Review : The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

Summary (from Goodreads)
 
Title : The Last Time We Say Goodbye
Author : Cynthia Hand
Publication Date : February 10th 2014
Publisher : Harper Teen
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

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.

 Personal Thoughts

The Last Time We Say Goodbye isn't my typical read. I don't gravitate towards books that deal with grief on such a deep level very often. But I still wanted to give this book a try because I wanted to experience Cynthia Hand's highly raved about writing. I didn't entirely love The Last Time We Say Goodbye, but I thought the portrayal of grief was done very well.

In cases like these, while it's easy for me to sympathize with the characters and feel deep sadness for them, I have a hard time connecting with them. I actually think it's because I build this giant shield between the characters and I so that I don't feel like I'm also being torn apart while I'm reading. I just have a very hard time seeking sad books as you can probably tell. That happened with our main character, Lex, too. I thought Cynthia Hand did a beautiful job shedding light to the guilt and sadness that she was going through. It was almost palpable to me, as a reader. What I could not, however, grasp about Lex's character was her constant habit pushing people away. I'm aware that different people handle heartbreaking situations differently. Losing a sibling is undeniably hard in so many ways. Still, part of me wanted Lex to thrive on the supportive people she had around her from her friends to her sweet boyfriend. She just shoved them away and went through a rough phase. Throughout the book, she did slowly begin to barge through her protective veil, but by the time it happened, I had completely disconnected with her character.

The thing about books like The Last Time We Say Goodbye is that they are painfully slow. And I definitely felt that slow pace here because it is so emotions-driven. I hate to say this because it's going to make me sound very callous, but there were moments where I was bored with the book because it wasn't moving forward in terms of the character development. It just was so stagnant in some parts.That being said though, there is no denying that Cynthia Hand has a beautiful writing style. The prose in The Last Time We Say Goodbye was achingly beautiful and honestly, it was what really got me through the book.

My review might seem negative, but let me tell you, The Last We Say Goodbye was a powerful read that will touch many readers. I'm just, unfortunately, not the right audience for this.

Rating 

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 3/5
Writing : 4/5

Thank you to Edelweiss and Harper Teen for the e-ARC of The Last Time We Say Goodbye.