Summer holds such wonder for teens. The possibilities of the season are endless. Long days at the beach, hanging out with friends, a summer romance, being convicted of shoplifting... wait, what? Being in the wrong place at the wrong time turns Tatum's summer into a stormy one, as she attempts to repair the damaged relationship she has with the adults in her life. While I liked Tatum very much, I was very conflicted after reading this book. It was certainly entertaining, but it seemed to be written by someone trying to teach a moral lesson. I don't know how this will sit with teen readers.

What I Liked:

Characters:

I love the main character, Tatum. She is a loyal friend, artistically creative, and self-motivated to do better. Basically, she is everything a parent would want in a teen. But her father and step-mother only seem to acknowledge when she messes up. This causes Tatum to act out, which I didn't really blame her for. She is a really good kid. I love how she problem-solves in order to get money to pay her fine, and reaches out to her best friend when they have a falling out.

Tatum is not perfect, but who is? She does lie to people, and doesn't bother to see the points of view of her family members. But given how hurt she is by her family's mistreatment, it is understandable.

I also love Tatum's step-grandmother, Blanche. She is a fun character who believes in both Tatum and her step sister, Tilly. She offers the kind of non-judgemental support both girls crave.

What I Didn't Like:

Characters:

Tatum's father is such a sop! He defers to his wife in all matters, including managing Tatum. When Tatum gets in trouble with the police, he doesn't fight for her. She is forced to take a "deal" and get a misdemeanor, pay a fine, and do community service. As a parent, I would believe my kid when she says she wasn't involved in the shoplifting incident, and fight tooth and nail to clear my kid's name. But he never even seems to ask Tatum what happened.

Missing Parent Syndrome:

One of my pet peeves is the YA trope of the missing parent. In this book, Tatum's birth mom is dead, and her dad is out of the country for most of the novel. I understand that this is a plot device so Tatum is forced to deal with her step-mother, Belen, through most of the book. But I thought the scenario was contrived.

Moral lesson:

My main problem with the story was that it seemed to be written with the purpose of getting teens to think that no matter how poorly your parents treat you, they always have their kids best interests at heart.

I found this to be ridiculous! Tatum's step-mother was abusive. I don't care if she had a difficult childhood! There was no excuse for how awful she was toward Tatum and her own daughter, Tilly (that's the problem when you adore a character: you don't want them to get hurt).

I also hated that Tatum sought out her father's forgiveness (for what, exactly?), and glossed over her friend, Ashlyn's, betrayal. As her step-mother points out, having a misdemeanor on your record will follow a teen into her college applications. It is not a trivial matter. But her friend, who doesn't speak up that Tatum was innocent, barely even apologizes. Although Ashlyn does let Tatum's dad know what really happened, there is no effort to go to the police to straighten out Tatum's record.

I do think this book is worth reading for Tatum's wonderful character. She makes the best of a bad situation, and grows over the course of the book. But if I had to be careful with money, I would try to get this novel from my local library, rather than at a bookstore.

To be honest I always feel a bit weary when it comes to fairy tale retellings. I found that I often feel the missed the point. Gotta say that I am brought up with the classics, not the Disney version. Though I did watch them as well after I was a bit bigger. So somehow the classic tales hold a place for me that very few re-telling can touch.
It started with Goodbye is one of the few, and that simply because June didn't actually try and retell the story but used it as an inspiration. There are quite a few points that adhere to the original, but mostly this is it's own story. A rather wonderful one, I might add.

The plot was at times rather predictable, but it was very enjoyable. It's probably the aspect that holds the closest similarity to cinderella.

The writing style is witty, straight forward and insightful.

The character building is what made this book shine. It's also the aspect, that is the furthest from the original. June did a great job at taking stereotypical figures and turning them into interesting characters. I love how Tatum changes, but more how she goes from seeing only black and white, and more importantly only her side of the story to all the shades in between. She starts thinking in terms of others and how they perceive things.

