This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. I wasn’t really sure how I was going to feel about this book because it is not my usual preferred genre, but right from the start, I was intrigued. The characters are slightly broken and extremely relatable. I ran the gamut of emotions and fell in love. I hope you do, too.

I am in love with Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candace Ganger. This story blew me away, and went beyond my expectations.

This story is about grief, forgiveness, and understanding what you yourself can be capable of when you become open to it. Naima has moved to the town that her father is from, where her grandparents currently reside. You see, her father was her hero but also a fallen Marine. She has a complex case of OCD and GAD, and the sudden death of her father has not helped her any. I connected to her on such a deep level, I still cannot fathom it. She’s hurt and can’t grieve, because she’s so angry. Her family was always broken, but her stepmother and her grandparents can never replace the importance of her dad.

Dew has my heart. I haven’t met a character like him before, and he definitely stands out. He’s pure and innocent, but with this great big heart. I loved getting to know him as an individual, but also as a son and a brother. His story is similar and also one of grief. His story made me cry most, but I don’t know if it was because of the sorrow or if it was because of the hope of healing.

This story isn’t a love story. There isn’t a romance or anything like that. But it’s a story of liking one’s self. It’s a story of trusting in the process of healing. And above all, it’s a story of forgiveness of the things that are out of your control.

*Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Six Goodbyes We Never Said, written by Candace Granger, is officially on sale. I received this book from the publisher, Wednesday Books, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells the stories of two teenagers, Naima and Andrew, who both lost their parents. They each deal with this trauma in different ways. While this is already hard on them, they both also suffer from mental illness. Their stories deal with hard topics that are not always understood or well perceived in our world.

I struggled to write this review because I’m honestly torn between different feelings. I want to applaud the author for writing about such important topics. I felt that the mental illnesses were well described, but in all honesty, I have limited experience in that area and so cannot comment more on that part.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Andrew. He is a lovable character that goes through loss, teenage issues, and so much more. At times, I wanted to protect him, and other times, I simply wanted to hang out with him. I really enjoyed getting to know him and his family.

Most of the book, though, was about Naima. Unfortunately, I did not connect with her as much. I understand that she was angry, but I felt like she was extremely rude to everyone around her for no valid reason, and that bothered me to no end. I felt that her arc probably took up too much time in the story, which made the book feel slow.

One thing I found really unique about this book was the format that made it easy to know who was speaking at any given time. I also enjoyed how the author used the writing to depict each character’s state of mind. I wish I could give the book more than three stars, but overall, this book was not for me. Even so, I want to applaud the author for tackling such difficult topics, and I hope to see much more from her.

I love how real this book felt. It deals with the topic of mental illness and dealing with it (specifically OCD, PTSD, and anxiety), and is told in such a genuine and realistic way. I really love this book and highly recommend it! Definitely one of my favorites.

Different books impact their readers in different ways; and each book impacts its readers in different ways as well. But some books have at least one (universal) appeal or a singular impact on their readers; and I do feel that this book is one such. The Book: Six Goodbyes We Never Said. The Impact: Tugging at heartstrings.

My Thoughts
Reviewer’s (well, my) Note
This review is a day later than intended. For one, I started reading it later than planned; and while I thought I could read it at break-neck speed, this is not a book you can read quickly. It makes you pause, think, remember, and more. And for another, it was a tough review to write. This version here is my third-ish attempt.

The Book Review Itself
This book is kind of an ode for those who suffer from issues discussed in the book, including PTSD, OCD, and social anxiety. As I read it, it made me feel:
– feel empathy for those who have issues like OCD; feel sympathy for and want to reach out to those with PTSD and social anxiety; and simply feel for all of us who have gone through grief at the loss of loved ones sometime in our lives.

