“The Last Wish Of Sasha Cade” by Cheyanne Young was a beautiful and heartbreaking read. It was a story of friendship, of hope, mixed with the promise that those we love never truly leave us. The characters were believable, and the storyline flowed perfectly. There is not enough that I can say about this book. Be sure to check it out! This was my first read by Author Cheyanne Young but it definitely will not be my last!

*I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

I tried to pick this book up twice, sadly I could not get into the story or connect with the main character. I will try to read this again in the future and edit my review if I am successful. I did, however, recommend this book to a friend who told me she really loved it, so that gives me hopes that maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this book at the time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kids Can Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Full disclosure, this has to be a flail review because I have no better way of expressing my love for The Last Wish of Sasha Cade.

From the first page, I knew I would love this book. One of the benefits of having such a small cast of characters is that each one of them can have the chance to shine, and they all did in this book. The bonds between characters, whether friends or relationship or parental, were so well developed and all the emotions absolutely killed me.

I loved Sasha immediately. Even though she passes, her character is still so developed because of the adventures she sends to Raquel. Their love for each other was so clear, and I am honestly kind of jealous of their dynamic. Best friends are so rare, and Sasha's passing made me so sad for Raquel. I sometimes have a hard time liking characters who we don’t meet in real time, but I didn’t have that problem with Sasha, because the flashback chapters were clearly written and weren’t hazy.

As a narrator, I liked Raquel. She wasn’t super complicated and didn’t have many hidden facets, but I admired her honesty in her feelings and intentions and how she genuinely cared for everyone in her life and tried her best to fight for them, Elijah especially. She added balance to the adventures planned, between Elijah’s caution and Sasha’s crazy plans.

The romance was sweet without being too much, and I liked how Raquel and Elijah bonded over Sasha’s treasure hunt. As a reader, it was fun to experience Sasha and Raquel’s time together from the outside, as Elijah did, and learn about her in the same timeline as he did.

Family! Both Sasha and Raquel’s families were active in the story in a non-toxic, supportive way, which I love. I think YA has some issues with family, specifically Absent Parent Syndrome in many books, and it was refreshing to see a narrator learn that she has a set of people (besides friends and partners) to guide and assist her.

5/5 stars from me because cuteness! If anyone reads The Last Wish of Sasha Cade, send me a note! I’d love to hear what you think!

When I first picked this one up I was thinking it would be a mash-up of A Walk to Remember and P.S I Love You. Well, sorta. And my expectations weren't wrong exactly. It was a tale of a friendship that lasts beyond a lifetime and the ways one copes with such a significant loss.

I really enjoyed the friendship between Sasha and Raquel.

I really did not enjoy much else of the book besides that. It just became way, way, WAY too bleh. I don't really even know what to say about the "romance" between Raquel and Elijah and how it really fit into the overall plot. I just did not enjoy it on any level.

That said, it was ok. I think teens would enjoy it. Enough said.

Mini review:

DNF

Trigger warning: Death and mention of cancer symptoms. Up till the point I read.

I received this E-ARC via Kids Can Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I heard about this book through Twitter. It sounded like I would enjoy it. Unfortunately I didn’t.

There isn’t really much to say. I just didn’t like it. The writing style, the plot, and the characters.

This just wasn’t for me. Still recommend.

What an enjoyable YA Book! Raquel's best friend Sasha Cade has been fighting cancer but living life to the fullest. The day Raquel dreaded comes, and Sasha passes away. Then, Raquel receives a note in the mail from Sasha days after she has died, sending her on a scavenger hunt of "must do" activities that will help her grieve and meet the boy of her dreams. Sad but poignant, a great book about friendships and love.

This was emotionally powerful for the age group its written. I felt like there were echos of A bridge to Terabithia and P.S. I love you. A nice new spin on an old trope.

Kids Can Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Last Wish of Sasha Cade. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Sasha Cade and Raquel Clearwater will always be best friends, despite the stark realization that they will soon be parted. Sasha's fatal cancer diagnosis gives her the clarity that she needs to provide a legacy for those she loves. When she sends Raquel a special message and a quest from beyond, will the young woman heed her best friend's last wish? Will Sasha's carefully orchestrated plan come tumbling down on Raquel and a mysterious stranger or will the pair find something special hidden among the clues?

