Standard YA book in the quality of the writing but a really interesting plot idea.

Goodbye Days is a heartfelt story of grief, love and closure. It follows the main character Carver as he mourns the loss of this three best friends alongside the families and friends of the those involved in the accident.

Carver was an intriguing character, he was extremely insightful and introspective, his mind seemed to run one thousand miles and hour. Being a writer, Carver was incredibly expressive and it was fascinating being inside his head. I think this correlates closely with Jeff Zenter’s writing style, with its lush, vivid descriptions and poignant style, Zenter embellished every sentence with poise and preciseness. The connection between Carver’s distinct voice and Zenter’s writing created a magnificent harmony, resulting in a plethora of abstract quotes. The grievance that the characters were experiencing emanated off the pages, and I was surely alongside them, grieving in their company.

In addition to Carver, we’re introduced to an array of extraordinary people, we have Carver’s three best friends; Eli, Mars and Blake. The undeniable appreciation and love they had for one another was heartwarming. Together they had forged an inseparable bond and memories to last a lifetime. Jesmyn, Eli’s girlfriend prior to the crash, was an equally as engaging character. Understanding Carver’s grief, she supported him through his hardships, she was a rock that kept him stable throughout this mourning period. As the characters all attended a school for the arts, it was refreshing to see the abundance of creativity these characters exuded. Jesmyn played the piano, and listening to her play soon became a coping method for Carver. Jesmyn also had synaesthesia, a condition in which she visually see colours correlating to certain sounds. It was fascinating listening to Jesmyn explain the world as she saw it through her own eyes. Carver’s sister Georgia was equally as supportive as Jesmyn, another person helping him through the tough times. And we can’t forget Nana Betsy, Blake’s grandmother who raised him, she is such a sweet and adoring character, it was beautiful seeing her interact with Carver. There was also a fair amount of diversity present in the book, there is a Philipino character who is adopted, an LGBTQ+ character, an African-American character and representations of dysfunctional families. Topics of racism, LGBTQ+ and mental illness were touched upon, in a way in which they were seamlessly integrated into the story.

Despite these incredible characters however, romance wasn’t present in this book. Carver develops a romantic interest later on in the book. But this doesn’t result in a romantic relationship. Regardless, I felt that this story didn’t necessarily require romance, as its main focus is on bereavement and finding closure.

This leads into my next topic of discussion, the plot. Goodbye Days isn’t largely plot based, we follow Carver through his (mostly) usual motions. The main points of interest are the ‘Goodbye Days’, which are days in which Carver spends with the family members of the deceased in order to commemorate their life, sharing stories about their life and doing activities that they loved. This act was a way for Carver and the families of the those involved in the accident to honour the lives of those who passed as well as find closure for themselves. In saying this, Goodbye Days isn’t massively plot heavy and I found it to be a slower, more unhurried read.

Conclusively, Goodbye Days is a touching story that deals with overcoming grief and finding closure. This book had an air of mourning accompanied with the reminiscence of the joys of life. Both the characters and writing will touch your heart, leaving you with a sense of longing even after you’ve finished the last sentence.

This book blew me away. It's beautiful and heartbreaking and I have not cried at a book so much in many many years! Thanks for the emotions to assure me I do in fact still have a heart.

This is the story of Carter, who is 17 when he loses his 3 best friends in a car accident that may or may not have been his fault for texting the friend who was driving. We follow Carter as he attends their funerals and deals with the aftermath of the events and the decisions he made that night. 
As this novel is written from Carter's point of view, Zentner actually does a creditable job of replicating the voice of a 17 year old, for the most part it reads fairly accurately. That being said there are sections of the text which are quite unlike a 17 year olds manner, but I just put these very pretentious passages down to Carver's past-time as a writer!!
This novel is sad; Zentner's depiction of grief is powerful and moving. The novel as a whole was quite moving and I was appreciative of Zentner's ability to give the grief its space to breath and grow in the novel. 
I also thought that Zentner's description of panic attacks and anxiety was excellent. The author got the feelings and experiences across in the narrative very well, in addition to keeping the narrative voice from Carter realistic to the experience. I appreciated this, it gave the character another layer, and its always good to read about mental health in novels, especially young adult ones. 
In terms of plot, there isn't a lot to get excited about, it is a fairly typical YA contemporary, although I was very pleased that the romance there was felt realistic, there was no sight of 'insta-love'. 
The reason I gave this novel only 3.5/5 was for a couple of insensitive jokes in the novel. At one point two of the characters made some crude suicide jokes because they are not enjoying a class in school. This is extremely insensitive from the author, and particularly because his novel had dealt with grief and mental health sensitively through the rest of it. The author also made some homophobic jokes when the characters are teasing another character, who actually turns out to be gay! As if that somehow makes it ok, it just felt unnecessary to the storyline, and frankly I was really disappointed when I read it.
Overall I gave this novel 3.5/5 stars, and I thought it was an ok depiction of grief, but it was let down by some crude and insensitive jokes in the narrative which didn't sit well with me.

