Reviewed by Audra Benn
Title: Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candace Ganger, 978-1250116246,
Wednesday Books (St. Martin’s Publishing Group), New York, NY. 2019, $18.99,
306.
Genre: Realistic fiction
Characters: Naima is seventeen and one of the main characters and narrators.
She does not let people in easily at all; she feels guilt for her mother’s death
during birth. Naima has dealt with much trauma and also has General Anxiety
Disorder and OCD. She is a very round character who shows lots of growth. Dew
is the other main character and narrator who has sensory issues and severe
social anxiety; he also has dealt with the death of both parents but is still able to
offer kind, wise words to all he meets. He radiates positivity and compassion.
Nell is Naima’s stepmother who makes many mistakes when it comes to Naima
but truly loves her and tries to do whatever she can to help, no matter the
constant push-back from Naima. Ray was Naima’s dad and Nell’s husband; he
died in Afghanistan while in the Marines; although he has died before this story
starts, his wise sayings and kind heart shine through many of Naima’s memories.
JJ and Kam are her grandparents, Ray’s parents, who are funny and kind to all.
Dew’s adoptive parents, Stella and Thomas, are free-spirited and devoted
parents to him and Faith, his new adopted sister. She is like Naima and has dealt
with a great deal of trauma which makes it hard for her to peel back layers to
others. Dew’s biological parents also died before the story begins, but he keeps
their memory alive through their love of music and sage advice.
Plot: The story begins with Naima’s perspective discussing the very recent death
of her father in Afghanistan. She and Nell are headed to Ivy Springs, Indiana his
hometown to take his ashes back to his parents, JJ and Kam. Naima stays with
her grandparents, keeping her summer tradition alive through the unimaginable
grief she is facing. Just when Nell is about to leave, she figures out from Dew
that Naima was not here last summer with Ray. She finds out that Naima was
hospitalized after an attempted suicide. Naima refused to let anyone tell her, so
she is distraught and hurt when she finds out. Dew has known about Naima
since talking to her dad in the coffee shop last summer and getting to know his
neighbors, JJ and Kam. He has it in his mind that he is already in love with the
idea of who he thinks Naima is, and he is going to somehow win her over. He
soon realizes that Naima is healing just like he is, but hers looks much different.
He decides to focus on being her friend and being there for her, no matter how
long it takes for her to finally come around. She begins to after she has a
transformative moment in the church where both her parents’ memorials were
held; she finally releases all the bottled-up emotions she has been holding onto.
Dew is also working on slowly processing his own feelings with the help of his
new family. He suggests to Faith that she should try wrestling, because she is so
interested in WWE. She ends up making the team, but the real win seems to
come right after when she finally calls Dew brother for the first time. Just like he
helps Faith navigate her new reality, he begins to help Naima conquer her fears
like her dad was doing before he passed away. Eventually, both Dew and Naima
come to a place of active and continual healing after their tragic losses by saying
“goodbye” to their parents and trying to continue to truly live the life they have
been given.
Touchy areas: Mental health is a central topic in the book; a suicide attempt is
discussed. Ray’s death is detailed in one part. Curse words are prevalent
throughout the book.
Related Titles: Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel by Val Emmich, Steven Levenson,
Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul (2018), All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
(2016), Starworld by Audrey Coulthurst and Paula Garner (2019).
Movies: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), Extremely Loud & Incredibly
Close (2011), It’s Kind of a Funny Story (2010)
Music: “Airplanes” B.O.B. feat. Hayley Williams (2010) & “See You Again” Wiz
Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth (2015)
Poem: “Grief” by Barbara Crooker (2013) & “OCD” by Neil Hilborn (2013) .
Classic Work: The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (1990)
Art: HOPE by Jay Dalvi
Review:Six Goodbyes We Never Said gives a raw reflection of dealing with mental
illnesses accompanied by unimaginable loss. A constant theme throughout the
book is stepping into others’ shoes and understanding what they are going
through which is an important reminder that we all grieve and struggle. Due to
the mature topics in the story, I would recommend this for eleventh or twelfth
grade readers. I think it could offer a powerful story of hope while not
sugarcoating difficulties many teens might find themselves facing. I give this an
8/10.
