Goodbye Days (Zentner) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
(Starred review.) From the opening line, Zentner expertly channels Carver’s distinctive voice as a 17-year-old.… Flashbacks and daydreams capture the jovial spirit of…shenanigans interspersed with poignant admissions only best friends would share. Racial tensions, spoiled reputations, and broken homes all play roles in an often raw meditation on grief (Ages 14–up).
Publishers Weekly


Although sprinkled with lighter stories of the friends in happier times, this is a weighty, well-crafted novel…explor[ing] the somber and complex realities of life, especially responsibility, fractured relationships, and the butterfly effect of consequences (Grades 9-up). —Emily Moore, Camden County Library System, NJ
School Library Journal


(Starred review.) 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.
Booklist


Zentner's novel peels back the many layers of feeling that Carver experiences as he deals with his family, the families of his friends, and school, the present-tense narration putting readers directly in Carver's head. However,…his voice is at times too adult…. Still, it is a novel full of wisdom…. A fine cautionary tale and journey toward wisdom, poignant and realistic (Ages 14-18).
Kirkus Reviews