Jeff Zentner. Jeff? Zentner? If these names ring any bells, that’s because they belong to the author of Into the Wild Light, another book reviewed on our blog. Zentner has yet again produced a masterpiece of a book with Goodbye Days. This book is centered around a high schooler named Carver Blade who has recently just lost all 3 of his best friends –Eli, Blake, and Mars– to a car accident. But that’s not all. Carver, as well some of the parents of his deceased best friends, blame him for their deaths since he sent a text message shortly before the car crash occurred to which one of his friends, Mars (the driver), was supposedly responding to while driving. This book, simply put, tells the tale of Carver dealing and learning to manage the guilt and his mental state following this tragic accident, and it’s very much a bittersweet combo of heartwarming and painful.
I’d dare to say that Goodbye Days is probably the closest you’re going to get to an actual rollercoaster of emotions. At first, you mostly feel empathy and sadness for Carver and his grief, but then you’ll get a couple of funny moments throughout the book where Carver is reliving the fun times he spent with his friends. In addition to that, you’ll find yourself worrying immensely for Carver throughout the book, especially as the District Attorney decides to pursue criminal charges against him on the behalf of Judge Marshall, and even a mixture of disgust and sympathy as he develops feelings toward the girlfriend of one of his deceased friends (Eli’s).
Furthermore, I noticed this with Into the Wild Light, but this book just confirmed it: Zentner is especially talented when it comes to the craft of creating genuine and believable characters. From their diction to the small gestures and reactions they have in conversations with others, each and every character feels like someone you could actually meet on the street or in public. The dialogue also feels… so flowy. One sentence just connects with the other so smoothly that you don’t even notice that you’ve read a handful of pages until you look up from your book.
Near the opening of the book, I found myself mostly on Carver’s side and feeling mostly that the tragic accident wasn’t his fault since Mars should have known better than to check his phone while driving, maybe instead checking it while stopping at a traffic light or handing his phone off to Eli or Blake, who were also in the car but not driving it obviously. However, later on, Carver confesses to his lawyer and his kindly therapist that he knew it was likely that Mars was driving the car and still texted Mars rather than Eli or Blake anyway because he knew that Mars would be the quickest to respond. With this new information, I thought to myself that my previous argument still stood of how Mars should have known better than to text while driving, but then again, Carver was aware of Mars’s impulse to respond to texts quickly. This left me utterly conflicted, which I disliked at the time but in retrospect, now appreciate. I believe that one way a book can be strong is by not giving its audience –its readers— a clear-cut answer on what position to take; where’s the fun in that?
Throughout the book, Carver, under the encouragement of his therapist, decides to do what he calls “goodbye days” for each of his best friends (hence the title). He feels an increased sense of closure from one, a lot of jealousy (tied to his feelings for Eli’s girlfriend) from another, and huge amounts of wrath from the third. So mostly not good at first, but something that will improve for Carver over time. Goodbye Days beautifully explores the ups and downs of Carver’s recovery and spins it into not just a believable but more importantly, moving story.
To be honest, some parts of this book were a bit uncomfortable to read, especially the part where Carver confesses his feelings for Jesmyn, Eli’s girlfriend, after spending a lot of time together with her in recovery from grief, and when things quickly turn ugly after. However, this is keeping true to reality, as I’m sure such things can and have happened. I’m not sure if this part or aspect of the book was completely necessary, but it would make readers feel more sympathetic (and perhaps even a bit disgusted) towards Carver. In fact, at one point, I thought for sure that Carver would harm himself from the never-ending sequence of unfortunate events occurring to him, but instead, he reacted to these events in the form of panic attacks, which I suppose is fortunate in that it’s the lesser of two evils.
Movies-wise, this book reminded me a lot of Good Will Hunting. There aren’t any best friends –or really anyone– who die in that movie, but the main character, Will, finds himself and recovers after sessions with a really talented and caring therapist, which is similar to what happens in this book. Both also made me feel very connected with the main characters, or at least their situations, which in turn helped move me deeply. The final moments spent between Judge Marshall, Mars’s father, and Carver were truly heart-warming, as the judge showed only animosity towards Carver for much of the book.
Something I didn’t really understand in the book was why Carver didn’t ask his parents to move him to a new school. Then, he wouldn’t have to confront isolation as much and the students who entirely blamed him for what happened to his friends. But then again, I suppose it’s possible that the attraction Carver felt towards Jesmyn was sufficient enough of a reason for him to stay.
A final key trait of the book that made it so great was the plot twists throughout, which made it, in a twisted way (ha, get it?), entertaining. Just when things start to look up for Carver, some unforeseen event will come smashing into his side like a bulldozer. To wrap things up, Goodbye Days is a worthwhile read and an excellent book that only gets better as you progress. It will make you feel a wide array of emotions, I guarantee –maybe even move you to tears.
Review by ~ Andrew
SHARE THIS:
