When a shopping trip with her best friend and best friend’s boyfriend ends in an arrest for shoplifting, Tatum tries to convince her parents of her innocence. But instead of understanding that Tatum did nothing wrong, that it was all the creepy boyfriend’s fault, Tatum’s dad leaves her under the strict rule of her stepmother. Yay for summer house arrest.

As part of her punishment, Tatum works community service, where a friend challenges her to start her own business doing graphic design. As Tatum explores the possibility, she meets a charming boy looking for a website, and learns she and her stepsister may have something in common after all.

I liked spunky Tatum and the charming and mysterious boy she communicates with via email. The way the relationship unfolded drew me even further into the story. I liked that she ends up with a community of friends around her. I also liked the exploration of the relationship between Tatum and her stepmother. As a member of a blended family, I felt like that relationship read pretty true. Though she eventually comes to respect her stepmom, Tatum is pretty rude at different points in the story. She does regret her behavior later.

I thought it was cool to feature a character with interest in graphic design, especially one as entrepreneurial as Tatum. It added an interesting flavor to the story. Overall, this is a clean book and a light read. Fans of A Week of Mondays by Jessica Brody will appreciate Tatum’s quirkiness and wild attempts to fix things. The story might also appeal to readers who enjoyed That’s Not Hay in My Hair by Juliette Turner.

Sixteen year old Tatum is sure that this is going to be the worst summer of her life, stuck on house-arrest after being falsely accused of a crime (again). All she wanted was an afternoon out with her best friend, Ashlyn. Who knew that Ashlyn's delinquent boyfriend would come along and ruin it for everyone? Now Tatum's in trouble and stuck at home with her untrusting stepmonster all summer. Good thing her sympathetic and feisty abuela is coming in town for the summer to "help keep an eye on her".

What to do with all this newfound free time when she's not performing community service cutting down invasive plants in the heat? How about trading emails with a cute client of her covert graphic design business? With an ocean between them, it seems like the perfect opportunity to throw caution to the wind and let him know who she really is without fear of rejection. But over the course of the summer, Tatum will learn that sometimes going after what you want means breaking all the rules. How do you balance going after what you want with mending relationships and making other people happy?

This was a fantastic debut. I really loved this book and it is a true summer YA book. It's a quick read, the characters are great and well-fleshed out, and the story is very captivating. I would absolutely recommend this book and would love to read anything else written by this author.

It Started with Goodbye is CUTE! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I love that its a modern take on the Cinderella fairy tale. However, I felt like it was lacking a bit in terms of depth.

Don't get me wrong, this is a wonderful story that has a some awesome characters. WHO HAVE FUN HOBBIES. AND A CUTE SHIP. I just kept expecting there to be some greater level of meaning at some point, but there wasn't. That's okay, though. Here's a list of the things I loved about It Started with Goodbye:

The Hobbies!

Tatum, our main character, is a graphic designer! How awesome is that?! I feel like most books that I read have characters with pretty typical hobbies (like journaling, writing, photography). Which isn't bad, but it gets repetitive. So the hobbies in It Started with Goodbye were refreshing and exciting. Tatum's stepsister, Tilly, (who is NOT ugly or evil, by the way) loves dancing. And June actually goes into detail at times to give us some insight into that aspect of her life. And the cute boy who Tatum is emailing? He's a musician!

Family Dynamics!

OKAY! So first let me say that Tatum's parents are SUPER annoying throughout 75% of the book. But they mean well, so we can forgive them. Maybe it's just me and my personal experiences, but I felt like her parents were unrealistically strict and completely misunderstood the situation that Tatum was in.

I mean, sure, Tatum could have been in much worse danger because she allowed her best friend to bring her sketchy boyfriend along with them, but they were punishing Tatum for what could've happened instead of what actually happened. Which is really unfair. They could have found alternative ways to teach her that lesson. Besides, we as readers know that Tatum understands the lesson and acknowledges what she did wrong. Which made her parents' reactions so much more annoying. They all just needed to communicate better.

BUT, as the book comes to its turning point Tatum becomes closer to her stepsister and step-grandmother. And she begins to understand and value her stepmother's decisions as ones that are well-intended, although sometimes unbearable. It Started with Goodbye really highlights the importance of understanding, communicating, and appreciating your family, no matter what. I loved that.

Blanche!
Tatum's Step-Grandmother loves the Golden Girls!

Blanche is the fairy godmother in this Cinderella modernization, but she deserved MUCH more of a role than she got, I think. She was absolutely the best character in the book, yet I felt like she a bit underdeveloped as a character. Like she was a plot device to get Tatum's story where it needed to go. But it didn't feel completely authentic.