The exploration of a fatal illness inflicted on someone so young is never easy to read about, but author Cheyanne Young did a great job of balancing the heavy subject with a little bit of hope and happiness. Sasha, Raquel, and Elijah's voices all come through clearly and I like the fact that the author did not conjure them all to be perfect, model citizens. The fact that the three teenagers each have their own struggles mimics the real life of the target audience for this book. The beginning of The Last Wish of Sasha Cade is exceedingly sad, but the plot does lighten up as the story continues. The novel is a quick read, but one I would recommend to those who like YA realistic fiction with a little romance.

The Last Wish of Sasha Cade was an incredible journey of love shared between two best friends yet it tore my heart apart leaving me in a perpetual set of tears. Sasha is diagnosed with terminal cancer, but is such a caring selfless soul who creates adventures through letters and video clips to Raquel to complete after her passing. As Raquel proceeds through the tasks she is able to overcome the loss and we are provided insight to the memories they once shared. By the end I was smiling through my tears at the perfect ending.

Neonila's review Oct 27, 2018 · edit
liked it

3.5 stars

I can confidently say that this book left me looking like a mess, but I pretty much knew that from page one. The friendship dynamic was honestly everything, and I love Raquel and Sasha so much. Plus, their parents were wonderful.

The romance was enjoyable, but it had some cringey moments and it felt almost too rushed. Other than that, this was a decent read and I'm glad I read it

This is an absolutely beautiful and very emotional book. I loved the writing and the story itself was amazing. This book deals with grief in a way that you can smile through your tears. I would absolutely recommend this book.

In the beginning, this was so well written. The author manages to invest a lifetimes worth of love and friendship in to just a few short pages. Almost immediately I was holding back tears. Unfortunately, the writing goes downhill almost as soon as Raquel and Elijah meet. Raquel’s beautiful friendship with Sasha gets a bit reduced to a means for connecting her with a boy over and over again. It’s very P.S. I Love You, but muddied down. The story felt very rushed and contrived, jumping from one event to the next. The best stories are the ones that I can really imagine myself in, and have moments where I forget that this isn’t real, and that never happened in this story. The adoption storyline is very unrealistic and simplistic (coming from someone who has adopted through the state) and seems to have been written by someone who doesn’t have experience in the realities of it. The conclusion is hasty and ignores a lot of complicated emotions Elijah would likely have towards the Cade’s. The best parts of this story were Sasha, and she ended up being sadly lacking after the first few chapters.

Cancer may have taken Sasha's life, but in the months leading up to her passing it didn't dim her light. Knowing her best friend, Raquel, would be lost without her she created a mission of sorts. Letters, videos, and a mysterious boy lead Raquel on a scavenger hunt, one that will bring her closer to her best friend even after she is gone and one that will ultimately test her.

Oh my, I had no idea what I was getting into with this book, none at all. The blurb for The Last Wish of Sasha Cade is mysterious, giving you just the bare minimum of information to pull you in. I love a good Young Adult read with fairly adult storylines. In this case, Raquel "Rocki" has just lost her best friend and in mourning her passing, as well as losing the comfort of fitting in, she is gifted Sasha's last wish, a scavenger hunt that will reveal parts of Sasha that Rocki thought she knew, but clearly didn't. Sasha, though gone, is an incredibly powerful character in this book, her videos and Rocki's reflections of the past revealing that she was incredibly prideful, self confident, vivacious, and holding onto a few secrets. Rocki is smart, shy, and unaccustomed to life without her best friend, the leader of their two man pack. I could relate to her in so many ways, even in her youth, as she realized she had lost both her crutch and her friend in life and as she realized she didn't have as much sense of self as she had once thought. The Last Wish of Sasha Cade reads so much like a coming-of-age story for Rocki, just as the scavenger hunt reveals more of Sasha it reveals more of Rocki too. And Elijah, oh Elijah, he is handsome, sweet, far more mature than I expected, and a sort of knight in not-so-shiny armor for Rocki. The three go on an adventure, one that takes them through Rocki and Sasha's hometown, one that explains who Elijah really is, and one that takes Rocki on a memory trip through their lifelong friendship.

This one gets to you, so if you're going to read it prepare to use a lot of tissues. It's heartbreaking and yet still filled with a hopeful message. Cheyanne Young creates a world for the characters that is believable, the situations incredibly realistic, and she uses descriptive language to make the emotion feel like it is your own. Some of the events, like Elijah's almost too-perfect nature and Rocki's incredibly nice boss, are hard to believe, but even those things couldn't take away from this read for me. The strength of Rocki and Sasha's friendship, Rocki's family bonds, and the feelings of first real love made this book a homerun for me. The Last Wish of Sasha Cade is a heartwarming story of timeless friendship that will stay with me forever.