Naturally there is a HEA and the end is a bit happy clappy and all the characters are just awesome... a bit too much if you ask me but I wasn't totally displeased. In fact it's very cute and a totally satisfying ending. The journey was thoroughly enjoyable, I could relate, having been 16, and frankly I think alot of us can.
One of the best retelling of a fairytale I've read so far.

It Started With Goodbye can be described as a contemporary and modern re-telling of Cinderella. I've always loved fairy tales and Cinderella is definitely no exception. And I would have definitely enjoyed a movie adaptation of the book itself!

The story follows our main character Tatum, who has been arrested for being at the wrong place, at the wrong time and has to spend her summer doing community service and being on house arrest as punishment. Tate's stepmother is making everything worse by not trusting her at all, while her dad is away on a business trip for the entire summer.And if we consider the fact that, she has no relationship whatsoever with her stepsister, things are really not looking that great for her.

Her father and stepmother also decide to invite her stepmother's mom over, that means her step grandmother kind of? to come and live with them in order to make sure that, Tatum doesn't do anything out of line or get in trouble again. So, because of the house arrest, she has to find creative ways to spend her time and ends up creating her own graphic design business. Which goes surprisingly well by the way. And after everything that happens, she discovers new things about her family that she hadn't even realized during all the years she spent living with them and finds herself in the process.

It Started With Goodbye was one of my most anticipated releases and I could not wait to finally get my hands on it! It definitely did not disappoint. As soon as I started reading, I realized that it would be very difficult to put it down. It was such a fun and enjoyable read, perfect for fans of contemporary novels!

The story itself was interesting, fast paced and had me hooked from the beginning. I loved the characters and related to them so much! Everything that happened in this book felt so realistic and because of that, it was more than easy to connect with the characters. It was definitely a relatable story and I could understand how Tatum was feeling perfectly! She was such a likable character as well and I could definitely see my self in her shoes, feeling frustrated because the people that truly mattered didn't believe me and disappointed because of everything that had happened to lead me there.

Everything happened in such a vivid way, which is something that I always enjoy in books. I also loved the fact that, this book was not completely focused on the romance like most YA contemporaries are, but rather explored the relationship between family members and how they came to be so much closer than they used to. Even though they had lived together for years.

I also immensely enjoyed the secondary characters and their part in the development of the story. I adored their relationship with Tatum and how they encouraged and supported her. Something that helped since, she was obviously feeling quite self-conscious and unsure of herself and the path she chose to follow. But, in the end, she stayed true to, not only who she was but also to who she wanted to become and found happiness within herself and her renewed bonds with her family.

And, before I end this review, we really can't forget about the moments with SK, which were completely adorable and swoon worthy. I found the way the romance developed, without actually affecting the moral of the story very admirable and interesting. And quite refreshing actually! Something that I've personally never encountered in books of this particular genre.

It Started With Goodbye was vivid, beautifully written and definitely worth reading! It's a wonderful journey of self discovery, that shows how important family and friendships are along the way!

I’m going to start off by saying that I came into this book thinking there was going to be a whole lot of angsty YA romance. If you read the description of It Started With Goodbye then you know I was wrong. After reading the description of the book a second time I realized it actually doesn’t mention a huge romance happening, so y’all please pardon me for not knowing how to read a freaking book synopsis and getting my expectations too high. I don’t know why I thought this book was going to be all romance.

Even though It Started With Goodbye is not what I was expecting, I actually did enjoy reading it. It took me days to get past the first half of the book because nothing really exciting happens but once I got past that first half, I finished reading it on a whim. It’s not a story that will keep you at the edge of your seat—not for me, at least—but it sure is a cute YA read.

Now, let’s talk about the romance. I love Tatum’s email flirting with SK, the “cute cello-playing client”. He’s so very charming, love his character. They make the cutest couple, unfortunately their relationship barely begins by the ending of the book. I wish there was more of their relationship in the book because they have potential to become one of my favorite book couples.

