When I first started this book, I wasn't sure about it. I didn't like the first encounter we had with Tatum, but then as the story progressed I started to enjoy her and wanted to know more about her.

The story clearly has some Cinderella influences. It was interesting seeing the dynamic between all of the characters. Especially, Tatum and Blanche. I think Blanche was my favorite.

I loved the way that SK and Tate interacted with each other through their email corespondences.

I have to say this book was an easy five stars and I wouldn't mind reading more from Christina June.

Sweet, swoony and cute. I really liked Tatum and Tilly and Tilly's abuela (can she be mine too?). I haven't read a lot of fairy tale retellings, but I loved how It Started with Goodbye was done. Just enough Cinderella in it to see where it's going, but not so much that I don't feel like I'm reading anything different. I enjoyed watching Tatum and Tilly become friends and work things out and also how Tatum begun to see how her actions have consequences.

I wish there was more of the things with Ashlyn. I wanted to know more about their friendship and how they were going to fix things. I also wish that the ending hadn't wrapped up so quickly, but I did love how it ended. Mystery guy for the win. :)

So many Cinderella stories, oi vey! However, this one has spatterings of the classic, but still unique enough to be interesting. Definitely a great book for middle grades and even high school, I am quite sure it will be a crowd pleaser for many, especially those who know Northern Virginia and can picture exactly what park needs trimming, the parking lot at Dulles, or going to a music concert in the Plains.
A young girl is banished by her stepmother to her room over the summer for a wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time incident. Her only solace is starting up a clandestine graphic design business (thank you, fairy Godmother). She also has to do some community service where she meets some new friends and discovers some growing up realizations herself. In library world, it's called bildungsroman. Seriously there is a word for that- I didn't make it up.
Despite the predictable and somewhat simplistic story, it is a great book for people to read to get a new perspective of someone else's shoes. You can never go wrong with that theme.

This book was such a wonderful surprise! I was expecting a cute romanic story but it was so much more than that. Actually, the romance wasn't the main focus at all, family and inner strength were. I think that's what made me fall in love with it! Plus, it's a modern version of Cinderella, a fairytale I absolutely love.

The book is about a girl (Tatum) who is falsely accused of committing a crime. This sends her life in a direction she wasn't prepared for and strains her relationship with her family who claim that they can't trust her anymore. So, when not completing her community service, she works on her covert graphic design business which she uses to raise money to pay off her fine.

I loved Tatum! She's what I love seeing in female characters. Tatum's strong, independent and willing to work hard. My heart went out to her from the very first chapter. She's blamed for committing a crime her best friend was participated in! How she dealt with it was both realistic, honest, funny and at times heartbreaking. I particularly enjoyed how the incident changed her relationships with those around her. Like in Cinderella, she wasn't close with her step-mother or step-sister. But how things developed added a nice twist to the traditional story and one that I smiled a lot at while reading.

I cannot recommend this enough! If you have enjoyed books by Kasie West or Jennifer E. Smith then this story is definitely for you!

16-year-old Tatum Elsea is not having the best start to her summer. Her bestie's skeezy boyfriend shoplifted $300+ worth of merchandise with the two ladies around, meaning all three of them were arrested. After offering her testimony in exchange for a less-harsh sentence, her BFF isn't talking to her and Tatum is under house arrest. When her traditional summer babysitting gig falls through, Tatum is prepared to do nothing but suffer community service and the company of her terrible stepmother. Things cannot get worse.

The way this book started out was a bit of a dud for me. I struggled to believe that Tatum would be charged with grand larceny in this situation. I also couldn't understand why her stepmother, Belén, and her father were so unbelievably hard on her. No one was having real conversations with her, they were only looking down on her and holding a hard line. From the perspective of a Cinderella re-telling that made sense, I guess. But from a realism perspective it didn't.

But Tatum's character was incredibly realistic. I can relate to the terrible feelings and poor self-esteem that Tatum is going through in It Started with Goodbye. 16-year-old me would have been bestie's with this girl. She is vocal, strong, knows what she wants-- and yet she is constantly questioning herself, her personal worth, and her future. This is a perfect 16-year-old.

