The blurb and cover sucked me.

Sadly the story fell flat for me. I don’t have a big connection to anxiety or PTSD, so it was a bit harder for me to understand.

The main characters were ok and like-able at first, but going on in the book, the selfishness/rudeness and the creepiness were not my thing.

I received this ebook copy from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.

Would you rather listen to something that will break you, or always wonder what words may have been?

This book was an ARC given to my from the publisher and author through NetGalley in return for an honest review. Thank you for this opportunity, and know that all thoughts are my own and do not reflect the author or publisher in any way.

Unspoilery Description/ Review:

Well, I don’t know if I’ve ever cried more in a book. Six Goodbyes We Never Said written by Candace Ganger is an amazingly crafted book that tells the story of two teenagers whose worlds collide as they deal with the loss of their parents. This book discusses grief, mental illness, and suicide, and it also contains mild cussing. These heavy topics are handled well in the book, but I do not recommend this book for children too young to understand these subjects.

Dew Brickman’s parents died in a car crash, and he was placed in foster care where Stella and Thomas adopted him. Six Goodbyes We Never Said shows Dew learning to accept his new family and say goodbye to his biological parents without having to forget the good times they shared. Dew suffers from social anxiety and poor time management, and I feel like many readers can relate to his awkwardness around people and desire for friendships.

Naima’s mother passed away when she was young, and her father just recently died while serving his country. She has always been different due to her obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This young girl often feels trapped inside her own mind and routines, and she has gotten used to cutting people out of her life. Watching Naima struggle through her grief and mental illnesses is hard, but I believe the author wrote this book from a stance of understanding and openness that helps normalize the idea of these disorders. People with mental illnesses can feel represented by this writing because the author used her own experiences and crafted the story with such care. In addition, other people can still relate to pieces of Naima’s grief and struggles she has with her emotions and thoughts. I think this book is an important story for young adults to read and understand other people’s point of view. Everyone has baggage and a history. This book made me realize that everyone has things they are dealing with, and we just have to step into other’s shoes and accept people for who they are.

I loved this book because of how real and raw it felt. This book made me cry because of all the hard issues that it deals with; however, I finished this book feeling hopeful. The author did an amazing job showing that dealing with grief is a continuous process, and I felt like this book ended in a beautiful conclusion. I highly recommend this book to others.

Thanks for reading!

Some Amazing Quotes:

“‘Grief will kill you if you let is. Some things are out of our control.'”

“I’m fat. Not pudgy or plump. Not thick or curvy. I was born with gorgeous, insulated layers. I’ll likely always have them and I’m good with that…and anyway, when I look in the mirror, I see my worth. I’m capable, strong, fierce. I’m a goddamn beautiful powerhouse not to be fucked with. you don’t have to be thin to love yourself (fact), and I love my body, for the record.”

“‘You should be polite enough to ensure proper pronouns before declaring the title of ‘god.’ You don’t know how the dog identifies.’ He snickers. ‘I’m not joking. Don’t be ignorant.'”

“Would you rather be alone for the rest of your life? Or only have annoying people surrounding you, forever?”

“If you wish on an airplane, as Dew’s father suggested, your heart and soul are guaranteed to be momentarily in flight, landing safely in a designated wish zone…”

“You’re a cracking fire [that] dark can’t break.”

“Would you rather live for a thousand years without the ability to feel joy, or die young but be filled with it?”

“Of all the things that scare me, it’s fear I fear the most. The way it pins me against a wall so I can’t move or breathe. The way it tells me I can’t do the things I know I can. I will look fear in the eye, and this time, I won’t blink.”

3.5, maybe 3.75 stars

This one is hard to rate. While I like parts of Naima and Dew's stories, I didn't really connect with them, which I wasn't expecting at all because when I read the synopsis it was right up my alley! Girl losing her father at a young age with GAD, girl same sign me up! But sadly I didn't connect. I hated the way she treated her family and Dew in the beginning for that manner.

Overall it is a well written (even though it seemed to take me quite awhile to get through, I'm blaming the font that wouldn't change on the e-arc on Kindle) and deals with hard hitting topics. I would have liked to see and hear more about if there was more of a connection between her dad and Dew or if it was simply because Dew overheard a message and if the letters from her dad had been included that would have been a plus.

I also liked the body positive message that Naima had about herself. As long as you're proud and love yourself it makes no difference what others think or say. Another thing that I liked were the chapter layouts, we start with Naima's POV - a voicemail from her dad - then Dew's POV, almost every chapter.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to receive an advanced copy for an honest review.