This book was such a great read. Narrated by Raquel, she is off on an adventure guided by Sasha who planned it all out before she died. Kind of like a friend version of PS I Love You, you get to learn about the friendship between Sasha and Raquel, and join along as Raquel learns to say goodbye to her dear friend. She is not alone on the adventure, however. She is joined by another friend of Sasha's, which adds even more depth to the story. This book was a great read and I hope it gets the attention it deserves.

The Last Wish of Sasha Cade
Cheyanne Young
KCP Loft Publishing
5 stars

Sasha and Raquel have been preparing for the day since Sasha was diagnosed with cancer. But when the day comes and Raquel is left to navigate her world without her best friend, she’s not sure she’ll be able to do it. Then the most surprising thing happens. A letter arrives. From Sasha. And so begins the new chapter of Raquel’s life. Sasha has planned an adventure to top all adventures. Raquel is first led to a stranger who is supposed to be sharing this adventure with her. Who is this gorgeous boy who shares Sasha’s eyes? Sasha’s wishes show up in the forms of letters and each contain something related to her childhood experiences with Raquel. Can Raquel be true to herself and still honor her best friend’s wishes?

This book is so moving. It makes you laugh. It makes you cry. Your heart will break but you know that is what is supposed to happen. The characters are real and believable. The story is neither contrived nor even remotely unbelievable. As the reader, I want so very much to experience all the highs and lows of Raquel’s journey. There are so many places through the store where I became frustrated with the injustice visited on Elijah in so many ways. The ending is exactly how the story needed to end.

The books published by KCP Loft are super reads and are under rated and under appreciated. Search out books by this publishing house. They are not well known but they have so many wonderful little gems.

Many thanks given to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) to review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Sasha Cade is a beautiful story of friendship, love, loss and life!

This book was absolutely heartwarming. The premise was sad but it was so infused with hope and love that it made me happy just reading it - as illogical as that might sound.

Sasha Cade is larger than life! She is 17, in high school and dying of cancer. Upon her death a letter arrives for her best friend, Raquel. The letter sends her on an adventure - one of many that arrive spontaneously and with perfect timing. These adventures help Raquel mourn, heal and find love.

I don't want to give too much away but this book was simply adorable. The friendship, the family aspect and the love story - all worked perfectly together. Then there was the ending! It left me smiling as I turned the last page. This is a feel good, YA novel not to be missed.

This novel has taken my heart, thrown it on the floor and stomped on it. Then had the process on repeat for another 33 chapters. Its so good!

Normally I am not one to gush about soppy stories nor do i have a heart with anything vaguely emotional but this book hurt me in ways that i have rarely been hurt before. Full dynamic relationships, the cutest #couplegoals and amazing secondary characters, i was hooked (and quietly sobbing - don't judge me) from the first page.

Although the title states the story is about Sasha Cade, it is in fact more about how her childhood shaped her to be the person she is with generous heapings of teenage angst and young love thanks to the books actual protagonists Raquel and Elijah.

Secondary characters, although not the major focus are given souls and backstories, allowing the reader to relate with them on a level rarely seen in a debut work.

While the initial theme is that of loss and grief, this eventually evolves into what it means to be family regardless of upbringing and how despite perfect outwards appearances, every home has its secrets and grievances.

Overall this novel has left me a changed woman and i absolutely adored it.

I was provided an advacned reading copy of this work from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions within are that of the author and have in no way been influenced by the publisher or its affiliates.

**Review can be found at https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/ **

I am so in love with this book! When I first heard about this story I knew I was going to read it- I am a sucker for the sad "death books" as my friends and family like to call them, where someone is either about to or in this case just died from some sort of terminal illness. There is usually something just so uplifting about the stories, you know, once the initial sadness is over. The Last Wish was no different, a journey of kinds, and just what I wanted.

This is a big day, Raquel. It’s only one of the big days that will happen in your life, and although I’m not actually there, hollering your name like a crazy person from the stands, know that I am still with you. I’m in your heart, and all that sappy BS, right?

This was very much so a story about love. Not necessarily romantic love, which was perfectly done in the book, but about the love of friendship and family. Even though Sasha dies within the first chapter or so of the book, we get to know her and her bond with Raquel so well that I was grieving and healing right along with Raquel. This is the kind of friendship that spans lifetimes and everyone dreams about. It was so easy to connect to the emotions in the story, so many moments I was overwhelmed with grief and fought to cry, other moments I wanted to cheer and smile. I highly recommend a box of tissues handy, just in case.