What I loved about it:
Naima’s unsent emails in response to her dad’s voicemails (because she never picked up when he called): These conversations (well, sort of, because they ..) are poignant (so much so) and remind you of things left unsaid that SHOULD have been said; because, you know ‘Life is Short’ so make it matter.
Naima’s ‘would you rathers’ that make you ponder, and want to make you pause and keep reading all at the same time. And her side notes that made me smile every once in a while.
Violet’s silver linings peppered all along the book that perk your spirits
Dew’s recordings and neologisms (adorbville for one) that made me smile more often than not.
In addition, this is a book that celebrates family and friendship. I love that it does not automatically dissolve/evolve(?) a friendship between a boy and a girl into romance. I enjoyed watching the relationship between Dew and his foster sister, Faith, evolve from something beautiful into something more beautiful. As a parent, I loved even more the portrayal of every single parental figure in the book. That certainly lifted my spirits.
The dual POV format of the book, which took a while for me to get into, but once I did, I realized the book’s format is just right.
The way the book embraces quirkiness…
Characters that are real – kind, mean, weird, quirky, normal, those wearing their ‘souls on the outside’ and those hiding their hurts ‘in a suit of gleeful’, and everything in between; characters dealing with real issues and real life in real ways.
And yes, Faith, Stella, JJ, Thomas, Kam, Nell, PS the flytrap, Hiccup the Pekingese, and essentially all the other characters who find their way into this book.
This is a #ownvoices book; and it shows.

What might have made it even better:
More Nell..(For those yet to read the book, Nell is Naima’s stepmother and I ached for her)
Lyrics to the songs Dew refers to (by August Moon…)!
That is all…can’t think of anything else

Other Random Thoughts:
I highlighted and bookmarked so many lines in this book that I had to stop doing it at one point.
The pauses I mentioned earlier in the book were oftentimes because I recalled my dad who passed away last November, and I know how tough it is to say goodbye (especially when it has not been said)
While I do know that people respond to issues that they face differently, including grief, Ganger shows that difference in a stark yet real way with the main characters of Dew and Naima.

Quotes I loved (well, only a fraction of them):
“Hope never leaves us – we’re the ones who abandon it.”
“Kindness matters. Not only when it is hard – especially when it is.”
‘…. – maybe the thing we’re all in search of is right in front of us.’
‘Would you rather listen to something that will break you, or always wonder what words may have been?’
‘…..Dad……, even when I felt like the most invisible thing in any room, he saw me.’
‘Everyone needs that person. The one who sees you stuck between the minute and the hour hands of your most painful moments, and reaches out for you.’

In Summary
As I mentioned at the beginning, I feel this book will tug at the heartstrings of everyone who reads it. It might be a hard read for some because of the issues it deals with or for others because of the way it is written with its dual POV and dipping back and forth in time; but it is regardless a read that will, well, tug at your heartstrings ALL THE WAY…

Rating: 5/5
Reading Level: 14 years and above

I love when a book catches my attention with either the cover or description but I am not really ready for the gem it truly is. I was presented with an opportunity to read an early copy of this story, it caught my attention and I immediately signed up.
WOW! I don't know exactly what I was expecting but I didn't realize how much it would hit home to me. I worked with kids for a couple years in the mental health field so this story really did pull at my heart strings.
I loved the way Ms. Ganger told this story it is unique and really captured my attention. And she will definitely tap into your emotions and really grab onto you. I will forever carry this story with me. This story is ABSOLUTELY a must read and make sure you have tissues within reach.

Ultimately, I think I’m a little in the middle about how I feel about this book. Six Goodbyes We Never Said is my first novel of Candace Ganger so I went into this book without any expectations.

Overall, I found her writing to be really good. Especially since she had characters who were constantly going through realistic obstacles and anxieties. I could have used a little more description to add to the story and to help a reader who doesn’t know firsthand what it’s really like to have OCD or to process losing your parents, getting adopted, and moving. Descriptions were there, I just think there could have been a just a little more. One thing that I did really like were the emails, voicemails, and recordings from each of Naima and Dew; I found it gave some uniqueness to the story.

I found this story to be more character driven, however, I think there was some potential to make the book a little more plot driven that was missed and therefore made the book a little slow; it took me about a month to read.

