Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This book is another one is a recent string of arcs that never ended up on my kindle. I don't know what the problem is, but I can't review it. Sorry. I am hoping to read and review this on my own later.

very emotional. tugged on my heartstrings and made me tear up. i would recommend but beware that it is sad

This book came to me at just the right time, right when I was grieving someone myself. Dealing with disappearance is a heartbreaking thing to go through, and the dispair strung throughout this novel reinforced those sentiments. I liked seeing all of the different reactions and next-steps taken by each character. It was comforting and emotionally ripping all at once.

DNF - I am not sure why this book was so difficult for me to read, but this became the book that sat on my nightstand and I had to make time to read. I am not sure why it was such a struggle to pick it up each time being that I really enjoyed it as I read, but that was the sign that I had to quit reading it. I love to read and if I am not excited to start reading, it makes it not as enjoyable. I encourage others to try this book because the characters and the story are good.

This is easily a 5 star book. I went in with minimal expectations and was blown away. This story beat my heart to a bloody pulp in the best way possible. First off, to get such an intimate peek into Judaism, and the levels of devoutness was fascinating. Secondly, the bond these girls have? The way Danny seamlessly slides in? What’s not to love about these characters? While they are somewhat predictable, the mystery aspect of this story kept me guessing until the end. I truly enjoyed this and want anyone who reads it to just go in blind!

This book was an emotional journey the entire way through. At first it was difficult to see which of the points of view were before and after because it wasn’t every other chapter swapped, but the styles were different and once the first chapter came of the before and after it was easy to tell the difference. There are a lot of layers to this book that I wasn’t expecting, and really made the three main characters seem real and their emotions were really raw. I loved that being Jewish was just something that these characters were, it’s amazing to see representation where they’re not suffering through something horrible or reliving the Holocaust, but just being. I definitely think we need more of these styles of books in the publishing industry. I do wish that the author had made the decision to reveal that Danny was dead a bit sooner, because I had to reread the first chapter once I realized that because it was a bit confusing before knowing, but once I knew that then the rest of the book read smoothly. I think that having each of the girls go through their own process in regards to his death was smart, and the lengths that they went to in relation to what they think their responsibility in his death was, was interesting to see evolve, especially in the last bit of the book. I would definitely recommend this title to readers, and will probably purchase it myself.

At utterly heartbreaking, haunting young adult novel about love and loss. Danny's been missing for 9 months, and his girlfriend Ellie refuses to move on--because she still sees Danny and knows in her heart that he is still alive.

Leah Scheier writes about grief in such a unique way--Danny feels like he's really with Ellie but also not there all at the same time. There are times when we, as the readers, are really unsure of whether Ellie is really seeing Danny or if she's having a mental health crises, and I think that feels true to the immense pain she's in.

What stands out the most about this book is it's setting and cast. This is one of the only books I've ever read featuring Modern Orthodox Jewish folks, and it was interesting to see how this tight-knit community is shaken by Danny's disappearance. Ellie and her friends Rae and Deenie are each changed forever by his loss, but in different ways.

I loved the flashbacks that showed the progression of Ellie and Danny's relationship. I felt so emotionally invested in these characters, and my heart broke for them on every page. An absolute must-read for fans of Rachel Lynn Solomon. Robyn Schneider, or Nina LaCour.

A few months ago, Danny disappeared and everyone seems to think that he's dead. Everyone, apart from his girlfriend and closest friend, Ellie.

Ellie is going through a hard time, even though she doesn't believe that Danny is dead. Actually, she knows that he isn't dead because she sees him and speaks to him.

The story is told in past and present timelines, one detailing how Danny became friends with Ellie and her friends and another, now, following the girls as they cope with his disappearance.

All of the main characters are Jewish and their faith is explored in the novel. I enjoyed that aspect of the story since it isn't something I normally read about in YA novels. I had previously never read a book set in an Orthodox Jewish community.

Absolutely LOVED this one. The characters were all so incredible, and I loved how Judaism was threaded through the story. It felt like Danny was a character who was with us the whole time even though we found out at the end that he's been dead all along. I loved how each of the girls dealt with Danny's disappearance and how they experienced their grief. It felt like a real and raw coming-of-age novel.