Christina June did an amazing job writing It Started With Goodbye. Her writing style is perfection and her characters jump out of the pages like real people.
I’m sure YA lovers out there are going to enjoy this book and fall in love with Christina’s writing style.

It Started with Goodbye is a story of developing who you are a person, growing into a positive future and understanding those around you.

It’s a quick read, despite being over 300 pages long, and Christina June’s writing makes it seem even faster. She gets the point, doesn’t use poetic language to tell her story but what she does display is a real honest view of being a teenager, of struggles between child and parents, of trust and love and finding a passion that will guide you through the rest of your life.

16 year old Tatun Elsea has been falsely accused of a crime. She has been grounded by her father. She has to fill her days doing her community service and working on her covert graphic design business at night, where she trades emails with a cute cello-playing client.

Then Tatum discovers she is not the only one in the house keeping secrets. She now has the chance to make amends with her family and friends.

A story of a teenagers relationship between her family and friends. The characters are well developed. The book is nicely written. A modern take on Cinderella. I found this book refreshing, charming and enjoyed it from beginning to end.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Blink and the author Christina June for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited about this book! It was on my wishlist for the longest time, and when I was given an advance copy I couldn't wait to dive in and read my way to the end. While I enjoyed "It Started With Goodbye", it wasn't what I was anticipating.

Sometimes I think we can set ourselves up and miss out on a really great read. Had I known this was a twist on the classic Cinderella tale, I probably would have passed. But I didn't, so here is what I thought...

Christina June has a definite ability to tell a story. Her characters are well formed, and she keeps a steady pace with no drag in the story. And I enjoyed every word of this book...I just didn't love the story. My hope is, for her next novel, Christina June writes a completely original tale so we can truly see her talent shine.

I wonder if the step-mother would have felt less like a caricature and more like a woman struggling with her own issues of acceptance and control. I wonder if the dad would have had more to do with the story, rather than just a throwaway character.

I'll be watching for Christina June's next novel, because I'm curious. And she can tell a story very well. I just want to see her tell her own story. That's why I'm giving "It Started With Goodbye" my "One To Watch" award. Until then...

I love the characters (especially Blanche, I soooooo need a Blanch in my life). I loved the relationships and how they evolved over time. Especially Tatum and Tilly. I loved the emails between Tatum and SK....I loved it all!!!
I think anyone that enjoys a family drama, young adult, or even just cool people books would love this one.
LOVE!!! I don't wanna say anymore because you should just read it!

Happy Reading! (I think I like that valediction the best)

This was the first book I’ve read by Christina June and I quickly realized that she has her finger on the pulse of what a YA book should be. Teen angst in every emotional shade filled the pages. I loved how the story followed a Cinderella theme without being cliché. The character’s relationships were believable and heart-tugging. PS. The book cover and title are perfection!

I picked up It Started With Goodbye by Christina June to have a light read that was enjoyable, yet not too deep. I got enjoyable, but deep it was. While the book sounds like it's going to be a teenage drama filled with a love story, friend drama, etc, the story is so much more than that.

It Started With Goodbye follows Tatum as she endures a summer of lost friendship, community service, and life lessons. There are so many lessons anyone, teenagers and older individuals, can learn from. Tatum is this quirky teenager enduring what she feels is the worst possible case scenario for her summer. Constant work, straight home after, and no freedom. For a teenager, that is worst case scenario, but what Tatum finds out is that it's not all about beach days and hanging with your friends. There are things in life you learn as you make mistakes and experience different situations.