I didn’t exactly love Naima or Dew. I don’t know exactly what it was. Sometimes I found their quirks enjoyable. Sometimes I found it to be too much. However, I don’t hold that against the story too much as I think that was the point. Overall, I think this book is an important one for the YA genre.

All of the feels - every single last one of them can be felt in the pages of this book! It's is amazing just how many uncovered feelings one can posses and feel within these pages. I recommend everyone read this and start conversations about mental health everywhere!

Two recently orphaned teenagers in a smallish town in Indiana are connected before they’ve even met. But when they do it’s because Dew, for the first time since he met Ray Rodriguez, accidentally spies on the girl next door, Naima, daughter of Ray staying with Ray’s parents for the summer. Their parallels go further than their shared familial misfortunes and heartbreak. They’re also both medicated and in therapy for varying levels of anxiety and OCD. Naima is also depressed and attempted suicide a year earlier. Her father, following her hospitalization promised to he’d leave the military and that his next tour would be his last. It was, but he didn’t make it back to be with his daughter. So Naima was left with her stepmother to whom she doles out hell in order to show an affection she otherwise hides, and struggles to accept her father now “lives” in an urn her grandparents refuse to move from a chair at the kitchen table. Dew has heard fables of Naima from Ray while he served coffee to him the summer before when Ray was caring for Naima through her recovery and, in the style he hopes to employ on air one day as a reporter/weatherman, Dew observes Naima, hoping to connect over their grief.

The cute easy way the characters interacted with each other reminded me quite a bit of Emergency Contact or Everything Everything, maybe even To All the Boys I Loved Before, but with less humor, so maybe Eleanor and Park or the Fault in Our Stars— OH, and Forgive Me Leonard Peacock, for sure— are more apt comparisons, but 6 Goodbyes did provoke several laughs. Despite the tough subjects I hope teens pick up this book and learn how universal hardship is and despite the difficulty in moving on from something as astronomical as losing both parents before their 18th birthday, life is worth living and there are people out there who understand what they’re going to, and those people may not always be adults but they will be just as important to their growth and well-being.

This book does have triggers for mental health related to PTSD, OCD, grieving, and identity. If any of these topics are sensitive to you, please be cautious in picking this book up.

With that being said, I think this was a well-written story encompassing a girl’s journey with mental health. It’s a touching plot that grabs you in for a ride when the main character’s father passes away overseas. She’s a military brat (AKA growing up in a military household) struggling with the hardships of him being away from home.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. I think it’s the perfect end-of-summer read for fans of strong, YA mental health contemporaries. It’s one of those books that will leave you thinking and analyzing your own life in the process. The book overall is a little slower to get through, but I feel like it’s more related to the density of the content rather than boredom.

I think it is very important to read the Author’s Note PRIOR to starting the book just because it gives you a clearer background into the author’s storytelling process.

Mental health, what does it mean? Is it a big issue, a small one? Is it real or tall tales? Even in this present enlightened day, despite awareness efforts and campaigns, a large majority still don’t place as much importance to it as they should. In small countries, mental disorders aren’t viewed as genuine or real or worse—they are viewed as a bid for attention. The people with these disorders are seen as being difficult. What so-called “normal people” don’t understand is those with disorders are actually having a difficult time.

Mental health is a fact. It’s a reality. It’s the emotional, psychological and social well-being of a person. It’s all about how we feel and think and what affects our thoughts and emotions. Depression, anxiety, stress, bipolar disorders—they’re facts and ongoing, merciless wars, fought every day, leaving you with fresh wounds over old battle scars.

Six Goodbyes We Never Said is the story of two teenagers, Naima and Dew, who have both lost their parents in difficult circumstances and are trying to find a way to cope past the depression and anxiety, the guilt and loss, the pain and the 3 a.m. irrational thoughts.

Naima’s mother died at her birth and her father was a soldier who sacrificed himself for others, whereas Dew lost his parents in a car accident and is now living with foster parents in a new town. Whose grief is harder? Being reminded of what you lost every day, like Naima or starting anew like Dew? Grief is grief and both are faced with reminders every day, both trying to find coping mechanisms to deal with their loss. I think for teens it’s harder with all the volatile emotions that are difficult to master.