I adored watching the relationships between Tatum and the people in her life mature throughout this book. Tilly and Abby's relationships were my personal favorites. It was fun watching Tatum come into who she wants to be with friendships, family, and her future career aspiration. In retrospect, Blanche, Tatum's step-grandmother didn't really develop much as a character, but with her fairy-godmother status, I didn't mind.

A cute, quirky, and modern take on Cinderella, I strongly recommend this to any fan of contemporary YA and romance.

Christina June swept me off my feet with It Started With Goodbye! Like the original tale, there is an adorable romance but the heart of this story centers around family and friendships which made it a refreshing YA contemporary read!

We meet our main character, Tatum, as she is getting caught in a crime. It’s all about her being in the wrong place at the wrong time because she’s far from a criminal. I easily fell in love with this book because the characters felt so real. It was like a breath of fresh air to read Tatum’s story. The aftermath of the crime leaves her completely isolated since her family doesn’t believe she had no involvement.

Everyone has been in a situation that caused us to be misunderstood and lose the people we love’s trust. Even when Tatum was a little uncertain of herself because of this she never quit fighting. There are moments when she wonders what the point even is in trying, but after crying it out, she keeps going. That’s where her strength came from and why I adored her.

As the story progresses, we learn more about her family. Her stepmother and stepsister play important roles and I enjoyed their family dynamic so much. I thought I knew where this story would go since it’s inspired by Cinderella, but there was so much more to this story than what was in the original tale. It Started With Goodbye is its own while keeping fun aspects of Cinderella woven throughout.

Honestly, in most contemporaries, I feel as if the love interest plays too big of a role when it concerns family drama, but this book’s heart was always family. The love interest didn’t help her see things from a new perspective, although there are certainly a few adorable moments between the two! Tatum’s personal journey alone was what kept me reading until four in the morning.

I enjoyed the great set of diverse characters that help play in Tatum’s life. My favorite was her step-grandmother, though! She brought a lot out of Tatum by challenging her thoughts concerning her goals and relationships. Also, when they immigrated from Chile she renamed herself Blanche after The Golden Girls. If that’s not awesome then I don’t know what is.

The story wraps up in a beautiful way! Christina June’s writing is absolutely wonderful and I’m looking forward to reading whatever she writes next! We’ve all felt abandoned at least once in our life and reading Tatum’s story will help anyone feel less alone. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Cinderella or enjoys contemporaries! It’s on sale May 9th so make sure to pick up your copy then!

It Started With Goodbye is a touching story about a girl who is falsely accused of a crime and tries to strengthen her relationship with her stepmother and stepsister. I loved the main character’s independence and the focus on family and friendship instead of romance. Fans of authors like Sarah Design will definitely enjoy this book!

This book is kind of like a modern version of Cinderella. Tatum is falsely accused of a crime that her best friend helped commit and is placed under house arrest by her strict stepmother. She must earn $500 by the end of the summer to pay her fine, so she decides to start a graphic design business to keep her busy when she’s not doing community service. I loved the use of emails in the book and the mystery identity of a certain client named S.K. If you like your contemporaries a little more on the serious side with less of a focus on romance, you will enjoy It Started With Goodbye.

I loved Tatum’s character in the novel. I felt so frustrated just reading about her sentence for a crime that she didn’t even commit. Despite all this, she still stays strong and agrees to work hard for forgiveness. Tatum is also an avid graphic designer, which I found really interesting. I loved the fact that she is able to become an entrepreneur at such a young age because of her talent. Strong and independent female characters are my favourite, so Tatum really hit the bullseye for me.

One of my favourite aspects of It Started With Goodbye is the strong focus on family and friendship. Tatum doesn’t have the best relationship with her stepmother and stepsister, but she really bonds with them throughout the book. It was so touching to see her prim and proper stepsister open up to her. Tatum also spends a lot of time trying to connect with her friend (the one who assisted in committing the crime), who has been shipped off to a boarding school. Romance isn’t the priority in this book, which I really enjoyed. We need more YA books like this one, about friends and family.