Pain and Healing are the two themes in this title. I will tell you off the start to make sure to have tissues because you will cry during this title. It was one of those books that I could see how much research the author did for this story and the characters and I couldn't put it down. It was very original and true to the voice of the story. Its one that will rip your heart out as you fall in love with the characters.

4 1/2 stars

A part of me approached Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candace Ganger with a lot of trepidation. My own mental state was frequently teetering on depression. Could I read this sad book and be fine? While Six Goodbyes We Never Said deals with a lot of heavy subjects, there is a constant wave of hope undulating through the text that touches the reader, along with many other emotions.

While the story is focused on Naima and Dew, many other characters are going through stages of grief in Six Goodbyes We Never Said. This is a fact I didn’t lose sight of as I read.

I wanted to like Naima, but I didn’t until the ending. In all good novels, characters change and Naima did. But I felt like she was an impetus for her father’s tragedy. Other children call her selfish, always drawing attention to herself. She is so caught up in how bad she feels, punishing her father for leaving to do his job, being beyond mean to her step-mother, who is definitely not perfect, but doesn’t deserve the treatment she receives. Perhaps the biggest, most reprehensible action on her part is how she treats the father she supposedly loves beyond everything else in this world. He’s in a war zone and she ignores him.

Now, Dew, on the other hand, perhaps he’s supposed to be the perfect foil. He’s good (albeit human and at least once has a less than good reaction to someone), considerate, and if you told me he was on the spectrum, I would believe it because he is open, says his thoughts, wants to help; he’s without facade. What you see is what you get–more even. I loved Dew. I loved that he had an amazing ability to help, especially his new sister Faith. In fact, all of the relationships in the Brickman home are amazing.

Besides Dew, my other favorite character is Ray, Naima’s father. At the beginning we have this wonderful scene in which Dew congratulates a serviceman on his duty. It turns out to be Ray. Ray receives a call. After that call, emotion wash over him and then he calls someone to apologize. The feelings witnessed in that scene are incredible. All throughout the novel, Ray is shown as a person who tries to do right by everyone. He is the soul of this novel for me despite the fact that he’s passed. He always “sees” his daughter for who she is and loves her anyway.

I could continue to rhapsodize about the characters but I’ll stop now, well, except to mention that the relationship between Naima’s grandparents is wonderful. JJ and Kam embody love.

This was very much a character-driven novel rather than a plot driven novel. We spend a summer with Naima and Dew, who slowly, ever so slowly due to Naima’s unwillingness, befriend each other. We watch them work through their anxieties, their fears, their relationships with other people. I found the ending to be completely satisfying.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Six Goodbyes We Never Said is a gorgeously written introspective book. At the same time it's a story of mental health, grief, love, and friendship. Told from dual perspectives, and with voice mail transcripts, Six Goodbyes We Never Said is an emotional book about letting go and moving forward. Six Goodbyes We Never Said is a book that will move you on multiple levels. It's a book about grief and processing our guilt. At the same time, it's also a book about mental health, the foster system, siblings, and friendship. Six Goodbyes We Never Said has truly gorgeous writing for such a moving story. Whether it be the way these characters keep interacting or their genuine interactions, there's something that will grip you about Six Goodbyes We Never Said.

I found this to be a fascinating read. I am fortunate to not have to deal with issues of anxiety & depression (at least not to the extreme) so to read a story that deals with it was interesting. Naima & Dew have both lost their parents in different ways & are trying to navigate life after this. The way they cross paths & how they deal with the losses are worth reading this book.

This book is the the story of two grieving teenagers. Naima lost her father in action so she moves in with her grandparents; Dew lost both his parents in a car accident and moves in with his adoptive family. Both kids are now neighbors and when they meet they develop a special friendship.

There is a lot of representation in this book; you have biracial latinx representation, bi, pan, OCD, and PTSD. In this sense I really liked the story, it was emotional and moving and I think a lot of people will identify with the way Dew and Naima find hope and comfort in each other.

However, no matter how powerful I found the story to be, I felt no personal connection with the characters themselves. I wasn’t addicted to the story and do not wonder what will be of the characters (which I often do with books). I personally don’t feel like the book was engaging enough, but I don’t want to discourage other people from reading it because with all the important subjects highlighted by the author I am sure this book will speak to a lot of people. I think it will be a good read for those struggling with grief and mental illness and when I recommend it I will point this out.