This was a hard book to read, not because it wasn’t a good one but because I could recognize myself in so many of the issues Naima and Dew dealt with, the fight to push past the downward spiral that threatens to drag you down and bury you. The unexpected sprinkles of humor added a lightness here and there, showing that life went on. It’s a book worth reading, and I hope, with the patience and understanding it deserves.

I was really intrigued when I first got the offer to read the early copy of this book. Reading its synopsis, I knew this story is going to be challenging and hard-hitting. Six Goodbyes We Never Said started with a genuine note from the author herself, Candace, explaining why she wrote this story in the first place. Candace also used this note to include a list of potential trigger warnings. I really appreciated this gesture of her and hence, from its very first page, Six Goodbyes We Never Said feels incredibly raw, blatant, and sincere.

There were so many important issues that highlighted throughout this story. The representation of multiple mental illnesses, bi-racial characters, body positivity, feminism, and the truth of adopting and getting adopted (which is something that I rarely read, but perhaps it’s just my lack of reading). A lot of these issues are already heavy on their own, and I must applaud Candace to combine them all into a single story.

As much as I’m aware how important this book is, not just for the readers but also for the author herself, it seems like I couldn’t manage to fully devour into this universe of Naima and Dew due to its formatting and writing style. It started confusing, especially during the first 10% of the book. I had no idea who’s POV that I was reading since there was no title with POV’s name like how a dual POV story usually was written. Instead, there were one of the POV’s names used as a chapter title and mid-way through the chapter, there will be a voicemail transcript, email drafts, and a recorder transcript from other character and that’s how I’d know that the POV is changing. Although I wouldn’t complaint so much since Candace was amazing at making differences between these two characters and how contrast they sounded.

And lastly, something that bothers me ‘til the end of the story is Naima’s attitude. After reading so many thoughts of her and her perspective in life, I was hoping that at the end, I’ll be able to relate to her emotions or grasp her reasons in making certain decisions. But sadly, it didn’t happen even until I finished this book. I have so many unanswered questions about her. I completely understand that she was suffering from anxiety, OCD, and PTSD but I still don’t understand her aggressive behaviors towards others, even to those who don’t mean harm to her. I’m also still questioning about the history of six tappings, six flickings, six balloons, and basically six everything that Naima used to calm herself as I believe there was no explanation on how it originally started in the first place.

Six Goodbyes We Never Said was a complex story coming from a talented #OwnVoice author. It explores many important topics which need to be discussed more in today’s literature and highlights the truth behind each one gracefully.

Thank you Wednesday Books (Sarah!) for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Title: Six Goodbyes We Never Said
Author: Candace Ganger
Genre: YA
Rating: 4.2 out of 5

Naima Rodriguez is aware she’s not like other people: between her OCD, her GAD, and her PTSD, she’s juggling the entire alphabet of things that make it hard for her to interact with other people. Especially without her dad, a fallen Marine, around to be her buffer and understand all her little quirks, like separating the marshmallows from her Lucky Charms into six—and only six—bags. Her dad understood her, but no one else does, and Naima doesn’t really care.

Dew hasn’t really death with the deaths of his parents and his anxiety—both social and not—makes it hard for him to interact with others, so he uses his trusty voice recorder to filter his observations. But when he finally meets Naima, he understands that helping someone else might end up being the very thing he needs to heal himself.

Six Goodbyes We Never Said wasn’t an easy book to read. Both Naima and Dew have things going on that make their lives harder and sharper than other people’s. They’ve both experienced unthinkable loss, and they feel broken. But sometimes only another broken person can truly understand. The characters are vibrant, although Naima’s jagged edges make her a difficult character to sympathize with at times. She knows she’s hurting other people, but she does it anyway, and that’s not easy to read.

Candace Ganger is an author, a contributing writer to HelloGiggles, and a marathoner. Six Goodbyes We Never Said is her new novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)

I would love to read this book. However, after a few pages in, I realized that mentally I’m not ready to read this. I didn’t realize it was going to be so emotionally touching. I lost my dad a few years ago and the wound is still fresh. My husband has lost friends in the military oversees so that is a factor as well.

