Goodbye Days

Jeff Zentner

'Gorgeous, heartbreaking, and ultimately life-affirming' Nicola Yoon

'Hold on to your heart: this book will wreck you, fix you, and most definitely change you' Becky Albertalli

Can a text message destroy your life?

Carver Briggs never thought a simple text would cause a fatal crash, killing his three best friends, Mars, Eli, and Blake. Now Carver can’t stop blaming himself for the accident and even worse, there could be a criminal investigation into the deaths.

Then Blake’s grandmother asks Carver to remember her grandson with a ‘goodbye day’ together. Carver has his misgivings, but he starts to help the families of his lost friends grieve with their own memorial days, along with Eli’s bereaved girlfriend Jesmyn. But not everyone is willing to forgive. Carver’s own despair and guilt threatens to pull him under into panic and anxiety as he faces punishment for his terrible mistake. Can the goodbye days really help?

Reviews

"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

"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

"Heartbreaking and life-affirming"
Teen Vogue

"Haunting, complex, heartbreaking"
Imogen Russell Williams - Metro

"A fantastic novel with vividly realised characters - a story about friendship, loss and the importance of letting people see who you really are"
INIS

"From the opening line, Zentner expertly channels Carver’s distinctive voice as a 17-year-old writer turned “funeral expert”"
Publishers Weekly

"An absorbing effort with emotional and psychological integrity"
Booklist, starred review

"I cried, I gasped, and I laughed throughout this book. You feel yourself break and heal alongside Carver. This is one that will stick with you long after you read it."
Layla, Waterstones Bromley bookseller

"Zentner skillfully depicts his protagonist’s inner turmoil and the beginnings of his recovery in an organic, frequently raw narrative."
Horn Book

"The characterisation is masterful ... Jeff Zentner is the real deal"
LoveReading