Erin: The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand
Hello! A new book from the author of the Unearthly Trilogy -- Cynthia Hand! This is a vastly different book from Unearthly. It's a much heavier subject matter and it's a contemporary -- although it does involve a ghost...Anyways, here is my review below!
From Goodreads:
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.
Erin's Thoughts:
The Last Time We Say Goodbye isn't the usual type of book I read, but seeing as it's Cynthia Hand and that I really liked her Unearthly series, I very much anticipated this book. I was surprised at first when I found out that Cynthia Hand was writing a contemporary book because I was just so used to her writing paranormal. But honestly, I love it when authors try something new, something really different from what they previously wrote and The Last Time We Say Goodbye is very different from Unearthly, so I really admire Cynthia Hand for doing that.
The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a story about a girl trying to put her life back together after her brother commits suicide. While not everyone might experience this exact same situation, I really do think it's a subject that everyone can relate to at least on some level.
Throughout the book, Lex struggles to figure out why her brother committed suicide. She struggles with school and friends and the way her family has been torn apart, not just by the suicide, but other problems as well.
Lex is a great protagonist. She tries so hard to get over her brother's death. She really tries to understand his reasons and what drove him to commit suicide. I think she does a lot of things that a regular teenage girl would do in her situation. I also really like that she thinks so much in terms of numbers -- it's a nice quirk to see since -- not saying it's bad or anything -- there are lots of characters that like reading or English and hate math and science.
The ending, no doubt, was my favorite part. It was extremely cathartic for both Lex and me. I don't want to give anything away, but it's such a wonderful ending that forced Lex to confront her problems and her feelings head-on and finally face everything that's she been trying to ignore and suppress. While it's not an actual battle scene or anything, I almost feel like it reads that way...Lex is fighting to let go, to find closure.
While there were some things that weren't completely explained and definitely some loose ends, it didn't bother me for the most part. One thing that I didn't quite understand was...
I think Lex mentions something like Patrick using Tyler's suicide as a template for his own death, but I don't know...Something about it didn't fit right with me. Then again, that's just my opinion. :)
From Goodreads:
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.
Erin's Thoughts:
The Last Time We Say Goodbye isn't the usual type of book I read, but seeing as it's Cynthia Hand and that I really liked her Unearthly series, I very much anticipated this book. I was surprised at first when I found out that Cynthia Hand was writing a contemporary book because I was just so used to her writing paranormal. But honestly, I love it when authors try something new, something really different from what they previously wrote and The Last Time We Say Goodbye is very different from Unearthly, so I really admire Cynthia Hand for doing that.
The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a story about a girl trying to put her life back together after her brother commits suicide. While not everyone might experience this exact same situation, I really do think it's a subject that everyone can relate to at least on some level.
Throughout the book, Lex struggles to figure out why her brother committed suicide. She struggles with school and friends and the way her family has been torn apart, not just by the suicide, but other problems as well.
Lex is a great protagonist. She tries so hard to get over her brother's death. She really tries to understand his reasons and what drove him to commit suicide. I think she does a lot of things that a regular teenage girl would do in her situation. I also really like that she thinks so much in terms of numbers -- it's a nice quirk to see since -- not saying it's bad or anything -- there are lots of characters that like reading or English and hate math and science.
The ending, no doubt, was my favorite part. It was extremely cathartic for both Lex and me. I don't want to give anything away, but it's such a wonderful ending that forced Lex to confront her problems and her feelings head-on and finally face everything that's she been trying to ignore and suppress. While it's not an actual battle scene or anything, I almost feel like it reads that way...Lex is fighting to let go, to find closure.
While there were some things that weren't completely explained and definitely some loose ends, it didn't bother me for the most part. One thing that I didn't quite understand was...
***MILD SPOILER ALERT***
I didn't really understand Patrick's Suicide (Tyler's friend). I wasn't sure if it was supposed to imply that maybe it was chain suicide -- maybe he and Tyler had talked about it together, maybe even planned it together. Or maybe not. Maybe it was a completely separate thing. But because there were so many similarities between both of the suicides, it threw me off a little bit.I think Lex mentions something like Patrick using Tyler's suicide as a template for his own death, but I don't know...Something about it didn't fit right with me. Then again, that's just my opinion. :)
***END SPOILER ALERT***
Rating:
I'm really more fluctuating between four and four and a half. The only reason for that is because while I enjoyed it a lot, like I said before, it's not really my "type" of book. That said, I know people are going to love this book! It's such a great and profound story that I think will affect readers.
I highly suggest that everyone read the Author's Note at the end. It explains a lot of the personal motivations and the important of the story to the author and I think it is well worth reading.
All righty, hope you guys enjoyed the review!! Thanks for reading!! :D
Erin @The Romance Bookie :)
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