It Started with Goodbye has a really good story and a really relatable main character, with hints of Cinderella. The novel follows Tatum, a teenager who got herself in trouble at the beginning of the summer, and is now relegated to spending her summer under house arrest, completing community service and answering to her (unreasonable?) stepmother while her father is away on business. She's also sharing the house with her stepsister (who she never talks to) and her stepmother's mother, who is somewhat of a breath of fresh air for Tatum. Due to the trouble she got into, she's also lost her best friend. For her, it's shaping up to be a really bad summer, despite her secret graphic design business she's started.

Tatum was what made this book for me. From the beginning, you sympathized with her account of how she got into trouble, and realize (or at least feel) she is being treated unfairly. Granted, that is because the book is from her point of view, but even from my now adult perspective, I had a hard time sympathizing with anyone else in the book until she did. As Tatum fights and rails against her lot in life, it's easy to feel her pain and try to hope with her for an improvement in her fate. However, Tatum grows and her perspective changes throughout the novel, and your estimation of the other characters grows alongside Tatum's, which was skillfully done by the author.

The story was also good, if a bit predictable. The love story was endearing, and the guy was likable. Many relationships grow and change throughout the course of the book, and you find yourself rooting for the changes that occur. As Tatum's relationships to the characters change, you find yourself learning more about them, and opening up to them a little. There are also lots of positive female friendships here, which I love to see. By the end, you've finished a feel good contemporary novel that has evolved throughout, and you've gotten a complete story out of the deal. It's full of teenage angst and a little drama, but it's wholly relatable for anyone who is a teenager or who has been a teenager.

I recommend this novel to anyone looking for a  quick, easy contemporary read that features strong characters and a good story arc. The little bit of romance doesn't hurt. It Started with Goodbye is out today, so go ahead and pick it up.

Note: I received this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I thought there were some parts i would change, but I honestly really enjoyed this.

This is my favorite kind of book to reading during the summer because it's a fast read with characters that are likable. Tatum did what many would do for friends, being there, watching over. Little did she know that would end her up in trouble. This story has a strong family plot in it. I love that; I'm a family person and most of the YA books I've been reading has been a bit weak in that field.
To my surprised this has a dash of a Cinderella re-telling feel to it. I enjoy a good Cinderella re-telling. (I've seen every Cinderella re-telling movie out there!) A Cinderella fell as stepmother and stepsister, with a bad dash of luck that turns to a happy ending. 
Tatum starts her own business, that is something I relate to the starting, running, and the feelings that come with that. I haven't read many books where a young adult is starting her own business (That's not babysitting.) that sanded out to me because of the world we live in I know many young adults who have their own business and runs it all themselves. 
This story is bold, bright and perfect for the summer!

Net Galley has a section where you can “wish” for a book — it’s not readily available for request or to all audiences. Well I wished and got this one – and I’m so happy I did! While this is billed as a “Cinderella story”, I found it to be a well-written and insightful YA novel about a teen girl dealing with coming of age issues. I’ll be recommending it to my 14 year old and to my middle schoolers.

Description

Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night, which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client. If Tatum is reading his emails right, her virtual Prince Charming is funny, smart, and talented—and he seems to think the same about her. Too bad he’s spending his summer across the ocean in Ireland…not that Tatum would be allowed to go on a date anyway.

But over the course of the summer, Tatum will learn that sometimes going after what you want means breaking all the rules. And when Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the house keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way. A modern play on the Cinderella story arc, Christina June’s IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE will appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen, Stephanie Perkins, and Jennifer E. Smith.

Thank you SO MUCH for making me part of the “wishes granted” group. I feel like Cinderella!

I passed this one off to our school librarian to read. She is always looking for new books for our high school library Even tho it was a bit young for me I knew what its purpose was and who it would fit.YOUNG ADULT.  Well she ordered 30 of them last week.

This book will appeal to the misunderstood 16yo in all of us. I loved the characters and how much Tatum grew in the story. It's a tale of finding yourself. Just fabulous.

Review:
I was surprised by this book many times. At first I thought it would be an angsty “woe is me” book. Then I was like ahhh something horrible is going to happen towards the end and it will ruin my ship. But none of my theories or guesses happened (except for who Shay was).

