When Tatum was arrested as an accessory to a crime, she was unable to convince her family of her innocence. Her father and step-mother sentenced her a summer long grounding in addition to the fine and 100 hours of community service she earned courtesy of the Commonwealth. She lost her freedom. She lost her best friend. Worst of all, she lost the trust of her family. The summer began under a grey cloud, but Tatum was determined to atone for her discretions, and earn back the trust from those she loves.
My reaction at the end of this book:
I can honestly say, that this book charmed the pants off of me. I have an affinity for books like this, where the protagonist embarks on a journey to self discovery, and also where the author ties things up so nicely.
"The talking probably wouldn't be pretty, but I'd learned a lot about myself this summer. I knew I would be okay..."
With all the extra time on her hands, Tatum began to take a look inward. She had definitely suffered some setbacks in her 16 years, which left her with some open wounds, but during this summer of imprisonment, she was able to find the girl, who was always there. She was smart, witty, talented, giving, and loyal. I really enjoyed getting to know the Tatum that was just waiting to be discovered, because she was a wonderful young woman.
"Yeah. I'm good. Really good. Today kind of feels like the answer to a wish I made at the beginning of the summer."
I am all about the characters when I read a book, and June gave us some great ones to fall in love with in It Started with Goodbye. Other standouts for me, aside from Tatum, were: Abby, SK, and Blanche. Abby was a fantastic example of the type of friend everyone should have. She backed Tatum up, supported her in her endeavors, encouraged her to grow and try new things. She was definitely a friend I would want in my corner. And then there was Blanche, who was an awesome step-abuela. She was so many things for Tatum. She was a calm in the storm, when things were getting really tense at home. She was a voice of reason, when Tatum could only see her own side of things. She was love and support and exactly what you want in a grandma. I just found her delightful. Finally, there was SK. *heart-eyes* You may be able to tell that SK was the love interest, and he was perfect. This romance played out predominately online through emails. I always find that approach sort of fun, and it was amusing and cute in this book too. The things he said, the way he said them, it was all so endearing and sweet. I swear! I may have gotten my first cavity.
One thing, which took center stage, was Tatum's relationships. When this story began, Tatum was feeling disconnected from her step-mother and step-sister. She was also reeling from losing the only friend she thought she had, Ashlyn, and losing her father's trust. There is so much to say with respect to how June handled all these things. She showed that there are two sides to every story, and that sometimes one needs to look at things from a different perspective. She also showed how anything worth keeping, is worth fighting for, and the best things do not come easily. It was beautiful how June had Tatum fighting for her relationships. It was a rocky road to redemption, but Tatum kept at it, and was a winner in the end.
From the blurb, I learned that this is a Cinderella retelling. What I like most about modernized retellings, is trying to find the original story elements present in the book. It was fun looking for all the analogs, and I really liked how June adapted the idea of Cinderella's story. I am a lighter-fare fangirl. Once upon a time, I liked those soul crushing stories, but now that I am older, I am more about the fun, the fluffy, and the HEA. June gave us the "evil" step-mother and step-sister, absentation of the parent, a fairy godmother, and even a prince charming, but it never really went to that dark place like in the original story, and I was ok with that.
Sidenote
I loved all the fuss with valedictions, because I fuss over that too.
"Yours in music and marshmallows....
It was the best valediction yet."
Overall: A delightful Cinderella-esque story, filled with charming and down-to-earth characters, which left me with miles of smiles.
**I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book
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