Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for an advance read in exchange for this review.

This is a story about what happens to a child when their only parent is not around anymore. There are themes of love, regret, loss, forgiveness, and trust. It starts when Callie is an accident and her friend cannot watch her son, Billy while she's at the hospital. Instead, that friend drops Billy off at Callie's mother's house. She has not spoken to her mother since Billy's first birthday. This begins a chain of events about who Billy's father is and how everything got to this point in the present. It's told from multiple POVs.

I kind of struggled with this book. It moves very slowly and goes from the present to the past with little warning. The characters are all fine, but I didn't really connect with anyone. It felt like it was supposed to have a bigger impact than it actually did. The story was all fine, but it did not leave an impact with me. I think it would have been helpful for certain events to have been written bigger. I think of the title and what it implicates, and that makes me sad. However, the book spent so much time explaining other things that I think it could have taken up more space on what happened. It's not a bad book and I think others will like it. I'm sorry that I didn't like this one as much as I should.

Ali Mercer had such a way with words and deals with sensitive topics in such a way that it’s hard to remember it’s only a novel. Beautifully written and heart wrenching in equal measure.

Alie Mercer always manages to ask the questions we are afraid to ask or lead us to answers that we aren’t willing to deal with yet. She writes from the heart and it shows.

This novel focuses on what would happen to your child/children if you weren’t around to look after them any longer and it deals with love, loss, and trust.

In the back of every parent’s mind is the knowledge that they need to provide a way for their child to take charge of their own future and to make the role of parenting redundant. For many parents of children with disabilities, this is a difficult step.

I loved Billy’s character; I see so much of myself in him. I still deal with anxiety and agree that, although I’m coping better with it now, it worsened during the pandemic. I feel for children who already have lots to deal with - anxiety is a side dish nobody asks for!

I was rooting for Callie! I loved that when she suspected she had someone else to consider, she reached down deep within herself, found courage, stepped up to the plate and made things happen - for them both. It could have so easily gone the other way.

“The person she was going to become would not need other people. The person she was becoming knew that the only person you could rely on - the only person you could really trust - was yourself.”

I love how Mercer’s story takes a comforting turn when help comes from a least-expected source. Isn’t that often the way in life? Sometimes, once we’ve dealt with the past and removed the ‘baggage,’ life has a way of opening up possibilities that weren’t there before - Callie, Billy’s mom, discovers this, too.

Full of emotional situations and twists you aren’t expecting, this novel shows Mercer at the top of her game. The success of this book is partly due to how authentic it feels - a result of the fictional setting inspired by the author’s hometown and the relationship she has with her son.

I was gifted this copy by Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

A child’s goodbye was engrossed from start to finish; such a well-crafted, thrilling and moving story surely marks this author as an author to watch. I can't wait for more!
Brilliant… had me eagerly turning the pages I found it moving and tearing up in places.

Oh my goodness what a brilliant read and brilliant, brilliant storytelling, I was just hooked from the very first page of this family drama and couldn't stop reading.

I felt as though I was part of this family the more I read and I just loved Billy but they were all excellent each in their own way.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for this fantastic ARC which I have no hesitation in recommending. Well done Ali Mercer, think this has got to be one of your best yet, a very worthy five+stars from me.

Wow, what an emotional rollercoaster. This book drew me in and had me invested in this family, their heartaches, and drama. It was told from a few perspectives and jumped back and forth in timelines a bit, but it wasn’t distracting and added to the richness of the storyline. This book really makes you think about the time you have and the people you surround yourself with. Highly recommend! Special thanks to NetGalley and the author for an ARC of this book.

I felt as though I was right in the mix of this family in this heartbreaking, emotional story.
Right from the first pages, the drama begins and it keeps on moving!
The plot revolves around a little boy and his Mum and branches out further to show past happenings that further explain the current situation for this lonely twosome.
It is well done!
This is a wonderful read anytime!
I would suggest some tissues at the side just in case.
Thank you to @Netgalley and to @Bookouture for this ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review.

No other book could make me laugh and cry by turns like this one. It’s like a rollercoaster, like the life. I highly recommend it, but i advise, if you read it, to have handkerchiefs at hand!

Books with stories revolving around children are often very gripping and emotional, no matter which genre those books are categorised in. Those little ones should be cherished and feel protected at all times, but sometimes it's easier said than done and live does not always play ball.

One moment you are alive and kicking and the next you find yourself in the back of an ambulance on your way to the hospital and in the meantime you have to count on your friends to take care of your young son. You know you can count on them, but can you? 

Maybe they thought that what you don't know does not kill you, but did they realise what they did? You thought this was all in the past and dealt with...

Sometimes people find themselves in situations where they wonder whether there is still time left to build some bridges or are forced to do so. Sometimes bad things turn your life around in the best possible way.

This is the beautiful, but also sad story starring Callie, Billy and Rueben. I loved the relationship between Callie and Billy. Whether it's in a book or in real life, people often jump to conclusions and more than once they have the wrong end of the stick. But even worse they are often not prepared to listen to the other side of the story and think what they see or heard must be the way it all happened. Often not everything you see is what is seems to be. Only by listening and talking those misunderstandings can be banned and relationships can be mended or kept from breaking in the first place.  

I admired Callie for fighting for the life she wanted to live. The gross of the emotions that gripped me the most were at the end of the story. 4 stars

Thank you

An absolutely beautiful, heartbreaking book. I was gripped from the start. The chapters rotate to follow the narrative of mum Callie, 10 year old Billy and Rueben, who’s identity isn’t instantly known. You get a small plot twist with each chapter, and a gut-wrenching twist at the end you don’t see coming. A book about trust, loss and estranged families. This book shows that sometimes bad things can work out okay in the end. Thanks NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this.

This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher and the author. The characters come alive on the pages. The story moves quickly. The mother is worried about her child...her mom is taking care of him. They are estranged...The story continues. Family and friends, along with love and romance, this story could be a great television show. Although I do not like the different voices, this talented and gifted author makes it work. It is a smooth transition from one to the other. Curl up, grab a comfy throw, a cup of steaming herbal tea...try to discern the ending of this story. It is not easily accomplished.