Scan barcode
A review by nicolemhewitt
Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner
5.0
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Well, now I know why everyone raves about Jeff Zentner. This book had a really modern, truthful feel to it and I think that Zentner captures teen boys in a completely realistic way, especially when it came to dialogue (as a mom, I sometimes raised my eyebrows at some of it, but I think that it all worked incredibly well). At the same time, Zentner’s writing is gorgeous—luckily his MC is a writer, so he could get away with waxing poetic sometimes—in direct contrast to the sort of goofy banter between the guys.
The story brought up some really fantastic moral questions as well. Should Carver have been held responsible for his friends’ deaths? (My thoughts on this include a slight spoiler, so I’m putting it under a spoiler tag) Is is fair to prosecute in a situation where no one truly knows beyond a shadow of a doubt what happened? And isn’t the guilt that Carver felt and the loss of his friends more than punishment enough?
The Narration: I listened to the audio of this one and loved it. Michael Crouch did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life, especially Carver and his best friends.
This story ripped my heart to shreds and stomped on it, but it did so in all the best ways. I give it 4.5/5 Stars.
Well, now I know why everyone raves about Jeff Zentner. This book had a really modern, truthful feel to it and I think that Zentner captures teen boys in a completely realistic way, especially when it came to dialogue (as a mom, I sometimes raised my eyebrows at some of it, but I think that it all worked incredibly well). At the same time, Zentner’s writing is gorgeous—luckily his MC is a writer, so he could get away with waxing poetic sometimes—in direct contrast to the sort of goofy banter between the guys.
The story brought up some really fantastic moral questions as well. Should Carver have been held responsible for his friends’ deaths? (My thoughts on this include a slight spoiler, so I’m putting it under a spoiler tag)
Spoiler
My initial instinct was to say NO WAY, of course not, but when you learn a bit more and realize that Carver texted his friend, knowing he was driving and knowing his friend would answer… in that case, would he be any less at fault than the driver who answered the text? It suddenly seemed more complex, and I found I could sympathize a bit with the people who wanted to blame him—even if I didn’t agree with the way they treated him and I definitely didn’t want him to be prosecuted.The Narration: I listened to the audio of this one and loved it. Michael Crouch did a fantastic job bringing the characters to life, especially Carver and his best friends.
This story ripped my heart to shreds and stomped on it, but it did so in all the best ways. I give it 4.5/5 Stars.