Let's be honest - it is no Serpent King. It keeps you going. There are so many great moments. I absolutely love the comedian character and his grandma. The bits of humor are priceless. I would read the book just for that. The main character just keeps getting hammered and that may reflect real life, but it was such a bummer. It seems like there is a massive collection of YA fiction that is dark and moody. I can't say it really appeals to me. This also was written with a whole lotta liberal passion. It's timely, but had me rolling my eyes sometimes. Like a liberal facebook feed came to life. Still, there was a lot to love in this book - the squirrel rodeo, the food, the colors, the awesome big sister. I'm torn about it. Read it and decide for yourself.

I just finished reading it a few minutes ago. I think I'm in live with this book. Even it was hard for me to read this one at first cz who doesn't feel so sad when they lose their bestfriends? it reminds me a lot about my high school buddies who now live separately :(, plus I didn't find any difficulties while reading it. and the topic tthough i just love it so much when it mentioned something related to laws in it. I would totally make a review for this one as soon as possible. I really want to read Jeff's other works too. Going to put his work, The Serpent King, on my TBR list.

How do you live with grief? How do you live with those feelings when you think you're responsible for he deaths of the people you're grieving? That is the question Carver Briggs asks himself.
When we first meet him he is at the third funeral for the last of his friends to be buried. His was the last text on the phone of Mars, the boy driving, and Carver - along with a lot of others in their town - think he is to blame for what happened.
The question of guilt aside, this was a thoughtful exploration of how to manage the grieving process. It was emotionally intimate - at times, uncomfortably so. Yet there was, throughout, a sense of enjoyment and celebration of the lives lived. A stark reminder that we should make the most of our experiences and reach out to all those who touch our lives in some way.

Honestly, I should really have expected how much this book would wreck me. I mean, it's Jeff Zentner. The Serpent King actually had me in floods of tears so I should have known this one would too. And I did expect to an extent that it would, I just didn't realise I'd be reading through my tears at points (chapter 24 was especially rough). 

I loved pretty much everything about this book, but if there was one thing I didn't it was the romantic subplot (although it never fully came into fruition it was definitely hinted at). I didn't necessarily think that Carver falling in love with his dead best friend's girlfriend was really needed. I mean, the plot would have been just as good if they'd been friends and that was it. I guess it added a bit of angst but it wasn't like that couldn't have been achieved another way. 

But in general, the book was amazing, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to have their heart ripped out and torn up.

With last year's THE SERPENT KING, Jeff Zentner handily became an author to look out for.  His debut was honest, enthralling, and I could not wait to see what he would produce next. As a result, GOODBYE DAYS had a lot to live up to. Thankfully, it matched and even exceeded my already lofty expectations. Zentner has all the sincerity of Adam Silvera with the gut-wrenches of Patrick Ness.

‘Can a text message destroy your life? Carver Briggs never thought a simple text would cause a fatal crash, killing his three best friends, Mars, Eli, and Blake. Now Carver can’t stop blaming himself for the accident and even worse, there could be a criminal investigation into the deaths. Then Blake’s grandmother asks Carver to remember her grandson with a ‘goodbye day’ together. Carver has his misgivings, but he starts to help the families of his lost friends grieve with their own memorial days, along with Eli’s bereaved girlfriend Jesmyn. But not everyone is willing to forgive. Carver’s own despair and guilt threatens to pull him under into panic and anxiety as he faces punishment for his terrible mistake. Can the goodbye days really help?’

This book is stunning. Zentner writes teenage friendship so beautifully. He perfectly portrays the feeling of freedom and sense of invincibility that young people feel. He aces their playful language and the relationships are immensely believable.

