The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand
Rating: PG
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Mental Health
Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Page Count: 386
Stand Alone
Publisher: Harper Teen
Published: February 10, 2015
There's death all around us.
We just don't pay attention.
Until we do.
The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn't look at her like she might break down at any moment.
Now she's just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that's all she'll ever be.
As Lex starts to put her life back together, she tries to block out what happened the night Tyler died. But there's a secret she hasn't told anyone-a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything.
Lex's brother is gone. But Lex is about to discover that a ghost doesn't have to be real to keep you from moving on.
From New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand, The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a gorgeous and heart-wrenching story of love, loss, and letting go.
We just don't pay attention.
Until we do.
The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn't look at her like she might break down at any moment.
Now she's just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that's all she'll ever be.
As Lex starts to put her life back together, she tries to block out what happened the night Tyler died. But there's a secret she hasn't told anyone-a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything.
Lex's brother is gone. But Lex is about to discover that a ghost doesn't have to be real to keep you from moving on.
From New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand, The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a gorgeous and heart-wrenching story of love, loss, and letting go.
Review:
PROS:
1. I was really excited when I first heard about this book's release back in December because I'm a sucker for books dealing with mental health. I just think they can be very inspiring and eye-opening stories and something many people can relate too. This book deals with suicide which, again, I love those types of books, movies, documentaries, etc. because it's an issue that I strongly support putting an end too. I wasn't sure how this book would affect me but I'm happy to say it ended up being one of my all-time favorite books. Here's my review:
2. The characters were some of my favorite ones so far this year! Our main character, Lex, is a character in which we follow her process of grieving her brother and trying to move on with her life as best she can. Her friends are there to support her but she still feels alone and lost. I think she's a very relatable character because of the feelings of loneliness and pain she has towards both herself and her brother. She's also trying to piece together why her brother Ty would want to put an end to his life which leaves Lex with more than one question as she starts finding clues here and there. I loved that she wanted only what was best for her family and didn't really know how to move on from her brother's suicide. Her friends were very supportive and her family was broken from everything that happened. I also liked that the side characters such as her friends and even her brother's friends, all had a small part in telling the story.
3. This book was part mystery and part grieving which I really enjoyed. The writing was so beautiful and thought-provoking and I really had a strong connection to the book for those reasons. I really liked that you as the reader are also trying to understand along with Lex why her brother committed suicide and how everything fell into place and what played a factor in that outcome. As Lex found clues and started piecing them together to answer her questions about Ty's suicide, she ended up trying to move past everything and started learning that sometimes you don't always get the answers you want.
4. Overall, this book now has a special place not only on my shelf but in my heart. This book left me asking my own questions and I still can't stop thinking about the very last page in this book. Having a brother myself, I felt very connected with Lex because of how close her and her own brother were. The feelings she had were also ones I have towards my own brother, the similarities and joking habits they both shared. It really struck a cord with me on a personal level and left me crying well after I closed the book and went to sleep. Never have I run into a book that has ever touched me in that way and I will forever treasure this book.
5. I recommend this book to anyone who loves mental health stories like I do or even knows someone who has been a victim of suicide or if suicide is somehow a part of your life. It was a beautiful story that taught me this very valuable lesson: We all lose people we love, ask questions that will never be answered and feel a pain that we can't always put into words. But time goes on whether we want it to or not and we just have to be ready to accept whatever the future holds. Your life is more precious than you'll ever know.
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I hope you guys enjoyed this book review! If you have any more book requests you would like me to review, just leave a comment or send me an email! Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!
Other books by Cynthia Hand:
The Unearthly trilogy
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