Six Goodbyes We Never Said is a YA novel that deals with important and difficult themes such as loss, depression, suicide and mental health. Both main characters, Naima and Dew, are dealing with the loss of their parents. Naima lost her dad when he was overseas working as a marine, while her mom already passed away when she was born. Dew lost both his parents in a car accident, and now lives with an adoptive family. The end up living next door to each other and helping each other through their grief.

Even though I thought it was great that this book deals with so many topics that are not dealt with very much in YA novels, the story fell flat for me. I didn’t care for either Naima or Dew. Naima was just plain selfish and Dew was too quirky and sweet for my liking. I just couldn’t bring myself to care for them during their journey of acceptance.

Additionally, the beginning of the book was quite confusing. Naima’s chapters are always clearly indicated, whereas Dew’s are not. They just start randomly after some kind of news report. I was halfway into Dew’s chapter when I realised it wasn’t actually about Naima. Very confusing, especially in the beginning when you don’t know the characters and their stories yet.

I’m giving some extra credits for effort on the part of including difficult topics, and there were a few bits and pieces that I did enjoy, so I ended up giving this book three stars.

I am a very character-driven reader, so for me liking the characters in a book is SUPER important to me. Even if I might think the plot is meh, if i like the characters, I am usually pretty forgiven. That's why I don't really think Six Goodbyes We Never Said was for me. I just never could connect with either Naima or Dew. Granted, I think they are very well-written teenagers going through grief, I just found Naima way too angry to like her and Dew was a little bit of a try-hard.

I really appreciated tackling an issue in this book such as grief. Grief affects people in a lot of different ways, so I was really glad to see two characters deal with it in very different ways. Three, if we are counting Faith, who honestly, I was more interested in reading a book about.

I do like that this really is NOT a romance. There are some inklings that there was maybe going to be a romance, and then it felt like maybe it was going there, but then it doesn't. I was really glad about that because there should be more YA that focuses on friendships. Especially ones between people of the opposite sex.

I'm not sure about if the OCD stuff in this is accurate, as I don't have it or have a good understanding of it, but I felt like i could really understand some of the reason why Naima is the way she is.

If you like YA books that focus heavy on the hard issues, I would definitely recommend this one.

*I received an advanced reader copy by the publisher via Netgalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Six Goodbyes We Never Said
by Candace Ganger



St. Martin's Press

Wednesday Books

Teens & YA

Pub Date 24 Sep 2019


I am reviewing a copy of Six Goodbyes We Never Said through St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley


Naima Rodriguez is not in search of patronizing sympathy, as she deals with the loss of her father, a fallen marine and the grief that comes along with it. If you ask her to open up and remember her Father as he was, she will despise you forever. But that’s all her loving family wants her to do in order to deal with her complex OCD and GAD.




All Dew asks is to respectfully be given a little more time to process the sudden death of his parents. It’s causing an avalanche of secret anxieties, so he counts on his trusty voice recorder to convey the things he can’t otherwise say aloud. Dew could use a friend to help him Navigate a life swimming with pain and loss as well as all the moments in between. When he meets Naima things change just not in the way he expects.



Six Goodbyes We Never Said is no love story, if you ask Naima it’s not even a like story.


I give Six Goodbyes We Never Said four out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

I did not like the writing style of this book and I thought the plot was very slow moving. Overall I was pretty disappointed.

This book tackles some very important issues, like OCD, depression, and the stages of grief, but I was pretty confused for a lot of it. It may have been the electronic ARC format, but for at least the first half I had no idea which character I was reading about - Niama or Dew (though they are very different, it would take me a few sentences to realized who each section was about). That was irritating.
Coming from a place of dealing with loss, it’s a beautiful book that portrays two people dealing with unique losses in their own ways, which is important for anyone to realize, really. It’s a great YA theme- the idea that everyone grieves and deals differently. And that people can find each other and lean on and learn from one another.
I didn’t love the “love story,” which was more stalking then friendship building... I know they both had their “issues” but they were so awkward, it came across as goofy to me. I guess Niama is bi or pan or something, so that’s cool to have a unique sexuality in YA. I liked the writing style with the OCD repetition, though, and the ending was really beautiful.
I’d recommend this to anyone who’s suffered a major loss, any involved with the military, anyone with OCD or clinical depression. Open-minded young adults searching for a deeper read will enjoy this book.
I’m sure the print/final copy will be edited to make more sense, too.

