The Last Time We Say Goodbye

by Cynthia Hand

THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE is a poignant, layered and compelling novel about a teenage girl grappling with the suicide of her younger brother Ages: 13+ the last time Lex was happy 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 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 the past doesn't have to define the present. From New York times bestselling author Cynthia Hand comes a story of love, loss and learning how to let go. Ages: 13+

• ISBN10: 0062318497
• ISBN13: 9780062318497
• Publish Date: 10 February 2015 (first published 1 February 2015)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[writehollydavis]

A beautiful and heart wrenching story with mental health rep as a girl struggles through the grief of her brother who committed suicide. The author has experienced this and it shows in this well-written and believable story with a plot that went in all the right directions.

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Alexis was still reeling from her brother's suicide, when she thought she sensed his presence. This feeling that he was with her was actually a blessing in disguise, as it pushed her to reconnect with people she had distanced herself from, find answers to why her brother took his own life, and begin her own healing.

Hand did such an incredible job making me feel Alexis pain, grief, and guilt. I shed many tears as I read this book, and there are a lot of gut punch moments captured expertly, but in the end, there was hope.

Overall: This was painful and beautiful and I really enjoyed it immensely.

BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS

[ellieroth]

Original de: El Blog del Gato - El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Yo recuerdo que durante un tiempo, huí de este libro como si fuera veneno, y no recuerdo bien porqué, creo que por ahí leí una reseña media rara sobre este libro y me sugestioné. Luego de haberlo leído estoy satisfecha, confundida, pero satisfecha.



Twitter || Blog || Pinterest || Tumblr || Instagram || Facebook

[Joni Reads]

Review to Come

[Bianca]

You never know when it’s going to be the last time. That you hug someone. That you kiss. That you say goodbye.

[Linda]

Tissues! The Last Time We Say Goodbye is one of those books... and I just can't stop crying right now.

This and all my other reviews are originally posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews

[Nany]

Eventhough it wasn't good, it made me remember my brother a lot.

[pagingserenity]

*Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book through a giveaway. This in no way affected my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I can’t. I’m sorry but I just can’t. Just the feels in this book. The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a beautifully woven book about Lex, or Alexis, depending on the person talking, and her life after her younger brother committed suicide.

This book is a roller coaster emotion wise. I’m going to tell you right now that this book is a tearjerker. You might want to read this alone, in private, with a tissue box nearby. For me, crying, especially over fictional characters is rare and yet I cried many times while reading this book. First it was just a few drops here and there, but by the end tears were streaming. I cried more while reading this than I did while reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. But I also found myself laughing and smiling at times too.

The Last Time We Say Goodbye really makes you think about life and appreciate your relationships with the people you love. It really made me want to run into my younger brother’s room and say “I love you” which is different from the usual “stop being such an idiot” comment.

My one problem with with plot is that I felt like there was this unwelcome twist. I also felt some things happened abruptly and seemly for no reason. Thinking back I can kind of understand why it all happened from a writer’s perspective, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

To read my full review visit Paging Serenity.

[Leah]

Wasn't a big fan of this one. It was beautifully written, but it depresses me in a big way. It did make me cry, mind, because that last page was beautiful. Maybe I'm being morbid but I would have liked to have heard Ty's side of the story...

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

This beautifully written book, gave me all the feels. It's heart breaking and gorgeous, definitely one of the most compelling novel's I have read in quite a while. Cynthia Hand didn't waste one moment tearing at my heartstrings, as she drug my emotions from one extreme to the other. It was refreshing to see a story of love, loss, and acceptance be written in such a wonderfully developed and personal way, that you can't help but feel with all of the characters in the story. I have so much admiration and respect for Cynthia Hand, having the courage to tell a story like this and do it so well given her own personal experiences dealing with this subject.

The Last Time We Say Goodbye, is a painful process of going through the various stages of grief, learning to accept the loss, and moving towards the a somewhat happier future. I knew that I would be a wreck by the time that I finished this book, we're talking full on ugly sobbing the whole way through. The emotion woven into this novel is incredibly raw and palpable, as you begin to watch Lexie trying to cope with the grief she feels at the loss of her younger brother to suicide. She's literally drowning in a sea of grief and she doesn't know how to really grieve due to the overwhelming amount of guilt she feels at not being able to save him. There was a dark heaviness inherent in the sadness, overshadowed by countless "what if's" throughout this story and even if it didn't seem as if it would ever lessen, somehow it did begin to in smaller much quieter ways.

Full review coming soon.

(Note: I received an eGalley of this book for review via the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.)