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A review by ofionao
He Forgot to Say Goodbye by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
5.0
This was a seriously beautiful book.
It's about family, fathers who leave without saying goodbye, it's about growing up, evolving and finding friends.
There's something about Benjamin Alire Sáenz writing that really gets to me. See, he has this uncanny ability to pick exactly the right words - and the sentences he forms with them are just so damn beautiful. His writing also always leaves me with a newfound appreciation of words. How (to quote my favorite novel of his, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe) "words are different when they live inside you".
The word that has taken permanent residence inside one of the main characters, Jake Upthegrove (don't make jokes about his name) has got to be DESTROYED. Also possibly DIG. Seriously the number of times he said and thought "I am destroyed" is hilarious. also #relatable
I loved the characters of this book so much. Mainly the main characters of the book, Ramiro Lopez and Jake Upthegrove. They felt so.... real and I loved hearing their voices. I am in awe at how Sáenz can still recall so accurately what it feels like to be a teenager. I mean. I'm already starting to forget and I can still technically be considered a teen?
Right so this "review" was basically just me gushing about how amazing Benjamin Alire Sáenz is. But well. That's because he is. And his books, to steal Jakes words (sorry Jake, I know you'd be destroyed by this), do absolutely destroy me. But in a good way. In a very good way.
***Favorite quotes****
"But what's so wrong about writing things down? You can dig that, can't you? When you write things down, it feels like you can stare at the words and they become mirrors-and you can see yourself. Everyone needs to see themselves." -Jake, obviously
"Ram, where the hell do you think you belong, anyway? A garbage can?" -Alejandra, trying to convince Ramiro to go a party, who doesn't want to go bc he thinks they won't belong there as Mexicans
"I was crying. Why was I crying? I hated tears. They were so unironic." -Again, Jake obviously [this just made me lol so much]
It's about family, fathers who leave without saying goodbye, it's about growing up, evolving and finding friends.
There's something about Benjamin Alire Sáenz writing that really gets to me. See, he has this uncanny ability to pick exactly the right words - and the sentences he forms with them are just so damn beautiful. His writing also always leaves me with a newfound appreciation of words. How (to quote my favorite novel of his, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe) "words are different when they live inside you".
The word that has taken permanent residence inside one of the main characters, Jake Upthegrove (don't make jokes about his name) has got to be DESTROYED. Also possibly DIG. Seriously the number of times he said and thought "I am destroyed" is hilarious. also #relatable
I loved the characters of this book so much. Mainly the main characters of the book, Ramiro Lopez and Jake Upthegrove. They felt so.... real and I loved hearing their voices. I am in awe at how Sáenz can still recall so accurately what it feels like to be a teenager. I mean. I'm already starting to forget and I can still technically be considered a teen?
Right so this "review" was basically just me gushing about how amazing Benjamin Alire Sáenz is. But well. That's because he is. And his books, to steal Jakes words (sorry Jake, I know you'd be destroyed by this), do absolutely destroy me. But in a good way. In a very good way.
***Favorite quotes****
"But what's so wrong about writing things down? You can dig that, can't you? When you write things down, it feels like you can stare at the words and they become mirrors-and you can see yourself. Everyone needs to see themselves." -Jake, obviously
"Ram, where the hell do you think you belong, anyway? A garbage can?" -Alejandra, trying to convince Ramiro to go a party, who doesn't want to go bc he thinks they won't belong there as Mexicans
"I was crying. Why was I crying? I hated tears. They were so unironic." -Again, Jake obviously [this just made me lol so much]