It Started With Goodbye is a modernized version of Cinderella with a main character who is strong and self-reliant. The focus on family and friendship is really touching, and much better than a story all about romance. Definitely pick this story up this summer!

It Started with Goodbye by Christina June is a recommended YA retake on the story of Cinderella.

Tatum Elsea (TLC) is sixteen and about to experience a horrible summer. After Tatum unwittingly acted as a getaway driver for her best friend Ashlyn and Ashlyn's boyfriend, she's been charged with a misdemeanor. She has to pay a $500 fine and perform 100 hours of community service. To make things worse, her strict and intolerant stepmom along with her perfect stepsister are the ones in charge of her "house arrest" as her father is going to be away on business. When her stepgrandmother/fairy godmother arrives, it is a blessing. Tatum is secretly starting a graphic design business, TLC Design during this summer of reflection and growth.

This is a feel good story where the characters make dramatic changes rather quickly and the plot is very predictable. but it is all for the happy ending that you know will be coming because it is a Cinderella story. It is also quite decidedly a young adult novel. As an adult reader there were parts that made little to no sense and annoyed the heck out of me, but I am definitely not the target audience here. I would take this down to a younger teen audience (grade 8 for sure) as older teens or adults who like YA fiction are likely going to also have a few issues with the novel.

The writing is fine and there is some progression with the plot. Suspend disbelief for a few parts and just go with the flow to appreciate this light, fun novel for younger YA readers. (I really love the cover more than the book.)

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Blink.

http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2017/05/it-started-with-goodbye.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1990416042

Tatum Elsea is not looking forward to summer. Accused of a crime—falsely—she’s under house-arrest with her less-than-loving stepmother while her father is out of the country. Tate is only allowed to be at home and her court-ordered community service, unless her stepmother approves it. Like that’s going to happen. So, Tatum starts a secret graphic design business, which leads to an email flirtation with a cello-playing client.

With her feisty step-grandmother in town, Tate starts to realize that maybe her way isn’t the only way, and soon she learns she’s not the only one in the family keeping secrets. Will Tate be able to use her new perspective to fix her relationship with her best friend and turn her family around? Then there’s the cello player…

I finished reading It Started with Goodbye in less than 24 hours. This is a fun, light read, but it delves into some deeper issues, like taking responsibility for your actions, healing relationships, and honesty. Tate grows a lot through the course of the book, and the author captures her growing pains vividly and emotionally, letting the reader see through Tate’s eyes and experience that awakening along with her. I loved how Tate’s relationship with her stepmother and stepsister evolved, and her step-grandmother is perfect; feisty and fun but not irresponsible. The email exchanges with the cello player are a cute finishing touch.

If you like young adult books, I highly recommend this one. It deals with some deep topics and isn’t just a fluffy romance.

(Galley provided by Blink via NetGalley.)

I need to start this stating I really liked this story overall. I consider it a 3.5.

Tatum has suffered a hard blow, thanks to her friend's bad choices, she now has to do community service, she's grounded with her stepmother checking the odometer on her car, and said friend isn't speaking to her anymore. It's in the middle of this that she finds hope for a new start—her own design company. But she needs to hide this if she doesn't want helicopter stepmother to block her way again.

This is also one more story of romance arising from an exchange of anonymous exchange of messages, this year it seems to be all I'm reading.

The book is a quick, enjoyable read. But the happenings were unnerving. Tatum is like your classic romantic heroine, who keeps receiving unfair treatment as if it were the right thing. Despite my Master's degree in Criminal Law, I still don't understand why she had to pay with community service. Really, what the hell? And her stepmother was so out of the line, that was borderline-criminal. And for some reason, the morale in the story was that she was right in her own way? That Tatum is the responsible? Blame the victim, and soon parents will be throwing their naughty children out windows. Oh, wait.

With all that said, I think the book is excellent for a group discussion. I'm not a parent, so maybe that's why I think the conclusion was all wrong, I'd love to learn how actual parents would feel. Especially since Tatum had her flaws, and her stepmother wasn't entirely out of line either. The plot is very interesting to reflect over.

