Goodbye Days (Crown/Random House) (2017)
One day Carver Briggs had it all—three best friends, a supportive family, and a reputation as a talented writer at his high school, Nashville Academy for the Arts.
The next day he lost it all—when he sent a simple text to his friend Mars, right before he, Eli, and Blake were killed in a car crash.
Now, Carver can’t stop blaming himself for the accident and he’s not the only one. Eli’s twin sister is trying to freeze him out of school with her death-ray stare. Even worse, Mars’s father, a powerful judge, pressures the district attorney to open a criminal investigation into Carver’s actions.
Luckily, Carver has some unexpected allies: Eli’s girlfriend, the only person to stand by him at school; Dr. Mendez, his new therapist; and Blake’s grandmother, who asks Carver to spend a Goodbye Day with her to share their memories and say a proper goodbye to his friend.
Soon the other families are asking for a Goodbye Day with Carver—but he’s unsure of their motives. Will they all be able to make peace with their losses, or will these Goodbye Days bring Carver one step closer to a complete breakdown or even worse, prison?
Written in his lyrical and clear-eyed style, Jeff Zentner’s Goodbye Days is a gorgeous, heartbreaking, and ultimately life-affirming meditation on grief and forgiveness.
–Nicola Yoon, author of #1 New York Times bestseller The Sun is Also a Star
One of the most stunningly heartfelt, lump-in-your-throat novels I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. Hold on to your heart: this book will wreck you, fix you, and most definitely change you.
–Becky Albertalli, author of Morris Award winner Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Tender, honest, moving, and lyrical. His characters live and breathe. Ahh, lucky me. Lucky us. Zentner is the real thing.
–Benjamin Alire Sáenz, winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction and Printz Honor Winner
Racial tensions, spoiled reputations, and broken homes all play roles in an often raw meditation on grief and the futility of entertaining what-ifs when faced with awful, irreversible events.
–Publishers Weekly (starred)
Zentner does an excellent job in creating empathetic characters, especially his protagonist Carver, a budding writer whose first-person account of his plight is artful evidence of his talent…an absorbing effort with emotional and psychological integrity.
–Booklist (starred)
[A] gorgeous, devastating YA novel, Jeff Zentner (The Serpent King) explores the tormented inner life of a teenager in crisis…exquisite and tragic.
–Shelf Awareness (starred)
Zentner is yanking heartstrings here in this painful but compelling narrative…the kind of intelligent, intense, and life-affirming tale that will resonate with teens seeking depth and honesty…Hand this to readers looking to explore the somber and complex realities of life, especially responsibility, fractured relationships, and the butterfly effect of consequences.
–School Library Journal
[A] novel full of wisdom…[a] fine cautionary tale and journey toward wisdom, poignant and realistic.
–Kirkus
[M]asterful.
–Teen Vogue
One of Cosmopolitan’s “100 Best YA Books Everyone Should Read, Regardless of Their Age”
Winner of the Keystone State Book Award
Nominated for the Carnegie Medal
Longlisted for the UKLA Award
Longlisted for the Southern Book Prize
An ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults Top Ten pick
A Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book
A Teen Choice Award nominee
A Whitney Award finalist
An AML YA Book Award winner
A Keystone State Literacy Association Award Winner
An Indie Next pick
An Oklahoma Sequoyah Masterlist pick
An Illinois Lincoln Award nominee
A North Carolina Young Adult Book Award Nominee
A Missouri Association of School Librarians Readers Award finalist
A Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award nominee
A Louisiana Teen Readers’ Choice nominee
A Texas Library Association TAYSHA pick
A Florida Teen Reads pick
A Goodreads Choice Award Semifinalist
An Epic Reads Shimmy Award Semifinalist
A Publishers Weekly Noteworthy Second Novel of 2017
A Paste Magazine Top 10 Most Anticipated YA Novel for 2017
A Barnes and Noble Most Anticipated Sophomore YA Novel for 2017
A PopCrush Most Anticipated YA Novel for March 2017