Monday 19 March 2018

Goodbye Days

Goodbye Days

Goodbye Days is by Jeff Zentner.

What if you could spend one last day with someone you lost?

One day Carver Briggs had it all—three best friends, a supportive family, and a reputation as a talented writer at his high school, Nashville Academy for the Arts.

The next day he lost it all when he sent a simple text to his friend Mars, right before Mars, Eli, and Blake were killed in a car crash.

Now Carver can’t stop blaming himself for the accident, and he’s not the only one. Eli’s twin sister is trying to freeze him out of school with her death-ray stare. And Mars’s father, a powerful judge, is pressuring the district attorney to open a criminal investigation into Carver’s actions.

Luckily, Carver has some unexpected allies: Eli’s girlfriend, the only person to stand by him at school; Dr. Mendez, his new therapist; and Blake’s grandmother, who asks Carver to spend a Goodbye Day with her to share their memories and say a proper goodbye to his friend.

Soon the other families are asking for a Goodbye Day with Carver, but he’s unsure of their motives. Will they all be able to make peace with their losses, or will these Goodbye Days bring Carver one step closer to a complete breakdown or—even worse—prison? 

The Breakdown:
1.  I feel that I should start with a warning.  This book deals with a very heavy subject, and was very emotional for me.  On multiple occasions I found myself tearing up as I read.  That being said, Zentener is a fantastic writer with engaging characters and a story that makes the reader think.

2. Carver is a character laced with guilt and mourning for his best friends deaths.  He is amazingly talented character that is going thru the most difficult time in his life.   As he deals with his loses, he develops panic attacks, which is understandable since others and himself are blaming him as partially responsible for his friends' deaths.

3.  I think this book brings up an interesting point in the legal system.   Where does the blame fall in accident as a result of texting while driving?  Is it squarely on the driver, or  is there blame to the person texting if they know the person their texting is driving?  I think that Zentener brings up interesting points that I could see future ramifications in our legal system with.

4.  I loved the concept of Goodbye Days.  A last day doing things that you enjoyed doing with your deceased loved one to tell them goodbye.  It is both a little heartbreaking and a little healing.  It was interesting to see how each of Carver's friend's families treated these days and what their aims were.

5. One last thing, loved that Zentener had Dearly make a brief appearance in this book.  Very much enjoyed seeing Dill show up in this book, and how is music career has taken off.

To Read or Not to Read:
Must Read

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