Review: The Last Time We Say Goodbye – Cynthia Hand

REVIEW

The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand
Published by HarperCollins Publishers
Published: February 1st 2015
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From New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand comes a gorgeous and heart-wrenching story of love, loss, and letting go.

Since her brother, Tyler, committed suicide, Lex has been trying to keep her grief locked away, and to forget about what happened that night. But as she starts putting her life, her family, and her friendships back together, Lex is haunted by a secret she hasn't told anyone—a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything.

In the tradition of Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why, Gayle Forman's If I Stay, and Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall, The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a thoughtful and deeply affecting novel that will change the way you look at life and death.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Have the tissues handy. Loads and loads of tissues because The Last Time We Say Goodbye is so emotional and heart aching and sad that you will need them. But trust me when I tell you, you will be a better person after reading this book and feeling Lex’s pain and guilt.

The Last Time We Say Goodbye is the emotional story of Lex, a girl that is consumed with guilt after her younger brother commits suicide. Seem before Tyler killed himself things were good for Lex. She was happy and had a family she loved, and boyfriend that was her perfect match. She was at the top of her class and had everything going for her. She had friends and a life. And just like that her brother was gone and so was everything in Lex’s life that was important. After Tyler she is nothing but the girl that could have saved her brother…if only she answered his text on the night he killed himself, the text no one knows about.

The Last Time We Say Goodbye ripped my heart out and tossed it into a blender. Click To Tweet

This book punched me in the gut. It ripped my heart out and tossed it into a blender and made me cry no less than 4 times. It destroyed me. And yet it was one of the best reading experiences that I have had in a long time because it was real. Lex KILLED me. She was so broken and wracked with guilt and no one was there for her. She was barely holding on and yet she was looking out for her mother, dealing with her father whom she had never forgiven from breaking up their family, hiding from her friends and being suffocated by guilt over the fact that she believed she could have saved Tyler. My heart was crushed for Lex and I felt like I was the only one. Yes, I felt like I was the only one that hurt for the main character because I felt like part of the book.

I guess when you get to the heart of the story it isn’t really about Tyler’s suicide or Lex’s parents or even the text message. The story is about Lex figuring out that her brother was depressed and she couldn’t have saved him if he didn’t want to be saved. It was about her seeing that it was okay for her to be in love and be happy. That it was okay to be mad at her father and to tell him she was mad. That it was okay for her to dream and live out those dreams even though Tyler didn’t get to live out his. That it was okay for her to be mad at him but to also forgive him That was what really killed my soul because Lex didn’t know all of this things and she was just flat out scared of living her life. GUTTED. ME.

I can’t tell you enough to read The Last Time We Say Goodbye. Even though I was demolished by feelings I wanted to read it again after finishing it (I actually got the audio the next day) and I still want to read it again. It is a book about real life and dealing with death and how it is okay when you are the one left behind. It’s a book you must pick up and read. You won’t be sorry even through your tears.

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