Goodbye Days is an exploration of the grieving process, alternating Carver’s grieving in the present with memories of the times the friends spent together, building up a picture of their friendship and then crashing it with a hit of reality. You learn just what he’s lost as you watch him coping.

There’s some brilliant diversity within these pages, including a beautiful post-death coming-out scene that will have you sobbing but leave you feeling that there is hope in the world. And that’s what Zentner does best – destroys you but gives you hope.

The writing is beautiful and perceptive. Every page has a truth; something that chimes as a revelation of life. The idea of a goodbye day as a celebration of life and relationships is something I’d love to see filter into life. Overall Goodbye Days is a beautifully written celebration of friendship; of the closeness that enables you to tell each other everything and support each other with laughter and love.

Source – kindly sent for review by the publisher

Every page of Goodbye Days felt like my emotions were being turned up to full volume. It manages to be sweet, heartbreaking and belly-achingly funny. Jeff Zentner handles difficult issues with so much care and grace that I feel certain I would read anything he`s written and will continue to do so.

If you want to cry like a baby and remember the importance of friendships and family and basically living in the moment then this is the book for you. I own another book by Jeff Zentner but I have never read anything by him before. He is an author I've heard many a good thing about but I am so glad I waited to read this book by him first. I was emotionally wrung out by the end but so very, vert happy as well.

This book is centred around Carver who has lost his three best friends in a car accident and is blaming himself because he texted them around the time of the car accident. It leads him on a path of guilt and self-discovery as he spends time with the families of those he loved trying to help them get some closure whilst also trying to get closure for himself. There is a mixed response from the family of his loved ones because too often we want to find someone to blame when we lose someone. It has to be someone's fault because bad things can't just happen.

I haven't cried so much reading a book in a long time. I know I get emotionally involved in things very easily, much like Carver I cry at youtube videos about good deeds, but this book will hit you in the feels and then beat you around the head with your emotions right until the end. But in a good way,y ou know? You may be ugly crying but you'll be happy about it, trust me.

Last year everyone was talking about, and loving, The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner but for some reason I ended up not reading it. However, after hearing so much about it, and when I saw Goodbye Days on NetGalley, I decided I wanted to read it so I requested the book, twice, and got approved, twice. It was the first time it happened but it was funny to end up with two digital copies of this book XD. Because it was my first Jeff Zentner book I didn't know what to expect. I knew it would probably be heartbreaking (and it was) but I knew nothing else.

Carver, the main character was a great guy. I loved to read this book from his point of view. While he feels guilty about what happened to his friends it was still really cool to read when he was remembering about them and getting to know his friends from that scenes. It still hurt sometimes to read from his POV due to his grief and the guilt he felt but I really enjoyed his character development and he coming to the terms of his best friends deaths. I also loved the idea behind the "goodbye days", even when some of them were kind of weird. It's a good idea... just not good to do with some people who might ruin everything.

I really loved this book and the story. It was really deep and it showed different ways to deal with grief but there were a few things I didn't like as much. I really didn't like that a lot of people blamed Carver for what happened to his friends. I understand why he felt guilty and I can see why a few people would want him to be guilty but in the end he wasn't the one who made the decision that ended up with his friends lives.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. While there were a few things that might have got me mad it was still a great and emotional read. I 100% recommend this book, but beware because it's not an easy read.

Goodbye Days follows Carver Briggs, a boy who is reeling after the loss of his 3 best friends in a car accident, one that he might have been slightly to blame fore. After all, Mars, who was driving, was answering the text Carver has sent when he crashed.

Carver is absolutely devastated and turns to blaming himself for the accident and almost hoping that he sees justice for the crime. As well as his own doses of self hated, one of the boys father is blaming him for the accident and another's sister is spreading rumours at school that he is to blame. And on top of everything Craver has to become involved in a court case that could see him going to jail for murder.

One of my favourite aspects of this book definitely had to be all the memories and flash back we got of the 'Sauce Crew' (what the 4 best friends called their group). There was always something funny or memorable happening in the group and it was the kind of book that definitely had me smiling as I read all the funny things the boys were getting into. Each of the 4 boys had a special role to play in the group and even though 3 of the characters were dead from beginning to end of the book I felt like I really knew them anyways and loved their characters. The group had such an amazing dynamic that it made me wish I could read about them in present day, and all the amazing and funny things they used to do, instead of only getting to read about them in past tense.

