I don't read a lot of YA anymore but I really liked this one and will look out for future books by Christina June. Even though I'm in my 30s I could relate to the feelings - and I definitely loved the modern Cinderella retelling.

The beginning of this book was a little slow for me. It was called the "Cinderella of YA" which I completely understood from the first chapter. The stepmother gave me the "evil stepmother" vibes immediately.

There were some things that I found unbelievable. I didn't understand how Tatum was found guilty of grand larceny. It seemed kind of unrealistic that it would happen like that. I also didn't understand how mean and hard Tatum's dad and stepmother were on her. I understand kind of about the stepmom, however, I feel like no one was allowing her to get her word in edgewise.

I will say that I really enjoyed the characters. I think Tatum was a great character who was extremely relatable. At 16 years old, you know exactly how she's feeling. I would want to be her friend back then.

I think ultimately, this is a good YA novel that is not anything life-changing. I appreciated the story and could relate to the friendship and family in this book.

This was a very quick easy read. Perfect for summer.
The characters felt very real and raw at times. Something I imagine many people with step parents can relate to.
I don't know how I feel about everything being somewhat perfect at the end. It's nice but maybe I expected something else. I don't know why.

This was such a sweet book. It was a fast read and thoroughly enjoyable. One of the things I really liked was how relatable the characters and their conflicts were. It's a quiet book that resonates.

this book appeals to my pre-teen Sarah Dessen-loving heart. It truly is a modern day Cinderella with a twist. A fun read for young adults and adults alike.

Meh. Fluffy, kind of boring, and predictable. Also, all the deception was killing me inside. Not a fan, unfortunately. :(

This book was adorable and swoony and gave me all the good feels. The characters were fantastic and the Cinderella retelling near perfect. I loved every little thing about it.

This was a cute take on the story of Cinderella which I am not really a fan of but this had a bit of a contemporary twist which made it a bit more enjoyable.

I thought it was a fantastic book especially considering its a debut. The story did feel a bit predictable but that's maybe down to it being a retelling.

I am working through and clearing out my list of galleys and unfortunately not interested in reading this any more.

Such a cute story! I loved this one from the beginning to end and recommended it to many customers. The characters had a great arc and the ending didn't feel rushed. Everything from the cover to the flow of the book to the characters was everything I was hoping it'd be. Definitely would read it again.

I loved reading this cute take on Cinderella! I am a fan of fairy tale re-tellings with a contemporary twist. I liked spotting all the small little connections in it. On top of everything else I enjoyed the plot and characters to make this a wonderful book.

This is a sweet little gem of a novel that's a unique twist on Cinderella. While I didn't absolutely LOVE it, I think that this is a very solid debut novel. At times, the story felt predictable (maybe this is unavoidable in retellings sometimes...??) but I did enjoy reading it. I truly applaud June for covering some tough topics while keeping the story light at the same time. I think this will be especially successful with young readers who love contemporaries.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blink/HaperCollins for the review copy!

I unfortunately was not able to read this book before the archive date. Someday I hope to read and review it for my blog. I will give a 5 star review on here so that I don't mess with it's rating.

Such an incredible debut! The story was authentic and the characters were all relatable. Everything about this book screamed, THIS IS REAL LIFE! It was a cute book all around with well-developed characters that reminded me of some of my friends growing up.

Another take on Cinderella. Not a bad story, I am sure young adults are going to enjoy it. It's a fairly straight forward tale, quick and easy for summer. Find a shady spot and enjoy!

SUCH a fantastic debut. There is so much to love about this book: an authentic, realistic plot, conflicts you'll relate to, and a main character you'll wish you were friends with in real life. Plus, there's lots of humor and heart, and I adore a book that can make me laugh and make me think. Tatum's voice is fantastic and so spot-on. Teen me wouldn't have been able to put this one down, and adult me couldn't either!

Tatum is your classic Cinderella—young, oppressed by her step-family, punished wrongly for something she didn't do—but she has a few things Cinderella didn't have in the original fairy tale. Her present-day world is filled with electronic connections to friends, her dad is still alive, and she has a support system around her if she only realizes how many people are willing to be there for her. I loved the slow realization that the "stepmonster" wasn't so bad after all. In a way, this is more of an anti-Cinderella story because yes, there's a handsome dude involved, but Tatum's family relationships are all much improved by the end of the novel and she doesn't need to escape from then with said handsome dude. I will say, this story is a bit predictable in that you can see some of the twists coming and everything does end up okay, but I didn't mind that at all. This novel was fun and enjoyable to read, so I liked it anyways and definitely recommend this as a summer vacation read. Tatum's story will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy in the way only a Cinderella story can!

It Started With Goodbye is pretty great debut novel all things considered, I had some problems with it - the fact that I didn't like Tatum all that much for the most part and couldn't really connect to any of the relationships - but it was still really enjoyable and light book to read.

Thank you to netgalley and Blink for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows Tatum, who in an unfortunate chain of events she has managed to be arrested for a crime she didn't commit and charged with community service. She's lost her only friend and is stuck in house arrest with the step mother she doesn't like. She does however get on with her Abuela and decides to start a graphic design company. In doing so she starts to exchange emails with someone and begins to fall for them.

I'm going to be honest: I have very little recognition of this novel. I remember liking it at the time but I don't remember much of the plot or what I thought about it. And that's partly because I didn't take any notes but it seems to be a theme in reviews I read to remind myself.

I remember liking this book, enjoying the story but it was nothing new. It was a kind of Cinderella retelling that felt like it didn't bring anything fresh to the table. As I'm writing this I have just finished reading Geekerella by Ashley Poston and this was a Cinderella retelling that was different and was fresh and it's hard not to compare the two.

I think if you haven't read many Cinderella retellings or watched them then hey you might like this more than I did. And don't get me wrong I thought this book was fine, it just wasn't anything to write home about, clearly, as I have forgotten it.

It started with good bye

I really tried to get into this book. I just couldn't it wasn't for me. YA maybe