I really liked this because it's a book that went by fast when I needed something fast to read. It was sweet and sad.

Nine months ago, Danny went missing. No one knows what happened and no one found his body. While everyone is moving on, Ellie is still seeing and talking to her boyfriend. Rae is rebelling against the world and baking everything imaginable. Deenie is diving deeper into her practice of Modern Orthodox Judaism.

First things first, I’m so glad to see a book that represents Modern Orthodox Judaism so beautifully. Typically, we see tons of Reform Judaism in books. There’s very few mainstream books that represent the Modern Orthodox community. I can only think of 2 others, and one doesn’t really do it justice. Judaism is truly central to this story, and that made my heart so full because each character has a different relationship to it. Also, I love these characters. I love how they all came of age in this book. Often I find that books that discuss grief in young people result in coming of age stories, and I think Scheier handled grief wonderfully, especially with the notion of being honest with yourself. I loved the pacing of the book and how it flipped between past and present. The ending fit the book so well too because we got to see the characters start to accept and heal.

In The Last Words We Said, we follow Ellie, who is still reeling from her best friend and boyfriend Danny's disappearance. Their other friends and families are fairly convinced that Danny is gone, but Ellie has yet to give up hope, and still even sees and talks to Danny. She knows her friends, parents, and therapist would like her to move on, and she often placates them with false promises she knows they want to hear, but deep down, she's not ready to let go.

It makes sense, of course, that the three friends who remain are dealing with Danny's disappearance in vastly different ways. Deenie is throwing herself as far into their Orthodox Judaism faith as she possibly can, while Rae is fleeing from their religion more than ever. I loved the deep insight into the modern Orthodox community, I felt like I learned so much while reading this story. Even more, I loved how much it played into each characters' grief process, as religion (or lack of, even) plays a huge part in feelings on loss in general.

This book not only explores grief and loss within the current events surrounding Danny, but in general. It also delves deep into the group's friendships, both pre- and post-Danny. In addition, there is a huge element of family and community involvement, which was a great addition to the story. I think my one qualm was that I didn't feel wholly connected to Ellie herself outside of her relationships with everyone else, but otherwise this was a strong and highly emotional story.

Bottom Line: A beautiful story about grief and loss, friendship and love, this one will certainly pull at your heartstrings.

This is a story about loss. Ellie is part of a tight knit Modern Orthodox community in Atlanta. She is closed to her parents and her two best friends, Deenie and Rae. On a plane trip, she meets Danny and feels an instant connection to him. After they leave the plane, Ellie believes she will never see Danny again — until one day, he moves to her neighborhood, becomes the fourth member of the friend group, and chooses to attend their school. Ellie and Danny’s connection is undeniable and soon they are a couple and blissfully happy.

But one night, after a party, Danny does not return home. The wrinkle? Ellie can still see and talk to Danny. As more time passes, she is convinced he is simply missing, while almost everyone else believes he likely died — and Ellie is coping through her visions of Danny. As the story unfolds, we see Ellie’s family, friends, teachers, and doctors seek the best way to support her when, to them, she seems increasingly delusional, and they are dealing with the grief in their own ways. We also learn the backstory of each of the characters, the heavy burdens they are carrying, and the secrets they are keeping from each other — and how that is distorting their relationships with each other. .

This is a compelling and powerful story of grief and growing up. The author does a terrific job of showing how grief shapes people’s experiences after loss, and the way the same loss can impact people very differently. The author also deftly explores the dynamics of friendships and relationships among teens, at a time of change and strong emotions in their lives even at the best of times.

Highly recommended!

"There was a boy that followed me everywhere, who lived in my dreams, both day and night. Was he a kind of idol? Everywhere I looked, my Danny was there."

What an emotional and consuming book. This is one that I kept thinking about even when I had to put it down and kept getting back to as soon as I possibly could. There is so much in this exploration of love, family, friendship, religion, community, and secrets.

The Last Words We Said is about a group of friends: Ellie, Rae, Deenie, and Danny. Danny has been missing for nine months and his friends are all trying to cope in vastly different ways. Set in the modern Orthodox Jewish community, this group and their close-knit community struggle with their loss and their own perceived guilt about what happened. Ellie, our narrator and Danny's girlfriend, can't let him go... because she still sees him every day. Unfortunately, she's the only one who does.