Title: Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candace Ganger, 978-1250116246,
Wednesday Books (St. Martin’s Publishing Group), New York, NY. 2019, $18.99,
306.
Genre: Realistic fiction
Characters: Naima is seventeen and one of the main characters and narrators.
She does not let people in easily at all; she feels guilt for her mother’s death
during birth. Naima has dealt with much trauma and also has General Anxiety
Disorder and OCD. She is a very round character who shows lots of growth. Dew
is the other main character and narrator who has sensory issues and severe
social anxiety; he also has dealt with the death of both parents but is still able to
offer kind, wise words to all he meets. He radiates positivity and compassion.
Nell is Naima’s stepmother who makes many mistakes when it comes to Naima
but truly loves her and tries to do whatever she can to help, no matter the
constant push-back from Naima. Ray was Naima’s dad and Nell’s husband; he
died in Afghanistan while in the Marines; although he has died before this story
starts, his wise sayings and kind heart shine through many of Naima’s memories.
JJ and Kam are her grandparents, Ray’s parents, who are funny and kind to all.
Dew’s adoptive parents, Stella and Thomas, are free-spirited and devoted
parents to him and Faith, his new adopted sister. She is like Naima and has dealt
with a great deal of trauma which makes it hard for her to peel back layers to
others. Dew’s biological parents also died before the story begins, but he keeps
their memory alive through their love of music and sage advice.
Plot: The story begins with Naima’s perspective discussing the very recent death
of her father in Afghanistan. She and Nell are headed to Ivy Springs, Indiana his
hometown to take his ashes back to his parents, JJ and Kam. Naima stays with
her grandparents, keeping her summer tradition alive through the unimaginable
grief she is facing. Just when Nell is about to leave, she figures out from Dew
that Naima was not here last summer with Ray. She finds out that Naima was
hospitalized after an attempted suicide. Naima refused to let anyone tell her, so
she is distraught and hurt when she finds out. Dew has known about Naima
since talking to her dad in the coffee shop last summer and getting to know his
neighbors, JJ and Kam. He has it in his mind that he is already in love with the
idea of who he thinks Naima is, and he is going to somehow win her over. He
soon realizes that Naima is healing just like he is, but hers looks much different.
He decides to focus on being her friend and being there for her, no matter how
long it takes for her to finally come around. She begins to after she has a
transformative moment in the church where both her parents’ memorials were
held; she finally releases all the bottled-up emotions she has been holding onto.
Dew is also working on slowly processing his own feelings with the help of his
new family. He suggests to Faith that she should try wrestling, because she is so
interested in WWE. She ends up making the team, but the real win seems to
come right after when she finally calls Dew brother for the first time. Just like he
helps Faith navigate her new reality, he begins to help Naima conquer her fears
like her dad was doing before he passed away. Eventually, both Dew and Naima
come to a place of active and continual healing after their tragic losses by saying
“goodbye” to their parents and trying to continue to truly live the life they have
been given.
Touchy areas: Mental health is a central topic in the book; a suicide attempt is
discussed. Ray’s death is detailed in one part. Curse words are prevalent
throughout the book.
Related Titles: Dear Evan Hansen: The Novel by Val Emmich, Steven Levenson,
Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul (2018), All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
(2016), Starworld by Audrey Coulthurst and Paula Garner (2019).
Movies: The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), Extremely Loud & Incredibly
Close (2011), It’s Kind of a Funny Story (2010)
Music: “Airplanes” B.O.B. feat. Hayley Williams (2010) & “See You Again” Wiz
Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth (2015)
Poem: “Grief” by Barbara Crooker (2013) & “OCD” by Neil Hilborn (2013) .
Classic Work: The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (1990)
Art: HOPE by Jay Dalvi
Review:Six Goodbyes We Never Said gives a raw reflection of dealing with mental
illnesses accompanied by unimaginable loss. A constant theme throughout the
book is stepping into others’ shoes and understanding what they are going
through which is an important reminder that we all grieve and struggle. Due to
the mature topics in the story, I would recommend this for eleventh or twelfth
grade readers. I think it could offer a powerful story of hope while not
sugarcoating difficulties many teens might find themselves facing. I give this an
8/10.
