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.

Naima and Dew are two teens each struggling with the loss and grief of their parents. Also, each suffers from a mental health issue. While I liked the characters, I felt the story moved slowly and wasn’t able to connect as much as I would have liked.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

Gorgeously written. Ganger has a great grasp of perspective here--the dual POV is clear, distinct, and engrossing. The novel draws two deeply complex and, at times, very difficult characters. Heartfelt OwnVoices rep and some very difficult topics handled with grace.

My only wish is that those wonderful characters inhabited a book with a little more story. I never got the sense of the shape of the plot, and probably could have skimmed the middle section. At times, it felt like two characters just wandering around until the page count was up.

Mini-review to come (based on those paragraphs) to accompany Q&A for blog tour.

Losing a loved one is never easy, especially if you’re holding onto guilt. This was a good story about finding new friends you can lean on and learning to say goodbye. I wanted to like this one more but it was a bit slow unfortunately.

This book is about two teenagers who have to face tragedies. And they have to struggle with the consequences. Dew has social anxiety. And Naima has some disorders combined: OCD(obsessive - compulsive disorder), GAD
( generalized anxiety disorder), PTSD(post-traumatic stress disorder).
I thought that this book would be ideal to hear those voices that we don't usually listen to. But, unfortunately, I couldn't connect with the story. I liked the characters. And they did help me to understand a little bit better.
The problem was the pace of the story. It was that slow... I couldn't even finish it. And it doesn't happen to me that much. Sorry.

This was a strong and powerful #ownvoices novel that I'm very glad was offered to me by Wednesday Books.

The representation in this novel is unreal. Bi-racial latinix characters, a bi/pan main character with OCD, GCD, PTSD and depression, and another main character with social anxiety.

While I don't suffer from the same mental illnesses as Dew and Naima do, I found these characters to be very relatable. We all have our own personal issues, each manifesting from different experiences, and how we deal with them is often unique. Naima takes control of her life by counting seconds, separating marshmallows from Lucky Charms cereal, and needing to do things in 6. Dew dives into his favourite music and hides behind his tape recorder, speaking in and through it at times.

Likewise, their grief is something I know everyone can relate to. It strikes every person at some point in their life, and processing it is harder for some. Both Naima and Dew are desperate to figure out who they are, and what it means to be them when the biggest parts of their lives are taken from them. For Naima, that was her father, who was killed in action. Was she the cause of his leaving, and how is she supposed to carry on as she has been? For Dew, he lost both his parents in a car accident and now has a new family. I liked reading how these two revolved around each other, pushing towards and away from the help and friendship they can offer each other.

My problem with this book was it wasn't engaging. It was emotional, yes, but it did not draw me in and leave me dying whenever I put it down. There was very little plot aside from Naima and Dew going through the motions of their day-to-day life in Ivy Springs. I was tempted to DNF several times, and now that I've finished I realize I could have skimmed 75% of the book without really missing anything.

Looking forward to participating in the blog tour with an author Q+A.

There is a lot to like about this book. Both the main characters are truly broken people- and for good reason. Their ways of dealing with their individual losses are very different, and I really appreciated this because everyone deals with things in their own ways.

I just wish the two character voices were more distinctive. Because they were both grieving for lost parents and dealing with complex mental health issues, it was difficult to know who we were following section to section. It got easier toward the end once we knew all the supporting characters and who was important in whose life, but early on, I became confused.

It was also difficult to actually like Naima. I feel like this was intentional, but it's difficult to get into a story when you really wish the MC would fall into a ditch so you didn't need to listen to her whining for a while.

That said, I think the portrayals of the various different coping mechanisms and quirks each of the characters had were very realistic. I also really liked that the adult characters around these broken people let them be themselves and find their own ways to deal with their various issues. They were all supportive and present and loving, but didn't go over the top in trying to 'cure' the kids in their care.

So while I didn't love this one, I did like aspects of it.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read it before release.

This book was a story about grief and finding yourself after something happens that you and the moments of moving on.
I enjoyed this book and really enjoyed the little snippets of past phone calls and emails plus watching different friendships and how grief spreads out and affects different people

This book ended up giving me a lot of different feelings and not always great ones. I grew frustrated with the characters, didn’t always like them, wanted to yell at them, for me though I like books that can invoke those feelings

However there was something missing, the side characters need more to help add to the movement of the story the plot was kinda confusing

I think it’s a super interesting concept and I loved all the diversity in it.