Reviews

He Forgot to Say Goodbye by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

mollyxmiller's review against another edition

4.0

He Forgot To Say Goodbye is the story of Jake Upthegrove and Ramiro Lopez, two boys from different sides of El Paso who have one thing in common: both of their fathers walked out on them early in life.


I “effen” loved this novel. It is one of my favorite novels that has been required so far for my Young Adult Materials class. The novel alternates between Ram and Jake’s points of view, something which I usually don’t like novels to do, but I thought that Saenz was able to do this very skillfully. Even though at first it made me a bit uncomfortable, I even grew to like Jake’s very dark narrative. At first I thought “he’s just a whiny, privileged white kid who’s read too much about politics” but Jake is not a static character. And I grew to like him even though his voice is very negative. I honestly think that of all the novels we’ve read that have been required for class, this one is the strongest in the actual “craft” of the writing. Although I do think John Green is wicked awesome with words, Saenz, to me, reads as a stronger writer, not only because the humor is clever, but also because he delivers such evocative yet stylistically simplistic truths. While reading this novel, I felt a very strong, emotional connection to the characters. Since I have been reading so many different YA books, I think this was remarkable because I’ve been going through so many that I haven’t felt as strong of ties to the characters, not necessarily because of lack of characterization, but just simply because I’ve had to read so many at one time. However, this book really made me pause and connect with the characters. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA Lit or even just wants a good Realistic Fiction novel to read.

febstar's review against another edition

4.0

wow

mary_jinxedit's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

jayistired's review against another edition

4.0

This is probably not my favorite book written by Benjamin but I would like to say that I see him. I see him between those lines and I see where he came from, or actually where his new stories come from.

One of the problems I had with this book was the repetition of some words, There are some specific sentences that Benjamin really likes to use and they are like his signature and he uses them basically in all of his works, those are not the problem. The problem were some words that these kids repeated over and over again like ‘destroy, effen,etc..’, which I got used to, not a big deal.

The story was pretty similar to his other works though, I feel like his other book, ‘the inexplicable logic of my life’ is a better version of this one and I see that he has improved a lot which made me appreciate this book too, this book is one of the reasons that he has improved after all.
We are not perfect and we improve, that’s what I learned but this seriously could’ve been a better book. He knows all about character development now but unfortunately this book kinda disappointed me. I felt like it was going really slowly but at the end it was kinda rushed, I didn’t get how they formed a friendship, it was sudden and their changes seemed kinda forced which was the exact opposite of how I felt and what I liked about his other books and characters.

I’m glad that I’ve read it though, fun to read.

I’ll give it a 3.5 of 5. (I feel bad about this but I need to be honest even when it comes to Benjamin. Sorry Benjamin, I love your books and your words, they mean a lot to me.)

bluehazard's review against another edition

5.0

Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
Second book I read of his and this is how I feel:
all the awards that you could possibly give to a writer should be given to him.
and even then.
he’d still deserve more.
once you pick up this book you just can’t put it down. (same was for Ari & Dante)
Assignment? Homework? Project due? who cares.
All I could think about is finishing this book.
and I don't regret my decision.

chelsealaurenauthor's review against another edition

2.0

Not my favorite by Saenz. I almost feel like the synopsis was misleading. I anticipated Ram and Jake to have a friendship throughout the entire book instead of the last few chapters. Needless to say, I found myself continuing the book, but more of trying to figure out how good of friends they were instead of rushing through to finish the book because I couldn't put it down.

hannaleu's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

illinoise's review against another edition

4.0

this was EXCELLENT. so sweet and gentle and kind. I really adore how much patience and love sáenz gives to his characters; i have always adored that about his books, and even though this one is definitely a bit more amateur than some of his other works, it's still so full of that tenderness. ram and jake were both great characters, and they were very REAL. that's the thing; this book just felt very very real. everything that happened i could see happening, and i was right there with the characters. they felt like actual people, and i just couldn't help laughing and crying with them. this was just sort of the epitome of what makes his books so charming; the endearingly outdated expressions his characters use, their introspective rambling, the thoughtfully constructed family relationships, the choppy simplistic prose. it's everything I love in a sáenz book! i also really liked how simple this book is. it isn't trying to do too much, it's just telling these couple of stories about these couple of characters and it does exactly that; it does it SO WELL. even in a less world-changing book than ari and dante or last night I sang, benjamin alire sáenz is a genius. but like we knew that already. i'm just so glad all these guys got their happy ending and they're finding themselves. i left this book feeling really great. i'm thinking 3.5 stars? ahh. I'm not sure where to rate it.

paiki's review against another edition

5.0

So much emotion, so captivating. Sáenz has definitely become one of my favourite writers, whenever I read one of his books I just get sucked in and can hardly put it down, and then all of a sudden I've finished it. And that is what makes a book great for me.

british2197's review against another edition

3.0

This book only started getting interesting during the last third of the way when Jake and Ramiro started becoming friends, otherwise most of it just effen' destroys me. I mean, can you dig that? (This novel needs some serious editing. Way too repetitive with the above phrases. The way Ram is a person who can't stand Alejandra and tries to avoid her as much as possible, to them becoming best friends by the end seemed very unrealistic. Half the time I forgot who's perspective I was reading from because the two voices sounded so similar.

This book (on the other hand) made me think of my own life and how much I have to be grateful for, including how much I appreciate my family and friends