Good and Gone

by Megan Frazer Blakemore

Honest and emotionally charged, Good and Gone is the story of a teenage girl who must find her way back to herself as she grapples with the truth of what her boyfriend did to her. A gripping YA that will appeal to fans of Jandy Nelson and Sara Zarr. When Lexi Green's older brother, Charlie, starts plotting a road trip to find a famous musician who's been reported missing, she's beyond confused. Her brother hasn't left the couch since his girlfriend broke up with him months ago-but he'll hop in a car to find some hipster rocker? Concerned at how he seems to be rebounding, Lexi decides to go along for the ride. Besides, Lexi could use the distraction. The anger and bewilderment coursing through her after getting dumped by her pretentious boyfriend Seth has left her on edge. As Lexi, Charlie, and their neighbor Zack hit the road, Lexi recalls bits and pieces of her short-lived romance and sees, for the first time, what it really was: a one-sided, cold-hearted manipulation game. Not only did Seth completely isolate her, but he took something she wasn't ready to give up.
The further along in their journey they get, the three uncover much more than empty clues about a reclusive rocker's whereabouts. Instead, what starts off as a car ride turns into something deeper as each of them faces questions they have been avoiding for too long. Like the real reason Charlie has been so withdrawn lately. What Seth stole from Lexi in the pool house. And if shattered girls can ever put themselves back together again.

• ISBN10: 0062348426
• ISBN13: 9780062348425
• Publish Date: 28 December 2017 (first published 14 November 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 22 August 2023
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperTeen
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Good and Gone delivered a more complex story than I was expecting, and I loved every second of it. This was an important road trip for the Greene siblings, because it helped them find a way back to each other and themselves.

•Pro: Sibling stories - love them! Lexi and Charlie's relationship was quite strained at the onset of the story, but while on the road trip, they reminisced and also confessed the secrets they were harboring and this precipitated their reconciliation.

•Pro: There was a lot of great banter and discussion in this book. I would expect no less from the children of two college professors. Well done, Ms. Blakemore!

•Pro: I am a fan of the Then and Now format. I had a good idea from the very beginning what was wrong with Charlie, but I knew there was more to Lexi's bad attitude. Slowly, through the alternating timeline, we learned about Lexi's relationship with Seth. Blakemore did something interesting with the Then portion too, it wasn't in chronological order. The jump around was a great way to keep the source of Lexi's anger a secret for a little longer, but I also felt like I had more time to witness her conflicted feelings and confusion regarding her role in what had happened. A lot of the Then parts were difficult as I watched what should have been something beautiful for Lexi turn into something toxic.

•Con: It bothered me that Seth was not confronted and punished. I guess maybe that didn't fit with the overall goal of the story, but I needed him to pay for what he had done.

•Pro: There were a lot of things that happened in the story that seemed random, but eventually, all those small random things were tied together, and I loved it when I had my "a-ha" moment.

•Pro: The Greene parents were present in this book. They were all wrapped up in Charlie's issues, but fairness to then, they had no idea what Lexi was dealing with. They did reach out though, and often reminded their children that they were there for them, and that they loved them.

•Pro: I really appreciated how Gwen was used, in the Then and Now. It was important for me to see that there were parts of Lexi's pre-Seth life that were still salvageable.

•Pro: I really felt Lexi's wide range of emotions, and the author captured her fear and self loathing especially well.

•Pro: This book touched on some really serious topics, but Blakemore handled the topics in such a way, as to keep the book from becoming too heavy. There were some moments with a lot of gravity, but they were balanced out with humor and happier moments.



Overall: A story of a shattered girl, who slowly put herself back together, piece by piece, mile by mile.

*I would like to thank the publisher for the review copy of this book.

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