Welcome to the review tour for SIX GOODBYES WE NEVER SAID, a heartbreaking novel about love and loss from author Candace Ganger. I’ll start with the synopsis and go from there. The book releases September 24th 2019. I gave it five stars.

Two teens meet after tragedy and learn about love, loss, and letting go

Naima Rodriguez doesn’t want your patronizing sympathy as she grieves her father, her hero—a fallen Marine. She’ll hate you forever if you ask her to open up and remember him “as he was,” though that’s all her loving family wants her to do in order to manage her complex OCD and GAD. She’d rather everyone back the-eff off while she separates her Lucky Charms marshmallows into six, always six, Ziploc bags, while she avoids friends and people and living the life her father so desperately wanted for her.

Dew respectfully requests a little more time to process the sudden loss of his parents. It’s causing an avalanche of secret anxieties, so he counts on his trusty voice recorder to convey the things he can’t otherwise say aloud. He could really use a friend to navigate a life swimming with pain and loss and all the lovely moments in between. And then he meets Naima and everything’s changed—just not in the way he, or she, expects.

Candace Ganger’s Six Goodbyes We Never Said is no love story. If you ask Naima, it’s not even a like story. But it is a story about love and fear and how sometimes you need a little help to be brave enough to say goodbye.

What I love about books like these is the voices are so sharp and poignant that they cannot help but resonate with me. This is not a cookie cutter contemporary. This story deals with mental illness, suicide, and life after loss. We go into both Dew and Naima’s heads as they both cope with their losses in their own ways.

Dew had a way of seeing the good in the world. He was open to therapy and new ideas. Whereas Naima was a little harder to get through to. The author showed us the two spectrum of coping and she did it so well. Both POV’s were gut wrenching. Being a military wife myself, I understand the anger and sadness when a loved one goes away to war, and this is most likely why this book resonated with me the way it did. I am so happy to be part of this tour and that I got to read this amazing book. I cannot wait to see what Candace has for us in the future.

Gangers author note seriously just made me cry:

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Hello, dear reader.

I think it should be known that, while Six Goodbyes is a work of fiction, I share the many characteristics, fears, and pains, in both the delicacy of Dew, and the confused ferocity in Naima. Please let this brief note serve as a trigger warning in regards to mental illness; self-care is of the utmost importance. And while I hope Six Goodbyes provides insight for those who don’t empa- thize, or comfort for those that do, I also understand everyone reacts differently.

Dew’s social anxiety is something I, and many others, struggle with. We carry on with our days and pretend it’s not as hard as it feels inside. Others can’t quite see how much it hurts but we so wish they could. Naima is the most visceral interpretation of all of my diagnosed disorders combined. Her obsessive-compulsive dis- order (OCD) and related tics, her intrusive thoughts, her utterly devastating and isolating depression, her generalized anxiety dis- order (GAD), which makes her so closed off from the world, and her post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from losing the biggest portion of her identity—those are all pieces of me. Very big pieces. They don’t define me, but it would be misleading if I didn’t ad- mit they sometimes, mostly do. I’m imperfectly complicated like Naima. And though I’ve written extensively on both my mental illnesses and living biracial, between two worlds—never enough of one or the other; always only half of something and never whole or satiated—I often still feel misunderstood. Hopefully Dew and Naima’s stories will provide a little insight as to what it’s like inside their heads, and inside mine.

Both Dew and Naima want to hold on to the roots that have

grounded them in their familiar, safe spaces. But once their meta- phorical trees are cut, and all the leaves shielding them from their pains have fallen and faded away, not even photosynthesis could bring them back to life. Those roots, Naima and Dew feel, will die off, and everything they had in their lives before will, too. There are many of you out there who feel the exact same way, but I assure you, Dew and Naima will find their way— they will grow new roots that flourish—and you, my darlings, will, too.

Thank you for reading, and may Six Goodbyes serve as per- mission to speak your truths—the good and the painful.

Here’s to another six airplanes for you to wish upon.

About the Author:
Candace Ganger is the author of Six Goodbyes We Never Said and The Inevitable Collision of Birdie & Bash as well as a contributing writer for HelloGiggles and obsessive marathoner. Aside from having past lives as a singer, nanotechnology website editor, and world’s worst vacuum sales rep, she’s also ghostwritten hundreds of projects for companies, best-selling fiction and award-winning nonfiction authors alike. She lives in Ohio with her family.
Twitter: @candylandgang + @WednesdayBooks
Link to retailers: https://us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

Add it to Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

Preorder it here: https://www.amazon.com/Six-Goodbyes-W...

