The Last Time We Say Goodbye

This book hit me in the heart so many times. The author was able to take her pain, her grief, and her experiences and turn it into a remarkable story. The feelings were so raw and as empathetic as I am, I put myself into Lex's shoes and was able to feel the pain of losing her brother to suicide.

After finishing this book, I immediately tweeted a recommendation (https://twitter.com/xohannyy/status/891386129827495936) to my followers and added it to my "Favorites" shelf.

It was definitely an emotional book and the characters each experience grief differently, as there is no correct way of doing so.

This is a book about suicide. This is a book about a teenage girl's teenage brother committing suicide, and the aftermath. There are no "big events" or jaw dropping moments. It's quiet and well-written and really quite heartbreaking. I was near the end when I thought I must be more emotionally stable than other readers because I hadn't shed a tear. And I can't pinpoint what triggered it, but all of a sudden I was sobbing. And when my husband came home forty-five minutes later and asked me what was wrong, I started crying all over again.



My favorite things about this book:

1. Our main character. One thing I loved about Hand's Unearthly Trilogy was the MC (and all the other characters). Her MCs are strong young women who have good hearts, senses of humor, and good heads on their shoulders. It's so refreshing to see this in YA.

2. The writing is gorgeous without being pretentious. I've really drifted from YA books in the past six months. I just finished one that I practically gagged through because the writing suddenly seemed so juvenile (I understand - it is technically for young adults, which I am not any longer). I was actually worried that I would be too far gone to read this one and was relieved to discover that the writing didn't feel too young.

3. We were never one of those families that says "I love you" at the end of every conversation, just in case. Steven's parents do that. When he calls to tell them he's going to be late or something, he always ends by saying " I love you, too." Even if he'll see them in 10 minutes. This really resonated with me. My family was never an "I love you" family...until my parents divorced when I was 16. Now we do not part ways (whether in person or on the phone) without saying it.

4. Forgiveness is tricky, Alexis, because in the end it's more about you then it is about the person who's being forgiven. TRUE THAT.

Probably a true 4.5 stars for me but rounding to 5 stars because of all these feelings.

I love the hardship and realization Lex finds throughout the book. While I was reading this book I was dealing with some suicide problems too. This helped understand some of the feelings the character felt that I didn’t understand but have come to learn that with time come hard progress. I love this book and will honestly love to read it again.