We start of at the Police station. Tatum, her friend Ashley, and Ashley’s boyfriend are arrested. Why are they arrested? Because Ashley’s bae decided to steal a whole bunch of smartphones. Now Tatum is stuck with a fine and community service even though she knew nothing of what Ashley and her bf had planned on doing that day they went to the mall. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The story progresses as Tate struggles with being under house arrest under her stepmother’s watchful eye. Her stepmother Belen is very harsh on her and her step sister Tilly hardly acknowledges her existence. To make things worse, her father goes out of the country so she is left alone with her step-family. Throughout the entire book, Tate learns that the people closest to you can disappoint you, that making new friends may not be as bad as she thought it would be, that forgiving others is always good even though it takes time for the person you forgive to realize their mistake (Yes, I am talking about Ashley) and that you shouldn’t judge others, especially if you haven’t taken the time to properly get to know them (Her stepmother Belen and her stepsister Tilly).

My favorite character’s were Abby (Her new friend and journalistic wiz) and Blanche (Belen’s mother, Tilly’s grandmother). They both brought humor and the reality check that Tate needed. They were great support systems, yet they didn’t baby Tate. Loved this!

Overall, It Started With Goodbye, is a solid debut. I will keep a lookout for Christina June’s next novel.

(P.S. I didn’t write about the romance/ship in this novel because while it is in the story, I liked that it wasn’t the main point so I shall keep it that way.)

Rating: 4 out of 5

An excellent book that gives the reader an insight into young teenage thought processes.......very revealing

This was a delightful retelling of Cinderella. I read it in one sitting! The updates Christina made on the original were super fun - stepmother puts her on house arrest after a false accusation, girl meets boy at an art show instead of a ball, and girl makes her own luck instead of relying on a godmother! I also really enjoyed that the focus was on her family dynamics instead of on a romance.

Just super charming!

I did enjoy this book to an extent. I liked the different elements to a classic fairy tale, but at the same time other parts felt like i had read them over and over. which also made the story slightly predictable and the lack of plot twists or shock story lines kinda made the book fall a little flat. I would recommend this book to younger viewers, however, due to the straightforwardness of the book and the different look at friendships, family and love

I'm upset! I really wanted to love this book! Since it is now Summer I was in the mood for a cute, fluffy contemporary romance story. Who doesn't when the months are warm? Unfortunately this contemporary did nothing for me. Right off the bat when I started reading I was bored and not invested in the story. I did not like the voice of the heroine of this story, Tatum. The story seemed very slow and I couldn't relate to her (she also seemed very childish and bratty) There was too much sad and not enough good to balance it out and the parents were awful! One thing I did really enjoy about the heroine is that she called people out with the truth whenever the were in the wrong and that she stook up for herself. Overall, I give this book 2.5 stars.

Tatum Elsea is about to spend her entire summer under lockdown with her stepmother (who’s clearly disappointed by her screw-up of a stepdaughter), stepsister (a perfect ballerina who never talks to her), and step-grandmother (the only good thing about this summer). Between court-enforced community service and starting her own graphic design business, Tate makes new friends, flirts with a stranger via her new business, and gets to know her stepsister and stepmother in ways she never thought possible. 

Rating: 4.5/5

Diversity: +11

Race/Ethnicity: +4 (Abuela immigrated from Chile), Belén (2nd generation from Chile), Matilda (3rd generation)

Culture: +2 (They reference eating Chilean foods and some of the struggles immigrants have coming to the US)

Gender: +1 (Author), +2 (Tatum), +2 (All about positive female relationships!)



What I liked:

-How the family dynamic changed. Fitting in with a stepfamily isn’t always easy and I love how acutely Tate felt the differences between herself, her stepmother and stepsister. Their problems weren’t magically fixed and everything wasn’t magically okay. They are a family which means that sometimes things go wrong and there will always be some kind of miscommunication. But I love how (Spoiler alert!) they were all honest and supportive of each other in the end.

