Reviews

Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

heatherli25's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

zeinabalgarawi's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense 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

5.0

mothling's review against another edition

2.25

 hmm i think this book, if read standalone would be quite good, however as a series it's beginning to really struggle because it's written with the capacity to be read as a standalone? and thus it never delves into anything original and each story feels the need to recap the same information with the characters responding in very similar ways, etc...

this installment made it particularly noticeable as each story focuses in on someone saying goodbye, so each story had a similar theme and hit the exact same story beats and because they're all tonally quite cozy, nothing ever goes wrong and it's just quite repetitive honestly.

i'm concerned kawaguchi is just planning to continue this series with no real foresight into how to mix things up or provide anything different and for me it's already getting stale. it makes me sad because i did love the core concept of the first book. :(

tildastensland's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sandrasa's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

nikkiheithuis's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing 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

4.0

sarah984's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

I liked this better than the previous book in the series, but not quite as much as the first two. There really are a limited number of types of stories that you can tell in this format and I think the series might be hitting a wall. The story about the dog was my favourite.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Grief, and Infertility

Minor: Pregnancy

Descriptions of a natural disaster (earthquake/tsunami)

drubyy's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.0

bookishnan's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

em_lynn's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

5.0

i cried again