neither can one of his best friend’s twin sister and one of his best friend’s dad. Carver might even go to jail because his best friend’s dad is pressuring the district attorney to open a criminal investigation on Carver’s role in that horrible car accident. Fortunately, Carver found an unexpected allies in one of his best friend’s grandmother who asks him to spend a Goodbye Day with her and share their memories and say a proper goodbye. Soon his other best friends’ families are asking for a Goodbye Day with Carver. But their motives might be different than one of his best friends’ grandmother. This is a story about how we handle our grief when we lose someone or someones we love.

The first impression I got from this book is honest, this book tells a story surrounding the death of people we love and how we have to handle it and it does not sugarcoat it. After I read the first three chapters I just know that I might need to ready my tissue box, and I was right. The story that Jeff Zentner created is devastating, but not in a dramatic way. It feels real, and reminds me of when I lose people I love when I was in High School and College. Boy, how I wish this book is already around at that time.

I honestly don’t think I can ever described what I feel when I read and finished this book. There are so many emotions going on and it’s pulling out bittersweet memories from inside my mind. But, one thing I know for sure, is that I feel grateful. I am grateful that there’s a book like this for younger people who lose their loved ones. This book will make you think about all the things that you have done and the people you might have take for granted. This book will makes you understand that when it comes to grief, people have their own ways to deal with it. And hopefully through this book, you will also learn how to allow yourself to move on from the painful things in the past and realized that even in the darkest of time, you’re never alone and there are always reasons to hold on a little longer. I love this book and I highly recommended this book to anyone.