-The development of the romance is second to Tatum’s journey. The romance is nice; they get to know each other rather than insta-love. BUT her crush is second to her character growth. The romance felt like a nice little aside with cute, funny, and flirty email exchanges where they got to know each other. It was super sweet.

-Abuela and Belén are immigrants that struggled to be successful here. I loved their exchanges because it becomes clear how much their past has affected their present. Especially since Belén is dark-skinned and has an obvious non-English name that complicated her own school days. It’s important to tell the stories of immigrants overcoming adversity and being normal people leading normal lives. We all have similar problems as parents and teenagers and stories where people of color are their own person and not stereotypes for their ethnicity are important.

-I also love how it talks about teenagers making bad choices. Sometimes teenagers don’t realize how bad things can go until they do and sometimes they choose not to think about it. Sometimes they get in trouble for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and yet it can have real consequences. Sometimes your friends will be upset at you for sticking up for yourself. Sometimes it’s okay to break the rules but sometimes it isn’t. Life is made of difficult choices and it’s okay to make some wrong ones along the way. Sometimes they follow you forever and sometimes they can be fixed during a summer.


-Downside: the twist is fairly straightforward and the romance isn’t the main storyline of the book. I personally really liked it because it was straightforward and didn’t push an insta-love romance. 


*Thanks to NetGalley for this book in exchange for an honest review*

This will go live on my blog on June 4. Kellyvision.wordpress.com

Tatum is under house arrest after she was deemed the getaway driver in a shoplifting incident (her best friend's boyfriend stole iPhones and gift cards; she had no idea). She and her stepmom have a...we'll go with complicated relationship at best, and this is certainly not an ideal set of circumstances. 

This is essentially a modern retelling of Cinderella and it is fantastic. I liked Tatum a lot and watching her grow over the summer made me really happy. Yes, there are nods to the story but it is also its own story.

I flew through the book and loved every second. I knew it would end well (hello, it's a fairy tale!) but it was even better than I'd hoped. 

Recommended.

Tatum is a 16-year-old girl who is punished all summer for a crime she didn’t commit. Having to deal with her almost evil step-mother and barely there step-sister, she struggles through the rules cast upon her while trying to enjoy summer, get her community service taken care of and starting a business of her own to pay her fine. With all of this going on she starts a flirtation with a boy that she only knows through her intake form on her business website! Once Tatum realizes that her step-sister isn’t as perfect as she seems, things start to look up and Tatum figures out a bunch of things about herself, her family, and a lot of preconceived notions she once held to be true.

This is a charming YA romance with strong family and friendship elements, along with a good dose of 'coming of age'ness. It has everything a great YA should have - strong characters who draw you in and make you fall for them; snappy dialogue; a romance to make you swoon; and a heroine fnding herself, with help from a few important people. June's writing is witty and relatable, making for a modern-day fairytale that is easy to read and hugely enjoyable.

When I saw this cover on my Netgalley dashboard, I fell in love. It screamed YA, contemporary and romance, three things I love, and I was very excited when I got my hands on this book. However, I was pretty disappointed when the book was less than exciting.

Tatum has been put under house arrest after being charged with a crime she didn't actually commit. Her dad is away for the summer which leaves her with her way too strict step mother and her way too perfect step sister. Then Tatum has the idea of staring her own graphic design business and a few email exchanges later, Tatum is hooked on a guy she hasn't even met yet. Is this the start of a summer romance or will Tatum's cruel stepmother keep her in her castle?

'The instant he broke contact, I wish he hadn't'

Against popular opinion, I have to admit I was not Tatum's biggest fan. As protagonists go, I found her kind of meh. There wasn't anything that really drew me into her and I just did not feel connected or enthralled by her story. Don't get me wrong, Tatum's enthusiasm for what she did and her ability to change across the novel was lovely but she just didn't have that wow factor I look for in a narrator.

What I did like about this book, however, was the mystery romance. Tatum meets a guy online and they exchange several flirty emails. SK, as we knew him, was funny, sweet and very charming. I was rooting for the pair to get together and praying my suspicions about who he really was were right (I'm not going to lie, this book was pretty predictable). I love a good summer romance and this one was the perfect amount of sweetness.