First of all, thank you Netgalley for allowing me early access to this book in exchange for my honest review. It's hard to for me to write this review. As I do, I've change from 2 stars to 3 several times. I think this story was a very clever way to highlight the struggles of several disorders, like OCD, and clinical depression, while also encountering the very difficult stages of grief as well as the struggles of fostering/adopting. I think what makes me not love this book is that it highlights some of my own least favorable traits. I found myself having very little patience with the characters. Not helped by me being a combat veteran myself, I felt so much more sympathy, compassion and frustration for the caretakers than I did the kids in this book.

3.5 stars

This book might not be perfect, but that doesn't mean it isn't a special read. There are so many good, touching moments sprinkled throughout the story that I do recommend giving this one a look. The author managed to come up with something that felt unique in the YA genre.

Naima Rodriguez has anxiety issues, including OCD, and it's been difficult to keep things under control especially after the death of her father. Dew (yes, that's the name this teenage boy goes by) is also struggling as he has lost both of his parents. So with this horrible thing to have in common, when Naima and Dew meet they will become fast friends, right? Well not exactly. However, they might be able to help each other truly begin to process their grief.

I read an advance digital copy of this book so the published book could be different. but I loved how this one started with an Author's Note as it immediately made me feel invested in the story because it was such a personal one for the writer. I found it easier to connect with Naima rather than Dew and maybe some of the reason for that is I understood her better having dealt with some of the same OCD issues when I was her age. Even though my problems weren't at the same level as hers, I got where she was coming from. And I think that is one of the strengths of the book, as the writer pretty much laid it all out on the table for what it's like for someone suffering from anxiety issues. I also particularly loved the voicemail and unsent email sections of the book between Naima and her father. I thought it worked wonderfully in showing how Naima got to be where she is at in the present day.

Now the reason this wasn't quite a 5 star read for me is I did struggle a bit with Dew and at times during his part of the story I honestly felt bored. However, there were brief moments here and there that I thought were done quite well and by the end, I did think he was overall an asset to the story.

The book at times had a bit of a choppy flow, but I'm very glad I read it because it did get to me on a emotional level. Recommend reading if you are looking for a story that explores the topics of grief and anxiety issues.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

I received this advanced copy as a recommendation from the publisher who I love working with and usually enjoy their titles. This novel was okay, and I liked delving into the world of grief and disabilities, but it was a bit slow and hard to relate to the characters.

I plan to post a review online at my blog, www.rosiesreads.com, but I received an email from Sarah Bonamino at St. Martin's Publishing Group and she requested that a review not be posted until September. A such, it has not yet been posted.

I think this book is really great at explaining loss and grief, as well as their interactions with mental illness. It painted a picture that you do not often see in YA literature. Naima and Dew's personal growth really highlights the book for me - the portrayal of their grief is very honest and the author does not try to sugar coat anything. The teens may move on, but they will never truly get over that kind of loss.

Overall, I thought that it was an amazingly honest portrayal of loss and mental illness. It Is very truthful. But it doesn't have enough to move the plot forward, especially for the first half of the book (as discussed below). 2.5 Stars.

SMALL SPOILER ALERT:
I will say that there are a few plot points that I think detract from the novel and its pacing. Violet as a character, and as a romantic partner for Dew, makes no sense. She is much older than Dew and is strange, but not in an endearing way. I don't think any reader would have any idea that Dew was interested in Violet until he came out and said it. It just did not flow well enough or make any sense whatsoever to me and it did not add anything to the story. It was a throw away plot point. It also took longer than I would have liked for Naima and Dew to become friends. As a reader, you know that it will happen eventually, but I shouldn't have to wait for over half the book. It made the first half of the book drag on far more than it should have (and it's why it took me so long to finish this).

DNF 10%

I think this book might work better in a hard copy book versus an e-book. I found it difficult to follow the POV switches. There wasn't really a clear distinction between POV switches. This was made worse by the fact that the story is told in first person. I suspect in the hard copy of this book that there would be a noticeable font change or something. If there isn't then there needs to be.
I got so frustrated that I gave up.

***Copy obtained from St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books via Netgalley***

I loved the diverse experiences and topics that are explored in this book. I did however wonder while reading how accurate these experiences are knowing that this is not an own voices novel.