I thought that Jeff Zentner did such a great job of showing what it was like to lose loved ones with all the heartbreak and emotions. I couldn't help but love Carver for all of the hardship he had endured and it was simply devastating to read about all he had to deal with. Luckily for him, there were a few people he had on his side. Firstly, there was Jesmyn, who was originally Eli's girlfriend and started to become close to Carver. They both related really well through grief and the feeling of needing someone else there when school started or at least to talk to. I really liked Jesmyn, she was thoughtful and she was really funny. Most importantly I think she was such great support for Carver and the exact thing that he needed at the time.

One of the greatest parts of this book was Jeff Zentner's ability to portray both horrendous grief as well as humour in the same book and make you feel it all. Some of the scenes were super funny, especially those that involved the 4 boys before the accident. Then there were other times that made me want to cry because I just felt so much grief coming from Carver and the families of the boys who had been killed.

Overall, this was such an amazing book. I would definitely recommend it and it was a book that really puts you through the motions.

Jeff Zentner has received such high praise for his debut novel ‘The Serpent King’ that when I saw this book I thought I would give it a shot.

The goodbye days follows Carver Briggs on the aftermath of the death of his 3 best friends. The problem is Carver has this terrible guilt hanging over him, if only he hadn’t sent that text his friends might still be alive. Instead his life is turned upside down with funerals, grief,anxiety and the fact that people actually blame him for the boys deaths. He agrees to a Goodbye day in honour of his friend, doing everything they would do with his family. News starts to spread and the other families want their own goodbye days.

I enjoyed this book, it’s quite nice to read a Young adult contemporary written by a male author. The majority of contemporaries I read are written by women and was just so refreshing to read something from the male perspective.

The writing in this book was really good and had no problem understanding the conversations. I like that he chose to write about this topic to make young adults aware of the dangers of using your phones whilst driving. I thought the way that he wove all the stages of grief into the book was very clever.

So I wasn’t too sure about the plot, the main pointer for me was that Carver could actually go to prison for negligent homicide – contributing to his friends deaths. I don’t know too much about the criminal justice system so I couldn’t believe that this could really happen. It wasn’t like Carver made his friends text him back. They should have had the common sense at 17 years old to maybe get a passenger to respond not the actual driver.

I liked pretty much all the characters, there were great parents, siblings, grandmothers and friendships that gave the book depth. There were no annoying tropes in this book either, so that gets a big thumbs up for me. The book had the occasional moment when Carver was having flashbacks/memories of his friends, they would say something really immature for their age and then would counteract it with something quite profound.

The reason I can’t give this a higher rating than 3.5 stars is that I felt no emotional connection to the characters and got a little confused about all the boys and their family dynamics, however you do get more of an insight in to each of the boys lives and characters towards the end of the book but I just found it a little too late.

Overall this book is good and would recommend it as this seems to be getting 5 star ratings and you probably don’t have a heart of stone like me.

I rated this 3.5/5 stars

I have heard so much about this author's debut, but I haven't had the chance to check it out yet. After reading Goodbye Days it's certainly an author that I want to explore more from. Goodbye Days isn't an easy read, after all its story line centres around grief. It's a book that will appeal to so many readers.

Goodbye Days centres around Carver Briggs who sent a text to his best friend Mars whilst they were together with two more of his friends. Whilst replying to the text, the car that Mars was driving crashed into a truck, killing all of the passengers. In one moment, Carter lost his three best friends. He blames himself for the accident.Carver feels alone now and dreads going to school without his little crew. Not everyone in the community is kind to Carver. Family members find it very hard to forgive Carver. Mars' father, who is a judge, pressures the district attorney to investigate the case. He wants Carver to be charged with negligence. Carver's life is incredibly overwhelming and he begins to suffer from panic attacks.

What I loved about this book, was that Carver wasn't left to come to terms with everything himself. He had an amazingly supportive sister, his friend's girlfriend Jesmyn and a therapist. It was nice to know that Carver had some people looking out for him at such a terrible time.

The idea of Goodbye Days came from a grandparent who asked Carver to spend a day with her doing the things that her grandson loved so much. I thought this was a fascinating idea and although it was heart-breaking, it was interesting to learn more about Carver's beloved friends.

This book is incredibly emotional. It's so well written and easy to dive into, despite its tough subject matter. I loved that the story was about such a strong friendship. It's also about learning to move on and accept loss. It really was a brilliant read.

