I was lucky enough to sit and have a conversation with the author after reading this novel and was able to personally thank her for writing this amazing novel. This book showcases some of the best OCD, GAD, and PTSD representation that I've every read, and you can tell that this is an own voices book. Both main characters were relatable and memorable, which makes the book even greater. I highly recommend that everyone picks up this book on release date or better yet preorder it. While reading it you may want to have a box of Lucky Charms nearby.

Six Goodbyes We Never Said is the story of teens trying to navigate life after loss while figuring out what family and home mean in their new realities. This is no YA love story, it is a story of broken people trying to help each other hold it together and heal.

The author does a great job showing how a song can come to represent everything, how magical thinking can feel like the only “Safe” way to think and the rocky road we travel in our relationships.
The characters are embraced for their unique, individual quirkiness (auras and horoscopes and Rick Flair- oh my).

This was a slow starter and characters appeared with no back story or very small fragments of back story that made it difficult to connect with them at times.

The chapter openings and closings were very interesting and sad: purposefully missed calls from a father far away, emails never sent, an internal monologue made external by way of “reporting”.

I wanted to like Naima but, as she wished, she was prickly and hard to like. The shining star of this story is Dew, sweet and broken and trying to make everyone else well and complete while avoiding his own trauma.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
3.5 rounded to 4

Six Goodbyes We Never Said follows two teens dealing with the loss of their parents, while also dealing with mental health issues. The book uses alternating first person dialogue where the reader endures the nuances of OCD, anxiety and depression.

This book was well written and had great detail. Both of the main characters have experienced losses that make them face tough times, which is really relatable! They are able to form a friendship that helps them to overcome their situations. I love how the author played out the storyline, and thought carefully about the characters. I loved this book.

Naima Rodriguez is a complex teenager learning to live with the recent loss of her father. Her family is encouraging her remember him for his sacrifice for country and how he was. Naima is trying but her OCD and GAD has different plans for coping. All she wants is to be left alone.
Dew Brinkman is still trying to deal with the death of his parents. All his grief has triggered several anxieties. Dew’s adoptive parents have tried everything to help him.
Will these two teenagers ever be able to handle their grief?

This is literally one of my favorite YA books this year! I absolutely love the fact that Candace Ganger made the storyline so realistic and reliable. This book is definitely not a fluffy teen romance! Naima and Dew slowly building a friendship through grief is very reliable. I like Candace Ganger approach to Naima’s mental illness. It can being a touchy subject but she tackled it beautifully. I highly recommend this book for anyone that wants emotional YA novel.

This book was extremely well written and descriptive, and I will absolutely be purchasing a final copy when it is released.

Both Naima and Dew have experienced losses that make them face mental illness and issues. Naima grapples with the loss of her father, while Dew faces the loss of both of his parents. This story is a true testament to the power of human connection, and how healing can occur when two people are able to share their experiences.

This is a powerful story that will stay with you long beyond the final page.

Title: Six Goodbyes We Never Said
Author: Candace Ganger
Pages: 416
Genre: Slice of Life, Young Adult, Contemporary
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Six Goodbyes We Never Said is a story about real people. Ones who live with mental illness and who learn to live with it. We follow Naima, a sassy girl who will not be defined by her OCD. We follow along with her life and how she copes with her father's death. Our second character is the lovely Dew Brickman. After losing both his parents, he is slowly recovering with his new foster parents. He also is learning to live with his anxiety and learning to let go. This is a story about growth and love that was enjoyable from start to finish.

Oh No's
Naima is way too into politically correcting people. Like she just throws around things like toxic masculinity when Dew is involved when that is absolutely not the case. And later on when Dew buys her food, she accepts and stuffs her face. Dew then offers to pay for a carnival game and she responds saying that's sexist?? Okay but Naima, girl, you have no job and he does.

The changing of the chapters was weirdly formatted in the ebook version. Each Naima chapter would end with a voicemail from her dad and Dew's would start with a tape recorder but the ebook messes with is so there is no chapter break. I really want to get a physical copy of this book when it comes out.

Yay's
Dew is an adorable kid! I loved him so much and his character was so pure. The use of the tap recorder was cute but I wish he was introduced as wanting to be a newscaster but we were just thrown into it. Other than that I really loved Dew and how he was written. I feel his character did a little bit of a 180 at the end to where he was way too opposite than who he was in the beginning. He was still enjoyable to read about though.

Mental illness being represented accurately is my kink. The panic attack that Dew has in the beginning of the novel resonated with me so much. The accuracy of the scene was so authentic I felt so happy that someone finally got it right. And Naima's OCD was so consistent throughout the novel. Not once did I ever feel that Naima broke who she was. She never 'gets over' her OCD and we as readers learn to live with it just as she has.

Finally,
This is a book written with true human characters. This kind of representation was so different than what I've ever read because of it's truthfulness. The ability to portray actual people is hard but I feel the author got it right.

This novel is very similar to Koe No Katachi.

Before spilling my thoughts om how I enjoyed Candace Ganger's Six Goodbyes We Never Said, let me just thank Wednesday Books and St. Martin's Press for accepting my request to read this book in advance, in exchange of an honest review and here it is.

Focusing on the reality of how some, if most, of us cope with the feeling after experiencing beloved one passed away, Six Goodbyes We Never Said is the contemporary novel that put high importance to #ownvoices and #representation. In this story, the main characters, Naima Rodriguez and Andrew Diaz/Brickman, were both victim of an unfortunate fate as the two experienced being left behind by the most important people in their life. With this comes the uncertainty and grief and sadness that acted as the main character's main companion throughout the entire story.