Some of the things I loved about this book:

1. It takes place in an Orthodox Jewish community. Each of the characters grapple with their religion a bit, some going deeper in while others withdraw. I was glad for this representation because it's something I rarely see in YA books I pick up. I was also thankful to see it depicted with obvious warmth and as a connected community, but without making it or its people out as perfect.

2. The format of the book. This book is told in the present, with Danny missing, but also includes "stories" that allow us a look at these relationships building and give readers a glimpse of the story building to its present mystery. Unfolding if each of Danny's stories was "truth or fiction" as more information comes out along with the characters was intense.

3. The FEELINGS. I think the author did a great job of depicting high school feelings, those of platonic, romantic, and familial relationships. There were cringe-y bits but high schoolers are cringe-y! I was pulled in by not just how much Danny and Ellie loved each other, but just how much ALL of these characters love each other. Ellie's relationship with Danny's father is one of my favorites in the book.

4. The plot and its take on Danny. Can it be called a ghost story, and exploration of mental health/ mental illness, or is it magical realism? There's no way to really know. It's all three and I loved that.

I think this is a really gorgeous and emotional book. I would recommend it to people who love YA contemporaries with lots of feelings, YA mysteries, books like If I Stay by Gayle Forman, or books with an amazing friendship group.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!

Not dead, missing. Even after nine months, that’s what Ellie believed. Their community was still feeling the effects of Danny’s disappearance, but none more than his three closest friends – Ellie, Rae, and Deenie.

I won’t lie. This was a heartbreaking story. Watching these three try and deal with the loss of their friend had me in quite an emotional state. I think all losses are difficult, but not having that closure, not knowing for certain what happened to Danny made it a bit more painful. That battle between having and abandoning hope was a true struggle.

It was interesting seeing how each young woman dealt with Danny’s disappearance. Rae amped up her cooking, Deenie immersed herself in religion, and Ellie sank deeper into denial. Each were punishing themselves in some way, and when the truth was uncovered, my heart ached for them. The pain, the weight, the guilt they carried for so long was awful. I mean, I was still sad, but there was some amount of relief found when they unburdened themselves and allowed themselves to heal a bit.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom. As the story flashed back and forth, I got to share many happy moments with the characters. Each had a connection to Danny which was built on a strong foundation of friendship, and it was very sweet seeing that turn into more for him and Ellie. Central to the story was the friendship between Deenie, Ellie, and Rae. Though their relationship was experiencing some growing pains, they always seemed to be there with love, support, and forgiveness.

I cannot say I have read too many books set in a modern Jewish Orthodox community, so I really appreciated that. There were things I knew, but I also learned a lot about of new things. I truly appreciated that window into that community and their faith.

Overall: Emotional and heartbreaking, but a beautiful exploration of grief and loss.

What do you do when someone so important to you is suddenly removed from your life? And then what do you do when everyone assumes they’re dead… except for you?

<i>The Last Words We Said</i> tells the story of Ellie and her missing boyfriend Danny. He has been missing for nine months and everyone in her life has assumed the worst outcome. Ellie, however, holds the hope and unwavering belief that Danny is out there and alive. She still sees him. She hears him. She spends time with him. The problem is… no one else can see him and no one believes in what Ellie is convinced is the truth.

I had a rather difficult time with this book. I struggled with the way the characters interacted with each other, especially as things started coming to light at the end. By the time I was finished, I felt more gutted than some of the characters did.

One of the things I absolutely loved was the Orthodox Jewish representation in this book. It was so nice to be pulled immediately into this world. A lot of people have preconceived notions about modern Orthodox Judaism and seeing different kinds of belief and practices in here was so powerful.

There is a strong emphasis on stories in this. The stories we tell each other, the stories we tell ourselves, and the stories that we change and rewrite to help cope with grief and trauma. Flashbacks are used through the stories that Ellie is remembering or the stories that are being shared with her. It’s how we learn about Danny and get to learn the whole story about how Danny went missing. I love stories within stories because I love seeing different perspectives on the same experience. This was no different.