There is also romance and this part is cute. Unfortunately, it wasn't the focus. The two basically talk only through e-mails and they are not that many because Tatum has just too much else going on. And as I'm on the topic, the author was successful in balancing each topic in Tatum's nightmare. I got a feel from each of the side characters and all of the issues seemed solved by the end with no rush.It really seemed impossible to me in the beginning as I saw the problems escalate.

As I said in the opening of the review, I liked the book a lot. To a point I even liked the flaws because it made me reflect for myself, instead of trusting the author to tell me what was right. Because there is some generational conflict I'm sure not only teenagers but also parents may enjoy reading it. This is the kind of YA that easily crosses target audience.

3.5 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't realize going into this that it was a Cinderella retelling. So at the beginning, I kind of struggled with the legal trouble that Tatum ended up in - it just didn't seem quite realistic, nor did her father/step-mother's response. But looking back and thinking of it more in line with Cinderella, I guess this was needed to set up the story.

I did enjoy how Tatum's character grew throughout the novel, as well as how her relationships with those around her developed. The writing made for a quick, easy read, and it is likely to be enjoyed by early- to mid-teens. The romance is fairly predictable, but I did like that it started with Tatum enjoying the personality (through emails) before the physical attraction.

Overall, a good book for early teens, and anyone looking for a really light, easy read. A decent debut YA book.

This was a fun read. Its supposed to be a modern take on the Cinderella story but I didn't really catch that until I read it somewhere else. Navigating family life and still trying to maintain a social life while being on house arrest isn't easy but Tatum seems to achieve it. Tatum's character was spot on and very realistic, she isn't perfect and she discovers that no one really is, that everyone has flaws and baggage and it is sometimes necessary to look through someone else's eyes at a situation.

Joy really navigates the complexities of a blended family, changing friendships, and young love with ease and insight. The characters had depth and you could really feel the emotions. I enjoyed Tatum's stream of consciousness regarding closing valedictions, and the way her playful prince charming would come up with new ones to impress her. By the end of the book I even had good feelings about Tatum's sister and Step-mother. Overall this is a great retelling of a classic fairytale.

What a great refreshing little book. I cant believe this was a debut. The author did a great job had me hooked from page 1. Retelling of Cinderella type YA novel.
I love Tate and S.K. will make you swoon.

My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

***4 Stars!!!***

It Started With Goodbye was such a beautiful, heartwarming story! Inspired by the fairytale Cinderella, It Started With Goodbye told the story of a young girl named Tatum, and her summer living under "house arrest."

Her "evil stepmother," Belén, set rules and standards for Tatum that she often felt were unfair and even impossible. I absolutely loved Belén and seeing Tatum start to understand her was a wonderful thing. With the help of her "fairy godmother," aka step grandmother, Tatum was able to see Belén in a new light, and view things from Belén's point of view.

Tatum was an absolutely loveable character. She was strong, independent, sarcastic, goofy, and a little nerdy, and it was such a joy to be in her head! She spends her summer doing community service and she also secretly starts her own graphic design business. Tatum begins exchanging emails with one of her clients, SK, and their back and forth banter is so adorable!

Tatum also is able to mend her relationship with her "evil stepsister," Tilly. The two quickly become thick as thieves, and the whole experience is very eye-opening for Tatum. She truly does a lot of growing up during her summer and is able to start fresh with some rocky relationships.

This was such an enjoyable read and I would highly recommend it to everyone! You won't be disappointed!!

This was adorable and fun but also had those important heart felt moments. I honestly enjoyed every moment. I loved the characters. They draw you in and make you care for them so easily. The story is interesting and keeps you reading. There's moments where things happen a little to easily but it didn't bother me much. I still wanted to keep reading and see what happened. When a book can keep you smiling through out its a good story.

I have read way to many Cinderella retellings lately but hey can't stop won't stop! I love them. It Started with Goodbye is a sort of Cinderella story with a great modernizing twist. Most of the retellings is normal everyday girl meets famous boy. With this though it is normal girl meet normal boy so I really enjoyed that aspect of it.

