ARC Review: The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

Posted February 9, 2015 by Bee in Reviews / 16 Comments

ARC Review: The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

The Last Time We Say Goodbye


by Cynthia Hand
Pages: 284
Published on February 10th 2015
by HarperTeen
Genres: Contemporary, Young Adult
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss
Goodreads

Also by this author: Boundless

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.

5 Stars

A Personal Note Before the Review

I can’t just review this. Not this book. I just can’t. I have too much I want to say. So what I’m going to do is this… I’m telling everything I want to tell you guys, but it’s up to you if you read it or not. It’s very personal and I understand if you don’t want to read that. So I’m putting it in these spoiler tags and it’s up to you from that point. You can read it, or you can just not open it and read the review alone. Okay? Okay.

View Spoiler »

The Actual Review

Phew. My bloggy friends who’d read this already had warned me for this book, but I didn’t think it would affect me this much. I didn’t, okay? It got personal, very personal and I’ve never cried so much reading a book. I cry easily, but not when I’m reading. But this book… it made me cry for about 70% of the time I was reading it. Hell, I’m crying right now. Writing this review. Thinking about it. God, I’m a mess.

The Last Time We Say Goodbye is about Lex. Lex had a good life. Until her brother killed himself. Now it’s all a big giant mess. Her family is broken, her friends look at her like she might break any moment and she doesn’t have her perfect boyfriend anymore. She’s living with a lot of guilt because of a secret that might have changed everything. She has to learn how to live with the pain she feels, but it’s not easy. It never is.

I physically hurt after reading this book. My heart hurts. A lot. I’m still crying and I … Honestly, I’ve never felt like this after reading a book. But it’s not just a book. Because all of it can happen in real life. It might have happened last week somewhere in the world and we would never know. It’s sad and heartbreaking and easily forgotten. Cynthia did such a good job putting this to words. It must have been so hard to write this book and I can’t give anything but praise for that. I know how hard this must have been. I know. So really, Cynthia, amazing job. You did something, I never could.

It’s crazy how much I could relate to Lex. I knew how she felt. All of it. The numbness, the anger, the pain. The feeling of being lost and not knowing how to breathe without falling apart. The Feeling of not being able to focus on the good stuff, but only seeing how it all ended just like that. I know how that feels. I’ve been there! Which made it so much harder for me to read without falling apart from all the memories it brought back.

Honestly guys, I just loved everything. I’m a complete mess and this book was beautiful and I don’t know what else I can say about it. I highly recommend this book, but please, keep tissues close, okay? You’ll need them. Thank you Cynthia, for this book.

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Bee
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16 responses to “ARC Review: The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand”

  2. Chanpreet

    It’s weird. The more a book makes me cry, the more I love it. I think it’s because the devastation you experienced at the hands of a book is hard to forget. I loved how honest your review was. Thank you for bringing this book to my attention! I’ll be sure to have tissues handy when I read it!

    Reply
  3. Liza @ Reading with ABC
    Twitter:

    Dear Bieke, I’m so sorry that you went through something like that. I’m at the same time horrified and glad that you found your way out that situation. I was lucky when I growing up that I didn’t have to face bullying. I try to be very vigilant about my kids to make sure it doesn’t happens to them either.

    I’ve only heard great things about this book and I plan to read it really soon (requested the audio)

    Liza @ Reading with ABC recently posted: Waiting on Wednesday: Nowhere but Here by Katie McGarry
    Reply
  6. Giselle

    Wow what an emotional and heartfelt review! I re-felt all the emotions I had while reading this book through you! I loved it too and I just found it such a raw, yet important read. It shows that she has more than one story to tell! I loved her angel series, too (one of the ONLY angel books I enjoyed). Great review, hun! <3

    Reply
  8. Lyra @ Defiantly Deviant

    Beautiful review, Bieke. I can tell just how much the story, the characters, and the author’s words touched you, and that to me is testament of just how good of a book and how amazing of a writer Cynthia is.

    I have a review copy sitting on my shelves, and I’m definitely reading this book before bed. I just know that I’ll enjoy this one.

    Thank you for sharing your story, and for the great review!

    Lyra @ Defiantly Deviant recently posted: [Blog Tour: Review + Q&A] Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
    Reply

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