Tatum goes through so much growth in the few months you get to read about her in this book that you can almost picture your own growth period as a teenager. I learned so much my high school years and it's interesting watching Tatum do the same. Author Christina June did an incredible job of drawing out the emotions of Tatum, her cute cello-playing friend, her new community service best friend, and all the other little characters, including fairy godmother, abuela. These characters are lovable. I love them from the moment I met each one. They are all perfect in their imperfect ways and I felt this was the message June was trying to get across. It doesn't matter the mistakes we make as long as we learn from them, grow from them, and keep our eyes open to the world around us and the hidden things people are going through that you may not understand. All fantastic messages for everyone to absorb.

With that being said, It Started With Goodbye is the perfect summer read. Pick it up and enjoy the craziness that is Tatum's life as she goes through one heck of a summer.

It Started With Goodbye is definitely not what I was originally expecting. When I request this book, I was expecting the usual Cinderella retelling : absent (or dead) father, meanie stepmother and stepsister, and a happily ever after for the MC and the love interest. While we do get a happy ending, it was very different from what I had it mind, but I can't say that I'm complaining.

Why I like It Started With Goodbye (and why it surprises me) :

+THE FAMILY ASPECT. Given that Cinderella is not a tale focused on family love and such, I really didn't expect that this book would mainly focus on family. The "fairy godmother" is actually the stepmother's mother (aka Tatum's step-grandmother), and instead of being mean, the stepmother is actually just strict, and the stepsister is just quiet (I really can't explain her without giving away spoiler, but if you have read this book, you would have understood). I have to admit that Christina tackled the family's problem well, that by the end of the book I was pleased how this family turn to be. It's the reason why I add another star for this book, actually.

+The friendship. There's a lot of friendships here, be it a second chance or a new one. You'd know from the synopsis that Tatum and Ash's friendship kinda fallen apart because of the thievery, but again, I think Christina did a good job in resolving the problem. No necessary drama added. I also love the newfound friendship between Tatum and Abby, and Tatum with certain someone which was unexpected, but one that I was hoping will form!

+The romance. Sure, the romance wasn't the main focus here, but this (rare) time, I actually didn't mind. In fact, I kinda forget there's a romance going on in this book 😂 It was obvious from the start who this SK person is (I didn't think it was the author's intention to make us guess?). Nevertheless, it was cute and make the book more enjoyable.

Overall, It Started With Goodbye is a unique and thoughtful retelling of Cinderella. It's also one of those book that handle family aspect very well, and I think we need more YA books like that. Will I recommend this book? Heck yes. Go read it while it's summer, since this book is also set in one.

I’ve never read anything by Christina June before, I don’t think, but I wasn’t incredibly impressed by It Started With Goodbye. It started off on a really interesting foot, I thought, but it faltered early, and I never really felt as enthralled by it as some other reviewers have. A few people called it a modern Cinderella story… I don’t feel that, at all. Yes, the main character, Tatum, has an “evil stepmother” and a “fairy godmother” but there’s nothing magical about this tale, no matter how many times Tatum implies it.

It Started With Goodbye wasn’t terrible, but it also wasn’t memorable. Tatum was fine, but I didn’t find anything about her that stood out from other main characters — although I’ll go ahead and admit that after reading 180 Seconds on the same trip, maybe my standards are even higher than usual — and could care less about how “misunderstood” she felt. Her deep, terrible problems were fairly superficial, and even now, thinking back over it, I’m just rolling my eyes.

Warning: There will be spoilers below. There’s really not much to spoil, and if you pay attention and aren’t as dense as Tatum, you will have already figured out the only real “plot reveal” that there is. But still. Spoiler alert.

The writing

June’s writing is fine. Nothing problematic, nothing outstanding. I definitely didn’t get the modern-day Cinderella vibe or the idea that anything about Tatum’s life was “magical,” and I really disliked the emails back and forth between Tatum and various characters — Abby, SK-Shay-Seamus, other clients. It might have been the formatting on the galley, too, but it was really hard for me to keep up with who was writing who, especially when Tatum and SK started to exchange many emails at once. Their voices read exactly the same. Not a fan.