I’m hoping I can wait a few months to collect my thoughts and try again. At that time I hope to relish in this book and give it a great review!

Thank you for the opportunity! I hope to update my review soon!

I found Six Goodbyes We Never Said immensely tense, fascinating, and relatable. This book takes you for a walk in the shoes of two teenagers trying to get through life while coping with anxiety, grief, and food allergies. I’ve never read a book from this point of view and I must say, it’s refreshing to know we are not alone. We are a family with food allergies and find it difficult navigating while trying to have a social life. It had me crying at times and others laughing until it hurt. This has become a favorite and will be added to my books to read for comfort. I sincerely hope you read and enjoy this.
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I received an advanced copy. All opinions & statements above are all my own.

Candace Granger is new to me and I since I was invited to read and review this book I couldn't say no. I rarely read YA, so I say that this book is only for certain people. Because at the beginning I had high hopes that I would enjoy this book. But I didn't hate or truly enjoy it. It was just okay.

The upside of that is the parts that I did actually like. There are moments spread out through the book, that a lot of people would love.

The heroine of the story is a girl with extreme anxiety and OCD issues. After her father passes away, she not only struggles with that but her own emotional state. The hero, Dew, yep that's his name is having trouble coping with the loss of both of his parents. That's about the ONLY thing they have in common.

I don't know who I would say I connected with more. Because I am not totally sure I connected well with either of them. I did, however connect with their grief as I have lost both of parents, I know very well how much it can take a toll on not only your emotion capability but mental.

That's something that can sneak up on you and stay inside forever without you ever really noticing, because you're stuck in that one space in time. The guilt you may have, the sorrow showing its ugly head.

The moments between the voicemails and unsent emails between Naima and her father were the books strengths. Dew's parts of the book weren't especially entertaining. Some chapters felt choppy but the soul or meat of the book is the topics covered.

Grief and anxiety.

Recommend for people wanting to explore those subjects.

ARC generously provided by Netgalley and St. Martins Press

Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candace Ganger is a story about love and loss. This book is a little hard to review because I love it and dislike it all at the same time. I really love that the author tackled some tough subjects that we don't get to see very often in the young adult book community. It was so easy to feel for these characters and the issues that they were dealing with. Ganger did a great job writing these two main characters. These characters really had their own voices which I really enjoyed and the writing was so unique. I loved the emails and the voicemails that we got to see in the book as well.

The rest of the story fell very flat for me. I felt like the book was very boring at times. As much as this book talks about love and loss, there wasn't any romance to the story. I felt a like jipped there. The story was just so slow. I felt like it took forever for anything to truly actually happen. This book just wasn't the book for me. I think it has some fantastic parts and I love the real world issues that the story deals with. I just wish it had a bit more umph to the story.

I adored Six Goodbyes We Never Said! It is full of #ownvoices representation, emotional scenes, and growth. The writing was beautiful, and I enjoyed every page.

#ownvoices books have begun to appear more and more often on bookshelves, and I couldn’t be happier. For those unfamiliar with #ownvoices, it was “created by Corinne Duyvis to highlight books that are written by an author that shares a marginalized identity with the protagonist” (Bookriot). In Six Goodbyes We Never Said, Naima has complex OCD and GAD and Dew has social anxiety, all of which Ganger has. From the beginning, it is clear to see the influence that these disorders have on the characters.

“...so I can properly pinch my toes between them.
Tap my nose. Tap my nose. Tap my nose.
Tap my nose. Tap my nose.
Tap my nose.
Click my tongue. Click my tongue. Click my tongue.
Click my tongue. Click my tongue.
Click my tongue.
Flick my thumbnail. Flick my thumbnail. Flick my thumbnail.
Flick my thumbnail. Flick my thumbnail.
Flick my thumbnail.
Flick.
Flick.
Flick.
FLICK.”

