Six Goodbyes We Never Said, written by Candace Granger, will hit the shelves on September 24, 2019. This eye-opening young adult contemporary, published by Wednesday Books, engages in serious topics such as mental health and loss/PTSD.
BOOK REVIEW – Six Goodbyes We Never Said
Synopsis
Two teens meet after tragedy and learn about love, loss, and letting go
Naima Rodriguez doesn’t want your patronizing sympathy as she grieves her father, her hero—a fallen Marine. She’ll hate you forever if you ask her to open up and remember him “as he was,” though that’s all her loving family wants her to do in order to manage her complex OCD and GAD. She’d rather everyone back the-eff off while she separates her Lucky Charms marshmallows into six, always six, Ziploc bags, while she avoids friends and people and living the life her father so desperately wanted for her.
Dew respectfully requests a little more time to process the sudden loss of his parents. It’s causing an avalanche of secret anxieties, so he counts on his trusty voice recorder to convey the things he can’t otherwise say aloud. He could really use a friend to navigate a life swimming with pain and loss and all the lovely moments in between. And then he meets Naima and everything’s changed—just not in the way he, or she, expects.
Candace Ganger’s Six Goodbyes We Never Saidis no love story. If you ask Naima, it’s not even a like story. But it is a story about love and fear and how sometimes you need a little help to be brave enough to say goodbye.
- Author: Candace Granger
- Publisher: Wednesday Books
- Publication Date: September 24, 2019
- Book Length: 320 pages
- Genre: YA contemporary, Mental Health
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Book Review
Six Goodbyes We Never Said, written by Candace Granger, is officially on sale. I received this book from the publisher, Wednesday Books, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book tells the stories of two teenagers, Naima and Andrew, who both lost their parents. They each deal with this trauma in different ways. While this is already hard on them, they both also suffer from mental illness. Their stories deal with hard topics that are not always understood or well perceived in our world.
I struggled to write this review because I’m honestly torn between different feelings. I want to applaud the author for writing about such important topics. I felt that the mental illnesses were well described, but in all honesty, I have limited experience in that area and so cannot comment more on that part.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Andrew. He is a lovable character that goes through loss, teenage issues, and so much more. At times, I wanted to protect him, and other times, I simply wanted to hang out with him. I really enjoyed getting to know him and his family.
Most of the book, though, was about Naima. Unfortunately, I did not connect with her as much. I understand that she was angry, but I felt like she was extremely rude to everyone around her for no valid reason, and that bothered me to no end. I felt that her arc probably took up too much time in the story, which made the book feel slow.
One thing I found really unique about this book was the format that made it easy to know who was speaking at any given time. I also enjoyed how the author used the writing to depict each character’s state of mind. I wish I could give the book more than three stars, but overall, this book was not for me. Even so, I want to applaud the author for tackling such difficult topics, and I hope to see much more from her.
About the Author
Candace Granger
Candace Ganger is the author of Six Goodbyes We Never Said and The Inevitable Collision of Birdie & Bash as well as a contributing writer for HelloGiggles and obsessive marathoner.
Aside from having past lives as a singer, nanotechnology website editor, and world’s worst vacuum sales rep, she’s also ghostwritten hundreds of projects for companies, best-selling fiction and award-winning nonfiction authors alike. She lives in Ohio with her family.