The standout likeable part of this book is Naima's attitude and character development. Naima is not a too-good-to-be-true character written just to satisfy our craving for a lovable female lead. Instead, Candace successfully wrote Naima as a fierce, independent teen who is uniquely strong on her own way. Every struggle Naima had in this book felt so real and made me realize hoe hard it is for people who are in the same shoe as her, to mingle with this already too-crazy world.

Another plus-point for the unselfish MC in the name of Andrew Brickman. His backstory made him the kind person he is and my fragile heart I jumping when he and Naima crossed path and somehow managed to make their ends meet. Maybe he wished on one of the passing airplane.

Though I had a hard time focusing on this book especially at the beginning when I felt there's lot of happening in some scenes, I actually still enkoyed the book until the very last word at the last page of SGWNS.

So cheers to this amazing novel and to both Naima and Andrew. Cheers to JJ and Kam and Stella and Thomas and Penelope and Sgt. Ray. Cheers to Hiccup and Penelope Smellope and Violet and Big Foot and Dodge. Cheers to Lucky Charms mallows and all the boxes and ziplocs used. Cheers to every year six red balloons and to cruel allergic reaction to strawberries. Cheers to unread letters and unwanted voice recorders. Cheers to Baked and Caffeinated and lastly, cheers to the six goodbyes we never said. Ciao.

I made it 70 pages into this 280-page-book. I just couldn't get into it. I wanted to, but it wasn't for me.

I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There are times that representation turns out to be pretty bad. I'm all for more diversity in movies and book but sometimes inaccurate presentation does more harm than good.

The depiction of the therapists was a problem for me. They seemed to be annoyed at the main characters and I feel like that could give readers a negative view of going to a therapist.

The novel does have an author's note at the beginning does says "I hope Six Goodbyes provides insight for those who don't empathize or comfort for those that do, I also understand that everyone reacts differently."

Overall, this kind of fell a bit low for me but I can see that others might enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved the truth and honesty of Naima and Dew and their grief. This story is a testament to the power of the human connection. These characters will stay with me long after I turn the final page. I loved this book.

This book was extremely well written and descriptive. Both Naima and Dew have experienced losses that make them face mental illness and issues. They are able to form a bond that helps them to overcome their pain together and to grow away from their issues. I loved both characters and their dialogues and the people in their lives. There is so much beautiful uniqueness throughout that tied me in and didn't let go. I have already pre-ordered this title and will be recommending this to everyone I know. Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley. This book was truly a gem.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for the ARC!
This book was a lot different than I expected. Honestly, it's not really my kind of story. It's a good book, maybe I should give it another try later in the future. I just couldn't share these feelings with the characters right now.

I really liked this quote, tho:
“Equality isn’t a phase,” I’d challenge. “It’s a basic human right.”

I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Writing a book is hard. To have the persistence and the patience to sit down and finish writing a whole novel is commendable and I respect the author for that.

But reading this book was simply painful for me. Firstly, I have a very big problem of an incorrect representation of mental health and this book was disappointing in this aspect. There were several parts that were just wrong. A major problem I had was the depiction of the therapists in this book. They are seen to be ordering away their patients (main characters) which is just so not what therapists do. It was totally unrealistic and agonizing to read as someone who is studying psychology. The therapist is seen to be getting annoyed by the client which is basically what they are trained not to do?

There is no background to the story, it's just going and going. The in between of the book is dragged and aimless. I feel so bad for this but I had to skip a few pages towards the end. I did not find any depth in the book and it felt really boring. I felt nothing reading it but just mind numbing annoyance. The book follows the current trendy trope of romanticized mental health based novels and inserts very hot issues like feminism in places it doesn't make sense.

I do get why many young adults would like it. It's just not for me though.

(I really love the cover of the book, though. Kudos to the designer!)

Six Goodbyes We Never Said
Candace Granger

Namia -has OCD GAD and is suffering the loss of her father.
Dew -has PTSD and is suffering the loss of both of his parents.
This book takes a look at how differently we deal with grief and mental illnesses.
Dew Desperately trying to reach out to his neighbor Namia. While Namia struggles with letting down her guard. This well written contemporary story will touch your heart in so many ways.
I really enjoyed this book so much.
Interesting and believable characters.
A must read for 2019

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of SIX GOODBYES WE NEVER SAID by Candace Ganger in exchange for my honest review.***

4.5 STARS

Namia, who suffers from OCD and GAD is mourning the loss of her marine father. Dew has PTSD which causes panic attacks and desperately wants to befriend his new neighbor, who wants nothing to do with him. If Namia can let down her guard enough to get to know Dew, they might just be able to help themselves.

SIX GOODBYES WE NEVER SAID drips voice and personality. Candace Ganger, who has a history of mental illness, sees herself in both main characters and really got inside their heads to present these anxiety disorders authentically. Her writing shows that she knows the subject well.

I fell in love with Dew and his innate goodness, the pain he tried so hard to overcome and his relationship with his adoptive family. He’s so raw and honest, I wanted him to thrive. Namia was more difficult for me to embrace. While I intellectually understood her pain, I couldn’t empathize with her cruelty. I wish Ganger would have given more insights into her the cause and effect of her feelings. The trope of YA character who’s hurting so she’s mean and pushes everyone away but everyone keeps trying has never worked for me, no matter how much I cognitively understand anger as a sign of depression.

SIX GOODBYES WE NEVER SAID is a story of love and loss, grief, anxiety in many forms and the healing power of family and friendship.