As someone without these disorders, I was able to understand better what someone’s life could be like with complex OCD and GAD. And that’s one of the beauties of #ownvoices: to help others further understand different marginalized identities. Mentions of Naima’s tics also remain constant throughout the book. The mention of the tics are at the beginning, middle, and end; they don’t just disappear after the first couple of chapters.

What I appreciated in Six Goodbyes We Never Said is that the MCs' goal isn’t to be in a relationship. Okay, I take that back. Honestly, Dew had a stalker-like obsession with Naima for a good half of the book. It was quite creepy. But, it does get better, thankfully. Like the book’s description says it “is no love story. If you ask Naima, it’s not even a like story.” While I still love a bit of romance in contemporary books, I value more the characters and their own personal struggles and triumphs.

The book was also an emotional rollercoaster for me. I will admit that I do tend to get super attached to characters, so maybe that’s the reason why I went through so many emotions. But there were moments where I felt myself tear up, mainly when Naima is reflecting on her father and all the things she wishes she did differently. There were some heart-warming scenes and moments where I laughed a bit. It is a story about grief, so the characters, of course, are struggling to make sense of life without their parent(s). I noticed the underlying theme of the MCs’ sorrow throughout the entire book, and how it only somewhat began to decrease as the story continued.

Another aspect that I adored was all of the growth throughout the story. It was hard to notice at first, but by the time I finished the book, it was apparent. There was also a lot of healing and acceptance. In the story, both MCs have lost their parent(s) and are dealing with raw grief. The growth moment that made me say “awwww” the most was near the end when Dew is with his foster sister Faith. There is such a sweet moment between the two, and my heart was so happy! Throughout the book, Faith had trouble fitting in and for her to feel confident in her own skin made me incredibly happy. There’s another scene with Naima and someone else that warmed my heart. It was evident that it made Naima somewhat uncomfortable, but she still did it because she recognized how important the other person was. Naima and Dew had a relationship like that in “Since You’ve Been Gone.” In that book, the MC’s friend leaves her a list of tasks/dares so the MC can get out of her comfort zone. Dew and Naima work together to heal and conquer their smaller fears, which was impressive to watch.

I only had one or two small issues with the story. One is more of an annoyance at a character and the other one is more about the side characters. In the story, Dew suddenly loses his parents. In the parts with Dew’s perspective, he often likes to quote people, especially his parents. I imagine that this is a character choice and one of Dew’s way to handle grief, but it did get really repetitive at points. I don’t think it is an issue, rather more of a slight annoyance. The main problem, which still isn’t too much of a problem, is that the side characters felt underdeveloped. I felt as if I wasn’t able to connect with them even though they were the MCs’ parents and friends and co-workers. I know that they aren’t the point of the story, but I would have maybe enjoyed learning more about Dew’s adoptive parents and why they wanted to adopt him.

To conclude, I couldn’t recommend Six Goodbyes We Never Said more! The writing was smooth and easy to read, and I appreciated the #ownvoices representation. It is so essential to have #ownvoices stories like this so others can better understand what living with some of these disorders is like. One of my favorite parts of the book was watching the characters grow. It was so interesting to watch how they began to heal from the tragities and learn to adapt. There were small annoyances for me at points, but they didn't effect the story too much. I would highly recommend this book!

Naima finds her own solution!

Naima Rodriguez has always had a lot of tics and mental problems trying to deal with everything but when her father was killed in Afghanistan made a bad situation even worse for her. Naima wanted to remember her dad the way he was but she had been so angry with him that she wouldn’t answer his phone calls or texts and never replied and now she didn’t how to deal with it now he was gone. Dew Brickman had been adopted after his parents had died in a car accidents but he was having problems fitting in so his parents gave him a voice recorder to help record his feelings.

At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about Six Goodbyes We Never Said but the farther I got into the story it made me realize how grief is something each person deals with a little differently and Naima is grieving differently than Dew but they both find out to make a new normal for themselves and come out the other side a much stronger people.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hand it to a teen who has just finished Turtles All the Way Down and is looking for more. A mirror and a door into mental illness.