Can I just say that the ending was perfect, I would not change a single thing. I just highly recommend that you read the end by yourself- and not in public, like during lunch at work with all your coworkers like I did because you may sniffle...a lot. This is my second book by Cheyanne and I enjoyed the first, it was super cute, but this, this will forever by my favorite. Seriously, the feels! This was touching and sweet and romantic and I am so glad that I got the opportunity to read this and go on the adventures that Sasha created.

I reviewed a complimentary copy of this title and I refuse to ever let it go.

This book was amazing! This is the first book I've read by Cheyenne Young and I was not disappointed. It was sad and heartbreaking bit it was also inspiring. This story showed the aftermath of losing someone to cancer and how it affects everyone. This was a story of loss but it was also a story of love, finding yourself, and learning how to stand up for yourself. I completely adored Raquel and Elijah and the parents in this book. The two of them were so freaking cute and their romance was amazing. I can't get over how much I really enjoyed this book! I cannot wait to try something else by this author.

Okay so I'm conflicted about this book. I think the idea behind it was really nice and I enjoyed the plot a lot. It was super sweet and really made me feel things. My main problem with it being the romance. But more on that in a second.

Plot:
This book is about Raquel, who's best friend Sasha is dying of cancer. She dies, and when she does, she leaves Raquel a cryptic message, which turn out to be a bunch of adventures and a stranger to do them with. This is her last wish, complete these adventures with this stranger. This concept made me happy, I liked it a lot. The parts of it that were focused on this were my very favourite, and the last letter was very sweet. I loved all the adventures and the explanations behind them and all the effort that went into it. The plot was good, a solid idea that was sort of well-executed, if it wasn't for the takeover of the aforementioned romance.

Characters
Raquel. She was fine I guess? She didn't really have any character past being Sasha's best friend and wanting to go to vet school and lOvInG Elijah. She needed more substance. Sasha on the other hand, you really got to know (obviously) and I think I would much prefer to read a book about her. She was sweet and thoughtful and truly passionate and I liked her. Elijah was okay? He was your stereotypical "broody bad boy who comes from a troubled past and has secrets and rides a motorcycle. He loves the MC, but he just can't let her in". Let's not forget the compulsory part of all broody bad boys, the "possessive in a weird subtle way that is definitely still problematic" trait. You just met. Stop acting like you'll die without her. It's weird. It's very overdone, and nothing was really exciting about him. The side characters were fine, they weren't really relevant to the story anyway.

Let me just say, I went into this kind of expecting to dislike the romance aspect. There is really no way to sell me on "someone died and I'm grieving but this hot boy is hot and in pain and I love him so now I'm better". The only book that has ever successfully done this for me is The Loose Ends List by Carrie Firestone, but that's because that book didn't make the romance the cure for the MC's grief. A boy will NEVER be the answer to anyone's problems, it will never fix the broken pieces. And okay yes, I understand that it might make it easier and I'm okay with that, but in this book it totally took over. Raquel no longer cared about Sasha or herself or anything but him, and it made her rather unlikable after a while. She's obsessed, they both are, and I'm not really here for the fact that this is supposed to be okay? They need like therapy or something.

Now a small list of other things:
- The romance was pretty insta-love
- this was definitely more about a romance than about moving on
- im not saying you should be sad forever, but Raquel's grief becomes a little more like throw-in pieces so that the author feels like it's still about that
- love doesn’t cure all wounds stop
- these characters switch moods, as the iconic Taylor Swift put it, “like a record changer”
- who cares more about a random girl they barely know than their dead sister that loved them?? I have a problem with the automatic throwaway of Sasha in favour of this poorly constructed romance.
- Y’ALL ARE SO DRAMATIC I CANNOT
- <i>“His hand fits into mine like it was molded specifically for me to hold.”</i> Gag oh my god, you literally just met
- <i>“Who was that?” Elijah asks.
“Just someone from my past.” I’m actually smiling, believe it or not. “But right now, all I care about is my future.”</i> this book is so cheesy I actually cannot
- Um does no one care about any of the emotional trauma just because they have money??? The Cades are terrible and they use their money at the end to fix it all and no one even cares about any of it and acts like it's all totally normal and I hate it.
- this girl is all like “go to college its so important” but is totally gonna flunk, and not because her best friend is dead, a completely understandable barrier to learning, but because of a boy. Pay attention in school kids
- The Reinharts are saints and I love them dearly
- I love Sasha
- Raquel shaving her head for Sasha is a cliche I will love forever and ever it is so cute ugh
- Izzy is a true gift to the world, and the essential oil grandma we all deserve
- I wanna work in a flower shop