Wish I Could Have Said Goodbye Blog Tour & Giveaway

 

 

Goodreads Synopsis:

Before my older sister Francesca died, I worked at the bakery and wrote songs, but now I write lists. Lists like ten reasons why it's my fault Francesca's dead, or five reasons why I should try and win Howie back, or one reason why I need to stop lying to everyone, including myself.

Wish I Could Have Said Goodbye is an extraordinary novel about one family's struggle to make sense of their world after losing a family member to addiction. Through sixteen-year-old Carmella's eyes, we witness the courage and strength it takes to overcome the consequences of grief, guilt and co-dependency. With conviction and determination, Carmella shows us what can happen when we're open to love, feel the pain of our loss, and find the courage to accept the truth of our lives.

 

My Thoughts:

 

Carmella has lost her sister and well she's pretty lost too.  She doesn't want to come out of her closet, she doesn't want to eat, and can't sleep.  And really I don't blame her.  Her family life is a mess, her social life isn't much better.  She didn't have anyone really in her corner.  It sort of shocked me how insensitive the most important people in her life were about her sister's death.  They would talk about how sorry they were for her loss and wonder how she can handle everything, and then the next minute they would get mad and just say unforgivable things. 

 

What I really loved about this book were the lists Carmella made about anything and everything.  Some of them were funny and some were heartbreaking.  It was just that little something unique that this book had.  The other thing this book had going for it was the way the parents were dealing with the death of their daughter.  The dad didn't want anyone to know that it had been a drug overdose.  The mom thought church would somehow take away their pain.  And they both wanted to hold on to Carmella so tight because she was all they had left.  The way they were grieving felt real to me, it felt like those would be things a family would go through after a tragedy.

 

The one thing I really wanted but didn't get was that awesome connection.  I wanted Carmella to crawl up into my heart the way some of my favorite sad characters in other books have.  She comes close sometimes, but I just didn't feel it with her as deep as I thought I would going into it.  At the end I was waiting for some giant revelation about the sister's death that never came.  Obviously the book was about the way death affects people and families.  It was not about a mysterious death, but I still felt like something new was going to come out.  Not sure why I felt like I needed a revelation, I guess I just wanted one.

PS- LOVE the cover!!  I think it's really beautiful and I especially love that the Converse shoe has meaning in the book :)

 

Overall: It's an emotional issues-type book.  It wasn't my favorite death-issue book, but I enjoyed reading it.  I would recommend this to people who liked Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler or Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers.

Add it to your To-Read List on Goodreads!!

 

My Rating:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3/4

 

 

Author Bio
Shari A. Brady

Shari A. Brady is a native Chicagoan and previously had so many careers she’s lost count. A graduate of Loyola University’s Business School and University of Chicago’s Creative Writing program, she’s finally a full-time writer, a dream she’s carried with her since she was twelve. She lives in suburban Chicago with two of the best kids ever and their shelter dog, Betty Queen Elizabeth. This is her first novel and her last career.

Links:

Website- www.sharibrady.com

Facebook- www.facebook.com/ShariABradyAuthor

Twitter- www.twitter.com/sharibrady

The Giveaway:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Host:

Candace's Book Blog