The characters

Meh. Like I said above, Tatum is fairly superficial as far as “misunderstood” characters go, and I hardly had sympathy for her as the Cinderella of this story. I like that she was a hopeful graphic designer — a rarely seen aspiration in the young adult genre! — since that was my major in college, but if I hadn’t had my own experiences with Photoshop and trying to design posters, I probably wouldn’t have cheered for her much there. Tatum lost me pretty early on in the book — she was so broken when she realized she’d lost her keychain that she sought comfort from in moments of anxiety and stress, but about 5 pages later, it was all but forgotten for the rest of the book. I also have an impossible time believing that she couldn’t figure out that Seamus was Shay was SK was hot guy. Maybe not right away, but for goodness’ sake.

SK-Shay-Seamus was a pretty great love interest, but… if he was only going to show up in the last 25 pages or so of It Started With Goodbye, I would’ve been fine if he hadn’t shown up at all. The performance of “Tatum’s song” was pretty swoonworthy, but I wasn’t too invested in their relationship at that point. And hell, Tatum wasn’t invested enough to even figure out who the guy was.

Everyone else was fine. Abby was fine, Tilly was fine, Tatum’s parents were fine, Blanche was fine. Meh.

The plot

This is what lost me the most. Good lord.

Tatum gets a misdemeanor charge and 100 hours of community service when her best friend and her best friend’s delinquent boyfriend got in her car after he stole more than $3,000 in stuff from a store. I literally cannot comprehend how anyone would charge Tatum with anything (especially noting that Ashlyn, her best friend, had ALL of her charges dropped) considering she was just in a damn car when this shoplifter she didn’t even know that well climbed in… and even more than that, I cannot comprehend how her parents thought she was irresponsible and had made a dangerous decision by not telling them that her best friend’s boyfriend was sketchy? For god’s sake. I’m not a parent, so I can’t say this for sure, but I find that pretty ridiculous.

Ashlyn is punishing Tatum and won’t speak to her — OK, Ashlyn, pretty sure no one told you to date a sketchy guy who you met at a convenience store and dropped out of school, especially not Tatum — and Tatum’s stepmother sets some pretty strict guidelines on where Tatum can go and when. It’s intense, but that part I get — it makes perfect sense for Belen’s character. But Tatum is trying to 1) make money from her new graphic design business, 2) make new friends, 3) rebuild her relationship with Ashlyn, 4) finish her community service, and she’s constantly acting like those restrictions from her stepmother are absolutely unrealistic and out of the ordinary and cruel. Considering how Belen is described the entire time, I wasn’t surprised at all — sounds about right to me. And Tatum, who lives with the woman, should know that better than me. It doesn’t even sound like Tatum has anything better to do than be on house arrest, anyway.

And there is the very small thing of… NOTHING HAPPENED. There was no climax to this plot. I don’t think so, anyway. Nothing happened. Tatum finally ‘fessed up to her parents about her graphic design business and everything else (which really amounted to a whole lot of nothing) and Tilly told them she was passionate about contemporary dance and the book ended. Boom.

Snore.

So, there’s that.

Also, I spent the entire book wondering – what does this title have to do with the actual book? What started with goodbye? Did I totally miss something?

3.5 stars

It Started with Goodbye was a story about a teenager who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and had no one who’d listen to her. I have to say, I found that last part incredibly frustrating. Tatum was a good girl, but her parents wouldn’t give her the benefit of the doubt or listen to her when she tried to tell them she was looking out for her friend. She could have handled the situation with her friends less than stellar boyfriend better, but it wasn’t like there was a teenage handbook for that kind of situation. Her parents were heavy handed with the punishment, and it was terrible that after she was essentially ‘sentenced,’ her father left for eight weeks on a business trip. It wouldn’t have been so bad, but he left Tatum with her step-mother, who she had an already tenuous relationship with. And on top of that, I think it was unfair to his wife to put the burden of enforcing punishment on her. Having said that, those things didn’t make me dislike the story, because I think they were realistic.