'It felt a little like I'd found myself a fairy godmother.'

Now I always complain about the lack of family in YA so I was happy to discover there was a whole load of it in this novel. Tatum and her dad had a pretty tight relationship, which I really liked. I'm pretty close to my dad so I love reading books with great father-daughter relationships. Also, Tatum and her stepsister have a very interesting dynamic. We heard hardly anything of Tilly until the last few chapters of the book but I did like what we got to see of her. Of course Tatum's relationship with her stepmom was also a big part of this novel and it had a very Cinderella-esque feel to it. I didn't really know what to make of this relationship, I found it a little extreme sometimes and I think the evil stepmother thing was overplayed a little bit at parts.

This review is much shorter than I usually do but that is purely because I don't have much to say about this book. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't very good either. Hopefully some of you will have some better luck with it than I did.

'I kissed him back, intoxicated.'

My Rating: 3/5

I enjoyed this book.  The author is new to me and I hope to experience more of her work in the future.  This book could easily be summed up as a coming of age story for young Tatum who was arrested as an accomplice for shoplifting.  Tatum tries to explain to her father that she is innocent, but he is not convinced.  He has to leave out of the country for his job for a couple of months and is stuck with her stepmother, who she sometimes refers to as "stepmonster".  

The two have a contentious relationship that is constantly tested throughout the story.  Tatum is sentenced to community service for the entire summer.  Her social life is restricted as her stepmother has put her under "house arrest" until the "debt" is repaid.  Tatum also has a stepsister who is cool to her and under her mother's controlling spell.  Tatum cannot seem to measure up to the perfection of her stepsister, Tilly.  

In her restrictive state, Tatum discovers that there are people who care about her including Tilly's grandmother, who has pearls of wisdom to help Tatum get through current situation.  She allows new friendships to evolve and finds that she is not alone.  

I don't want to spoil the story, but the journey is well worth it.  Tatum was a likeable character and while there were some similarities to the Cinderella tale, Tatum played to her strengths and discovered so much more about herself.

My top two favorite Disney movies/stories are Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella. So yeah, I'm a sucker for any book that has these themes. It always sucks me in. I'm also a cover snob....but this cover didn't really intrigue me all that much.

I'm not so sure I would have described this as a "modern play on Cinderella". There are some similarities....a step mother that our MC, 16 year old Tatum, isn't close to. A grandmother (step) that happens to be extra kind towards Tatum and is made mention that she is "like a fairy godmother" and a stepsister that she isn't close to. But that's about where the similarities end. Dad goes away for the summer with his job and the mean stepmother is in charge of Tatum. Being about as grounded as you can get, she is only allowed to babysit and do her community service hours. She has started a graphic design business at the insistence of a friend, but she keeps this hidden from her stepmother. During one of her step-sister's ballet events at her prestigous private school, she uses the opportunity to leave business cards to try to get more clients. While there she meets a very charming, handsome guy, but never gets his name. In the course of time she starts getting emails from interested students from the school that she advertised her services at, and among them is a cello player whose emails to her verge on the flirtatious side.

I found the first 25% of the book to be rather slow. It really didn't get me interested until about 40% in. The reason is that I most definitely want a love story with my books. It felt like an introduction to a male prospect took longer than it should have in the beginning of the story...and that was an assumption that the first male introduced to our main character would be "the male". But I pushed on to see what more the story would bring. Even at 85% there is still no real romantic storyline. What does develop into one happens within the last 10% of the book.

Due to the amount of time Tatum is emailing, she spends a lenghty portion of brain power contemplating how to sign her emails, which valediction is best. This got annoying to me because it was mentioned EVERY time she sent an email.

The story has a theme more on the lines of what miscommunication and misunderstanding can bring about in relationships. I would recommend this book for middle school and high school age readers. The content and language are both very minor in nature.

Favorite Quotes:
"It's always better to do difficult tasks with friends."

"Do not underestimate the power fear has over our choices."

Yours in music and marshmallows, Seamus.

Language Rating: 1 (light)
Mature Content Rating: 1 (light)
Final Rating: 3 stars