However, the parts we do get with Blanche are a thousand times better simply because she's in it. She has sass, but, like, classy sass. If that's a thing.

Overall?

This book is a wonderful take on the Cinderella story, but it's a bit more than just a retelling, too. Some parts of the story felt lacking (particularly Blanche's development) and the plot felt a bit unrealistic at times. But it is a fairy tale spin, so how realistic should it be?

The relationships in this book are lovely and will make you smile. This is a cute, fast summer read that really emphasizes the importance of friends and family!

★★★★

<blockquote><span style="color: #000000;"><b>"I cried for the girl constantly trying to force a connection, to find someone who took her at face value and didn't ask her to be something she wasn't. cried out for the doors that had closed and cried for the ones that might never open.."</b></span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #000000;">I didn't even know this was a retelling! Come to think of it, while I was reading the book I have this bubble of thought that says <i>'Gosh she's so much like Cinderella with what's happening to her lol' </i>I love how Christina June got a lot of the books scenarios and character attitudes from the original Cinderella and modernized it but not in a way that it will lost the FEELS of the original story.</span>

<span style="color: #000000;"><b>What I love about ISWG is that it's not a love story. But it's full of love. It's romantic. It's swoony. And most importantly, it's full of heart.</b> It started With Goodbye starts with our main character having the baddest day of her life and I like that. Because it just says that everything happens for a reason and bad things happening are actually a sign that GREAT things are ahead. Which is what happened with Tatums story. And <b>Christina June made such a readable story with a relatable set of characters.</b> Tatum is quirky, sweet, funny and authentic. She's not perfect. You'll scratch your head by some of her actions sometimes but that is the most wonderful part of reading a story, right? Getting affected by the characters actions that you're connected with them. Now, I'm not sure if I'm the only one who felt this way but Tate's parents are the only characters who I didn't like much (her father is present here unlike from the original and she also has a stepmother) but I guess the author really designed them that way. The important thing though was that they helped a lot with Tatums character development.</span>

<span style="color: #000000;"><b>The book has a lovestory as well that will also make you think of the original Cinderella. I don't want to tell here how they met (hella cute), how did their love story progressed (swooooony) and what happened to their lovestory. You need to read the story for that, but one thing I can tell you is that even though the romance is not the highlight of the book, you won't stop talking and thinking about it (like what I'm doing right now) just because it was done beautifully. </b>There are a lot of winning relationships that is also part of the book such as friendships and family relationship. I specifically love the bond of Tatum and her abuela which is so delightfully sweet.</span>

<span style="color: #000000;">My rating is missing one star because ISWG started slow for me but despite of that, I would still recommend this book for contemporary lovers like me. <b>It Started With Goodbye is well written and full of charm that will just touch your heartstrings. The characters are authentic and the story will make you believe that you could be a Tatum as well who is still lovable and fearless despite the unfortunate circumstances surrounding her.</b></span>

After getting in trouble while just trying to look out for her best friend, Tatum finds her summer plans are not looking too good.

When I saw that this book was a Cinderella retelling, I expected it to center completely around the romance with her 'prince'.

Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the plot centered more around relationships with family and friends and learning to better understand others and yourself. It was refreshing to find that while there was a step mother, step sister, and crush-worthy guy, they were not just one-dimensional characters.

Tatum starts to take ownership of her feelings and actions as the book progressed and I think that's something that most teenagers learn to do. It felt very realistic. I do wish there had been more to her and her step mom's interactions, but I really enjoyed the growth of her relationship with her step sister Tilly.

I completely adored IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE. Tatum was such a compelling character, and the secondary characters were all so fully-formed and equally complex. I read for characters, primarily, so it had me hooked from the beginning. There is a lot to love here, and not a lot of romance, which is a surprise given its prevalence in YA and especially YA contemporary. But it's a nice departure and leaves for more space for other conflicts and developments. Take this one to the beach, the park, wherever, and just curl up with a good book.

4 stars

A short fun summer read. Main character Tatum is fun and sassy and is a refreshingly relatable protagonist. This was a charming romance story that will have you swooning.

For a more in-depth review watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFzBe...

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Tatum summer plans just got derailed. Tatum was the unwilling get away driver for her friends shoplifting adventure. Tatum is now sentenced to a summer of community service and parent inflicted house arrest. But then Tatum starts a graphic design business that helps her make new friends and maybe find romance.

This book was just cute and fluffy. At the most basic level this is a retelling of Cinderella with a charming modern spin.

