Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner (Book Review)

*Disclosure of material connection- I received a copy of the book from the publisher via Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest thoughts. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are 100% my own.

About the book-

Where are you guys? Text me back. That's the last message Carver Briggs will ever send his three best friends, Mars, Eli, and Blake. He never thought that it would lead to their death.

Now Carver can’t stop blaming himself for the accident and even worse, a powerful judge is pressuring the district attorney to open up a criminal investigation.

Luckily, Carver has some unexpected allies: Eli’s girlfriend, the only person to stand by him at school; Dr. Mendez, his new therapist; and Blake’s grandmother, who asks Carver to spend a “goodbye day” together to share their memories and say a proper farewell.

Soon the other families are asking for their own goodbye day with Carver—but he’s unsure of their motives. Will they all be able to make peace with their losses, or will these goodbye days bring Carver one step closer to a complete breakdown or—even worse—prison?

My thoughts-

Goodbye Days is the heartbreaking account of the aftermath of the deaths of a car full of teenage boys in a car accident that could have probably been prevented. Carver Briggs was the one who sent the text message and is dealing with the emotional trauma of feeling responsible for not just one of his friends, but all e of his best friends. He's also dealing with ostracism at school, and feeling blame from family members of his friends. It's a sad book, but one of the best ones I have read in a long time. I could really imagine a teenager feeling this way in a situation like this. The best part of the book is Carver's relationship with his friends grandmother, who gives him the idea for doing "goodbye days" and helps him kind of get through this situation as best he can. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys YA books or drama.