When I finished this book, I felt unfulfilled. The characters ended up getting closure that I, as a reader, never even came close to feeling. I was more worked up upon finishing the book than I was at any other point. This will be a book that others will love, but unfortunately, this is not that book for me.

Synopsis:
Nine months ago, Danny disappeared and everything changed for his friends. Rae’s pouring herself into rage-baking. Deenie's deepening her commitment to Orthodox Judaism. And Ellie—Danny’s best friend and girlfriend—is the only one who doesn’t believe he’s dead.

Because she still sees him.

Moving back and forth between past and present, the story of Ellie and Danny unspools, from their serendipitous meeting to Danny and Ellie falling for each other. In the past, they were the perfect couple—until it all went wrong. In the present, Ellie’s looking for answers. Her friends are worried about her mental health, but Ellie’s certain that the tragedy that’s rocked their modern Orthodox community isn’t as simple as they all believe. She’s determined to uncover the truth about what happened to the love of her life. But to do that, she’ll have to be more honest with herself.


Review:

Thank you so much to Simon Pulse and Netgalley for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm super conflicted on how to rate this book, because it definitely had it's great moments, but I didn't love all of it.

Let's start of with the characters! As a main character, I didn't really like or understand Ellie. She was clearly not in a good mental place, seeing a ghost of her missing boyfriend, and pushing everyone else out, which is understandable because of the trauma that she faced, but she never seeked help, which confused me. She finally opened up to her friends about blaming herself for Danny's disappearance, but it was clear that she didn't do anything wrong. The side characters were very lovable, (I'm having a huge run of books where I don't like the MC, but love the side characters for some reason?) Deenie, Ellie's close friend was a great character. Unlike Ellie, she did cope with grief in a way that was understandable to me, and despite being very upset, she still was an amazing friend and daughter to everyone around her. Rae, Ellie's other friend, was similarly likable. I'm not sure how I felt about Danny's character. He's one of those characters that everyone feels something strongly about, but honestly I just thought he seemed like a normal kid. He lied a lot, he was occasionally nice. He didn't seem very special to me..

Another aspect of this book that I want to touch on is the Jewish Orthodox part of it! I love the representation here, and I'm so glad that we are seeing this part of life in books. I feel like Orthodox Judaism isn't portrayed often in young adult literature, especially in books published by the Big 5 publishers. So don't get me wrong when I say, I'm genuinely so glad this book exists! But, it just felt a little too challenging for me in terms of religious content. As an Atheist, I felt like an outsider, but I was so grateful to have a glimpse into this very rich community. Please note that I don't feel that this is a flaw of the book in any way, I just neglected to realize that this book would touch on quite a lot of religious content. I have no trouble believing that so many readers will love, enjoy and cherish this book because it represents them!

The plot and setup of this was such a unique idea! I like how, rather than spiraling into 'unexplained magical' territory, it was a very raw portrayal of mental health, grief, denial and loss. I feel that after reading this book, I've learned so much about how people feel sadness and why.

The writing and format was my favorite part of the book. I never once found it to lag, and I always thought it was engaging! It was also super interesting how it had the main story line of Ellie, after Danny goes missing, and the story line of before, when Danny was still in her life. I like how the author weaved in the 'short story collection' to space out the emotionally draining main story line. The ending honestly made me tear up a little. It's sometimes really sad to see people my age struggling so much, and I felt so much relief when there was some closure for everyone.

I'm still a little on the fence about how I feel for this book, but overall, I think it was a very valuable read, and if you are thinking about reading it, I'd say give it a shot!

Anticipation: 3.5: ooo I like the cover (are we sensing a pattern here)
Enjoyment:3: so many Thoughts

--> 3.5 stars

I liked the side images and cover. I liked the descriptions. The cost was hard to read.i liked the characters

Alternating between the past and the present, Ellie and her two close friends, Deenie and Rae are dealing with the loss of Danny Ellie’s boyfriend who has mysteriously disappeared and whose body hasn’t been found. As time goes on, Ellie realizes she can see Danny’s ghost and talk to him. Her friends get this and know she needs closure. As truths come out, the girls realize they have all collected secrets about Danny and told lies. This book shows us that some spirits never leave us, and that you can be haunted by their memory or you can embrace it.