One thing I really appreciated about this story was that even though we only got Tatum’s point of view, I didn’t feel like her step-mother, Belén, was always the bad guy. The author did a good job of capturing the sometimes over-dramatic reactions of a teenager, and while I didn’t always agree with Belén’s decisions, I could see why she went the way she did. I really enjoyed the progression of the relationships in this story, particularly with Tatum and her step-sister, Tilly. And I liked that even though Tatum was sentenced to community service, she wasn’t bitter about it. She knew that what she was doing was helpful and took pride in that fact. There was also a cute romantic aspect to this story that didn’t overshadow the bigger picture of Tatum coming to terms with the way she treated people. I liked the mystery and the reveal surrounding it, and the meet-cute was adorable. I do like it when a story explores the talents of a character (though Tilly’s may have been exploited a bit,) because I think we all have something we’re talented at. That Tatum was able to use hers not only to make a little bit of money but as the one thing she had to hold onto while she was being punished was a good message. There’s always a healthy outlet available if we’ll just take the time to explore it. And the valedictions - I loved Tatum’s preoccupation with valedictions!

I do think that everything in this book was resolved in a smack you in the face kind of way and could have used some subtlety, especially abuela, who was brought in as a fairy godmother of sorts. I prefer my YA to have a few loose ends, because I think that’s how life is. It was just too neat of a package for me. Having said that, I found myself finishing It Started with Goodbye with a big, cheesy grin on my face, and very much enjoyed Tatum’s story.

Lots of love,
Angie Elle ;)

It Started with Goodbye is a modern contemporary YA spin on Cinderella, though a bit darker, and much lighter on the romance (sorry Prince Charming). There is humor and heart and friends and lots and lots of feelings. So if anything sounds like it is up your alley... read on!

Our story centers around 16-year-old Tatum, who gets falsely accused of shoplifting and has to spend her summer in house-arrest and doing community service. First off, Tatum is a very likable character. There are many true to life moments as she has her interior monologues and arguments with herself about what valediction to use as she closes letters. If you overthink small decisions, you will find her relatable. Of course Tatum is also into doing freelance graphic design, so that is even more relatable to me.

It is also important to note that this, as many re-tellings are, is inspired by Cinderella but it is not a reimagining that follows every detail. Yes, there is a step-mother and a step-sister, but the father (who turned out to be the most annoying of the characters for me) is still in the picture. Like so many well-loved contemporaries, Tatum has to find confidence in herself, which isn't something I had really considered in a Cinderella before... again, very relatable.

While this book will be good for fans of Cinderella re-tellings, it is also a good for when you need a contemporary YA fix. Very enjoyable debut novel.

Thank you to NetGalley, Blink/Harper Collins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changed my opinion of the book.

This modern day contemporary Cinderella tale is a delightful fun read!! Super charming and sweet! Well written with an inspiring story about family, friendships and self-discovery. If you love YA definitely give this one a try.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.
This was probably my favorite YA contemporary of the year. It was great! The storyline wasn't the best, but I really enjoyed the characters. They felt real and were so simple. I really enjoyed it!

Teens who have made a bad decision and had to face consequences, will relate to Tatum. It covers a variety of relationships from friends to parents to boyfriends.

This feel-good Cinderella story is a light, quick read with a good message. I have to admit I almost gave up half-way through. Even though it's well-written and the characters are well-rounded, it is predictable. Which isn't always a bad thing. If you're in the mood for a dependable story, and one you won't have to think about too much, then this might do the trick. However, when you have a stack of books just like it filling up your to-read list, you might find yourself ready to move on.

DNF

Mini review:

I received this E-ARC via Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was looking forward to reading this. But when I started it I couldn't stand the MC's parents. It was so stupid how they were being hard on her for no reason and yet Ashlynn didn't get held accountable. I felt that it was just used as a plot device.

Do not recommend.