While this was a great fluffy read it was extremely predictable so that knocks a few points off for me. SK being who was was very obvious from the moment you meet said person. Still the romance was very cute. Another different twist was this was more about her relationships with family and friends than the romance with SK. That was a cool refreshing twist.

The book did hit a few slow spots that left me with moments of putting it down and stepping away. I did feel like everything started happening at the very end and would have liked it all to happen a little more so we could see her relationships with everyone develop.

All in all this is a great book for teens. For me it was a good super fluffy read. 3.5 stars.

Favorite quote
"People say there's a fine line between pleasure and pain, and that was exactly the message this cello was sending out. Even though the sadness was undeniable, there was also an underlying sensuality, a slow-burning passion reaching out, begging for the listener to hear the want, the need."

This book wrecked me. It inspired me. It moved me. It gave me all the feels...

I absolutely loved it.

Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night (which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client). When Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the housekeeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-Abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way

It may not be the most obvious re-telling and I don't know whether it was meant to be a re-telling, but It Starts With Goodbye comes across as a cinderella story re-telling. With the step-mother and step-sister who don't seem to respect or like Tate, the piles of work that Tate seems to find herself in, and then the grandmother who acts like the fairy godmother. I think it's because it wasn't the most obvious re-telling that I really enjoyed it. I don't like straight up re-tellings because everything seems a bit obvious, but when it's re-tellings such as The Lunar Chronicles, Hunted or Spindle Fire that are re-tellings with massive twists, then I'm all for them. (Jeez... ignore the number of times I said 're-tellings' in that paragraph. I didn't know another word for it!)

Another thing that I absolutely loved about this book was that Tate was into graphic design. I love it when the protagonists have a really interesting hobby. I love graphic designing so when I read Tate designing websites for people or business cards and logos, I was in my element and I loved reading about her doing it for other people and seeing her make money by doing what she loves.





"Scalding my skin, they dripped down my cheeks silently. I cried for the girl whose voice remained unheard, who did her best to be good but didn't always get it right. I cried for the girl constantly trying to forge a connection, to find someone who took her at face value and didn't ask her to be something she wasn't. I cried for the doors that had closed and cried for the ones that might never open. I cried out of want, out of thirst for something nameless, my heart beating itself into a frenzy, my body completely boneless beneath the sheets, now heated and damp."

- Christina June, It Started With Goodbye




The characters were also so well-written! I thought Bélen was incredibly three-dimensional and I loved how we got to learn more about her from Blanche; it added so many layers to the character and makes you think about the different ways that you can take someone's actions or words. There is also some diversity that can be found within the book. Tatum's stepmom and step-grandmother are immigrants from Chile (which is a place that I never really see mentioned in YA), her stepsister is half Chilean/half white, and SK is half Irish/half Kenyan and the son of immigrants. These diverse secondary characters added a whole other element of the story; it made it different. And the diverseness of the book didn't seem forced, which I absolutely loved.

This book takes you on an incredible journey of self-discovery, friendship and family, and finding out that doing what makes you happy is always the best thing to do. It teaches you to put the past behind you and forgive, to see someone else's point of view without judging, and to always hold onto the ones that you love most.

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Released 9th May

This was so cute and fun! I absolutely loved every character in this book and it was so refreshing to have a YA contemporary not be 100% about insta-love but also about relationships in a family and friendships. Tatum was so real and lovable, I wish I never had to stop reading!

2.5 stars, bumped it up to 3.

This one was just ok for me. Too predictable for my liking, but hey, it was a nice quick read that I am sure romance lovers will adore. I'll still get it for the library.

It Started with Goodbye is a pleasant read. I have no doubt that the YA audience will eat this up like chocolate! It strikes all the right chords for teens - relationship issues with family and friends, self-doubt, crushes, romance, growth. Those naming this a modern day Cinderella story are spot on, but it was a bit too saccharine for me. Nevertheless, an impressive debut for Ms. June.

Many thanks to Netgalley and publisher Blink/Harper Collins for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book.