Teenagers dying in random, shocking accidents have been a constant in my YA contemporary reads for the past 18 months. It’s a rare book that doesn’t include the grief/loss trope as a way to explore the feelings and actions of the teens who are left behind to ponder their existence and the meaning of life.

Not all books do it well.

Goodbye Days does it exceedingly well. Yes, I am tired of sore eyes, and waking up to thoughts of trauma and emptiness, but today I am also grateful for those same things – I have cried so much I couldn’t read the words on the kindle. I have thought about the characters, while awake and while trying to fall asleep, and I wonder why this book has affected me so profoundly when others leave me sad but not consumed.

There are a couple of factors I can think of.

Zentner instils his three dead characters with so much life, right up to the final chapter that, just like Carver, I mourn their loss, I miss their antics, I grieve for the waste. And just like Carver, I long to celebrate their creativity, their intelligence, their joy. We spend a lot of time with Blake, Eli and Mars. We know them well by the end, and their passing hurts.

Carver is another strong component of the novel. His feelings are laid bare. As a writer, he is able to articulate every fear, every shameful thought, and every scared moment. His loneliness without his three best friends is exacerbated by the hostility from Eli’s twin sister Adair, who isn’t the only one who blames Carver for the accident. Carver himself feels responsible, but it’s Mars’s father who pushes for a criminal investigation into the ordeal.

With that threat hanging over him, Carver finds solace befriending Eli’s girlfriend, Jesmyn, herself devastated and lost. Together they navigate the trials of Carver’s panic attacks, Jesmyn’s preparation for a Juilliard audition, and something invented by Blake’s Nana Betsy called the goodbye days. She invites Carver to join her on a day where they experience many of Blake’s favourite activities and food. It’s cathartic, but it also forces Carver to confront his guilt, and to share things about Blake that his grandma didn’t know.

This sets up similar days with Eli’s parents and Mars’s father. Each day is different, and each opens Carver up to more hurt, more memories, and while some readers might feel manipulated, I felt moved by powerful emotions. I felt Carver’s unassailable and overwhelming pain, and most of all, I wanted to see him through this. Admittedly, through the novel, he does some stupid things, and says some regrettable words, but overall, he proves to be a true friend.

You can probably figure out that I was caught up in this book, and was surprised by its power over me. Copy provided by the publisher and Netgalley. It’s out today in the states, and in a couple of weeks here in Australia.

Recommended to readers who want to be utterly at the mercy of strong and painful emotions, who want their main characters to be honest with themselves, and who fight to overcome their fears. The female characters are strong and do not put up with anything other than respect. The adults are flawed, and try to make the best of a tragic situation. Each one offers something, most significantly Carver’s therapist, who is an amazing support for him.

Goodbye Days is a novel about unfathomable loss. One day, Carver Briggs finds his world turned upside down after his 3 best friends – Eli, Mars and Blake, die in a car crash… a car crash Carver feels responsible for. Carver (or Blade as his friends warmly know him has), was the last person to send Mars, the driver of the car, a text message. Mars’ phone was found at the site of the crash with a half written reply to Carver. We follow Carver’s journey through the grief and the guilt after the passing of his friends, and also experience many flash backs to when the boys were still alive.

This story explores the power of friendship, family, guilt and grief. Jeff Zentner weaves the words so beautifully in this book, depicting what life in Nashville is like, and what I felt to be an accurate representation of being a teenager.

The characters were absolutely glorious. Eli, Mars, Blake and Carver collectively refer to themselves as “The Sauce Crew” and you have no idea how much I wanted to be a member of their group. All the boys are so ridiculously loveable, hilarious and unique. Within their characters we see themes of young love, being a person of colour and being “in the closet”. I also found the families of the boys really believable and amazingly written, especially Nana Betsy!

I loved the concept of the Goodbye Days, which are basically a day in which Carver would join each of his friend’s families to have a final day to say goodbye, share memories and celebrate the uniqueness of each friend. Each Goodbye Day had a different feel to it, which I think was a great reflection of the way different people grieve.

 “The world’s reliable absurdity is one of the few things that can distract me”.
I finally would like to talk about the way this book is written. It’s poetic and raw. It’s so honest; so believable. I found myself bawling my eyes out at one moment and laughing the next. I felt like I was experiencing the memories for myself. Carver is beautifully flawed – I hate to use that cliché but it’s true. Read this book guys, you won’t regret it. I know it will stay with me for a long time. I give it 5/5 stars.