It was so hard to adult while I was reading this book! All I wanted to do was read! I fell in love with the characters and found the story so very easy to relate to.

Let's talk about the MC. Tate is a very strong and very stressed teenager. Like most teenage girls, she sees the world around her only through her filter. She has a difficult time looking outside of herself to the way the world affects those around her. She is definitely oblivious to the effects that her choices have on others. The best part of her character, however, is that she overcomes all of these things. She grows in a way that we hope most teenagers do. I would LOVE to share this book with my students as the bildungsroman motif is one that they are currently living out.

Additionally, Tate's relationship with SK was so very organic! I loved that it grew and matured in a very realistic way instead of them being just thrown together. It was a reminder that love can develop in some of the most unlikely ways.

Lastly, I ADORED the way that June approached the Cinderella tale. I think she did a wonderful job of including all of the mystical parts while still keeping the story very true to life. Did real magic happen? No. Did it seem like magic to Tate and Tilly? You better believe it! The prince was perfect and the keychain was a wonderful alternative to the glass slipper! June promises her readers a wonderful tale and what she delivered was more magical than I had truly expected.

*I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was an interesting read. I feel the first line really sparks that interest in the book and brings you in. There is a little cinderella theme, but I wouldn't call it a re-telling. I think it really brought up that we need to look at situations from multiple angles to understand how other people react or feel.
I definitely think, I wouldn't forgive the step-mom because she was very harsh and pretty much made her daughters feel they had to be #1, but they kinda explained how Tate may have misunderstood?? Definitely some tearjerker moments.
Another part I really liked was how the romance was not the main part of this story -- it was growing into being a better person, building friendships, and getting a start on life.

BUT, there were boring parts or 'mediocre moments, I could have done without. The climax wasn't even that disastrous... I honestly didn't realize it was the climax until... well, the end? So it just seemed like things magically got better on their own perhaps because of how Tate's mind frame changed?

Anyhow, I did enjoy reading it and I read it quite quickly. I recommend this to people who like reading contemporary, but perhaps don't want to drown in romance.

This book might have been a little too mature for my students but it was a cute book. It was a cute take on a modern cinderella story. I enjoyed the book.

I enjoyed the writing style of this book and appreciated the clearness of this book. I would definitely recommend this book for my 13 year old daughter. For me, it was just a story with a theme that I've perhaps read too many times. It was predictable, but I did enjoy the characters and story line. Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of this YA novel.

Honestly, I wasn’t a massive fan of this book. It was publicized as a Cinderella retelling, but I didn’t really see it. The beginning of the plot seemed very outlandish, I cannot imagine Tatum would have been charged with grand larceny for her role in the crime. Her parents seemed unreasonably harsh, though I guess that fit with the Cinderella theme. As the book went on, Tatum’s stepmother became less strict, but I felt like June leaned too heavily on the retelling of Cinderella. I think it would have been better without that.

The book was fast-paced and a quick read. I appreciated that it wasn’t heavily focused on romance, though the twist at the end could be seen from a mile away and it felt like insta-love. The main characters were fairly well developed. There were some funny lines, which I appreciated. It’s difficult to write a character that is suffering under perceived strict parents without having that character read as bratty and insufferable and I think that was handled well.

Overall, this book was fairly cute and I would recommend it to fans of fairy tale retellings.

It Started With Goodbye is a charming, modern adaptation of Cinderella. When sixteen-year-old Tatum finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, she ends up arrested and sentenced to a summer of community service and a hefty fine. Shortly thereafter her father leaves on a business trip, leaving poor Tatum alone with her overbearing and impossible-to-please stepmother and her perfect step-sister, Tilly.

Worst. Summer. Ever.

Or is it?

Despite being forced into manual labor and iced out by her bff, Tatum finds new friends and learns a lot about her family, friendships, and herself over the summer. With the encouragement of her “fairy godmother” (aka her stepmother’s mom), she starts a secret online design business. And begins flirting online with a client, her very own prince charming.

I loved the dialogue in this book. I would love to hang out with Tatum. I loved all of the characters actually, I thought they were very well rounded. The “evil stepmother” wasn’t really evil, she always meant well and just didn’t see eye to eye with Tatum. Neither of them communicated with each other very well. I loved the “fairy godmother”, she was a real gem, offering just the right advice when Tatum needed it. I even loved Tilly, the step-sister—the perfect daughter—who Tatum comes to realize maybe isn’t all that bad after all.

I’m not sure this is a book that will stay with me forever, but I truly enjoyed this story and the characters and would absolutely recommend it for fans of young adult fiction, and especially modern fairy tale retellings.

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!