For those of you who don't know me very well, I am one of those people who snarks when the sappiness level gets particularly high, stays away from the crazy drama, and doesn't cry during books or movies. Heck, I like to think that young adult contemporaries just don't do it for me. Until books like this come along and prove to me how so very wrong I am about everything.
Cynthia Hand has created an amazing piece of work in The Last Time We Say Goodbye, and reading this book is like willing to allow a vacuum into your heart that will suck out all the happiness, and leave behind nothing but a hollow, empty organ. This book hurt in ways that I didn't even know was possible, and even though I had no idea what it was like to go through a loved one's suicide, and even though normally this is the type of book I'd stay far away from, I read this book willingly, hurt during every moment of it, and fell in love with this novel that is nothing short of a masterpiece.
When I first started reading this book, I was sure that I was going to end up either not liking it, or probably not even finishing it. The cover caught my attention when I saw other bloggers reading and raving about it, so I decided that maybe this book would be worth going out of my comfort zone for (and it most definitely was). After the initial slow start, soon I was hooked. The novel in general wasn't fast-paced by any means, and yet I literally could not stop reading. The main character, Lex, was trying to get over the fact that her brother killed himself, and failing miserably. And the entire time, it is obvious that she knows something that is making her guilty. That little bit of mystery not only serves as another source of fascination with the novel, but also adds as foreshadowing to the fact that what seems bad in this book can only get worse. And it does. Heartbreakingly.
The characters in this novel had so much depth to them, even the ones that weren't large parts of the novel. And believe it or not, the lack of romance being the immediate focus was what I loved best about it. Of course, since I started reading it, I was waiting and waiting for the romance to happen, but the only love interest seemed to be Lex's extra smart, ex-boyfriend. Plus, they barely interacted, so I pretty much gave up on the whole romance angle. And yet I kept reading.
The Last Time We Say Goodbye, as it turned out, was much more beautiful than anything I could have hoped for. It touched me in a way not many books do, and it's not one I'm going to forget anytime soon. No matter what genre you read, picking up this book will be a great decision in your life. It will make you bawl your eyes out, true, but every tear is worth it. I'd recommend this novel to every single person on this Earth, and I have no regrets. Read this book, and you won't have any regrets either. *thumbs up*
Cynthia Hand has created an amazing piece of work in The Last Time We Say Goodbye, and reading this book is like willing to allow a vacuum into your heart that will suck out all the happiness, and leave behind nothing but a hollow, empty organ. This book hurt in ways that I didn't even know was possible, and even though I had no idea what it was like to go through a loved one's suicide, and even though normally this is the type of book I'd stay far away from, I read this book willingly, hurt during every moment of it, and fell in love with this novel that is nothing short of a masterpiece.
When I first started reading this book, I was sure that I was going to end up either not liking it, or probably not even finishing it. The cover caught my attention when I saw other bloggers reading and raving about it, so I decided that maybe this book would be worth going out of my comfort zone for (and it most definitely was). After the initial slow start, soon I was hooked. The novel in general wasn't fast-paced by any means, and yet I literally could not stop reading. The main character, Lex, was trying to get over the fact that her brother killed himself, and failing miserably. And the entire time, it is obvious that she knows something that is making her guilty. That little bit of mystery not only serves as another source of fascination with the novel, but also adds as foreshadowing to the fact that what seems bad in this book can only get worse. And it does. Heartbreakingly.
The characters in this novel had so much depth to them, even the ones that weren't large parts of the novel. And believe it or not, the lack of romance being the immediate focus was what I loved best about it. Of course, since I started reading it, I was waiting and waiting for the romance to happen, but the only love interest seemed to be Lex's extra smart, ex-boyfriend. Plus, they barely interacted, so I pretty much gave up on the whole romance angle. And yet I kept reading.
The Last Time We Say Goodbye, as it turned out, was much more beautiful than anything I could have hoped for. It touched me in a way not many books do, and it's not one I'm going to forget anytime soon. No matter what genre you read, picking up this book will be a great decision in your life. It will make you bawl your eyes out, true, but every tear is worth it. I'd recommend this novel to every single person on this Earth, and I have no regrets. Read this book, and you won't have any regrets either. *thumbs up*
Book Synopsis: 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.
Source: Own the ebook on my Kindle.
Title: The Last Time We Say Goodbye
Author: Cynthia Hand
Publication Date: February 10, 2015
Publisher: Harper Teen
Genre: Contemporary, Death, YA
Pages: 400 pages
