The Goodbye Year, Kaira Rouda

Kaira Rouda's The Goodbye Year is the kind of read you don't want to put down. And honestly? I didn't. I devoured it in about two days, with a few stops to sleep, eat and possibly parent. #keepinitreal

And so - I start off recommending you grab yourself a copy as soon as you can.

*As always, these are affiliate links to facilitate your shopping experience.*

I received a copy from TLC Book Tours for review purposes. But you know me by now. All opinions are my own. I do my own reading and sing praises of books I enjoy. That's my jam.

Anyway, The Goodbye Year. A story of several families whose lives intertwine over the goodbye year - the last year that their kids are in high school - the year of decisions, frustrations, exhaustion, emotions - pretty much any -ion you can think of? It's happening here.

Rouda starts off by introducing us to Melanie, one of the moms. We meet her at the high school, at Parent's Night. She runs into Jud and Sarah, and we develop instant feelings about those two.

Melanie is Dane's mom. She's worried about him. He's not the high school star student that his brother was. What's going to happen to him? For him? What will his future bring?

Sarah and Jud have a daughter, Ashley. Jud's the community plastic surgeon. Sarah's his prize patient. We can't decide if we feel bad for her or can't stand her, but we're pretty sure we're not a big fan of him. Ashley is the school's star pupil. It's practically pre-determined that she's headed off to the Ivy Leagues. She's got a big ole doof of a boyfriend, but we still like her. She's genuine, or seems to be.

Will - oh - Will. Will's a lying, cheating bastard. Plain and simple. We're pretty sure we don't like him, but we also wonder what leads him to cheat. What's happening at home? How is his relationship with his wife and his daughters? Marni is the teen daughter who attends the high school with Dane and Ashley. The families connect in a number of ways, but the way Rouda developed the interactions between the teens truly worked for me. The development of friendships, honesty, candid nature - all of it fell into place so well, it's as if Rouda let them do their own things and create the story for her.

Which, as any reader will tell you, is the sign of a great read.

Oh, I almost forgot Kylie, she's the last teen. Wait, there's actually another one - but I consider him a secondary character. Collin plays a role, but not nearly as front and center as the others.

Kylie, however, she's got a pretty big role in the unraveling of so very much that's happening around her. She's a really well-written character.

So - you can tell that I liked the book, I'm sure. And I'm going to stop before I give you too much more about it. Because you need to read it yourself.

It's a really good book. Well written, sure, well developed, definitely, but just an overall enjoyable read. I highly recommend that you head to Amazon and order your copy today.

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