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erikaraz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy
alaynacp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Grief
laheath's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Grief
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Car accident, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death
matildai's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
rachrreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It’s been three years since Anna’s husband, Spencer passed away due to an accident. Anna’s still struggling— unable to get out of bed, going through days of numbness, and shutting herself out from the world. Her best friend constantly is trying to get her out into the world by trying new things. But, Anna isn’t ready to move on yet. She still has all of Spencer’s things where he left them and her fortnight dinners with his family are spent mourning him.
Anna calls Spencer’s phone on occasion, just so she can hear his voice. On New Year’s Eve someone picks up, someone who’s not Spencer. Through the next year, the two form a bond and help each other through their grief. Anna is able to pull herself out of her depression and get back out into the world. Brody, the man on the other end of the phone, finally begins to stop isolating himself from the world. Through it all they heal, and maybe even find love along the way.
This was a beautiful book about grief and mental health. Anna and Brody were struggling and Fiona Lucas did a fantastic job depicting this. There were subtle hints throughout showing the characters beginning to heal, as well as setbacks to their healing. The two characters were so real.
Overall this was a beautiful book on healing after loss and finding yourself again.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
lastingliterature's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
amym84's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
On the other end of the phone, Brody is just as shocked by the woman randomly calling his number in the middle of the night. But Brody, like Anna, is dealing with his own grief, something that has caused him to retreat almost entirely from society.
As Brody and Anna embark on this tentative friendship, they both discover again what it truly means to be alive. Both the joys and the sorrows and what's really worth fighting for.
Listening to the audiobook of The Last Goodbye I thought that Antonia Beamish did a wonderful job with the narration. Really giving each character - though especially Anna and Brody - their own distinct voice. Really giving nuance to the vulnerabilities of each character, but keeping things from drifting too far into the maudlin.
On that note, I feel like The Last Goodbye is one of the best examples of the varying forms of grief that I've read in quite awhile. I think that Fiona Lucas does a fantastic job of giving taking us on this journey with Anna and Brody and seeing how their grief differs yet also the points where it is the same. Not only grief itself but the actual act of grieving.
When the story starts Anna is still cocooned in her own loss and we're seeing her very early stages of emerging. While Brody has been living with his loss for quite sometime more, but he's let it kind of overshadow his day-to-day life to the point where simple interactions with people are nonexistent.
I kind of liked how we see Anna's grief clearly. We understand immediately what has happened. Whereas with Brody we're not given the full picture right away. We, like Brody, have to work up to the point where we hear his whole story. It's like we experience the growth with the character and I think this makes it all the more rewarding when he's finally at that stage where he can talk about his past with Anna. It shows a depth to their forged relationship.
I know that books that deal with these kind of topics can feel heavy at times. I myself often hesitate to pick up something that I feel is going to delve too much into the desolation of loss. The Last Goodbye certainly has those moments, along with plenty of heartbreak, but it was also full of so much hope that outweighed much of that sense of helplessness that accompanies those moments in life in which we have no control. I think seeing both Anna and Brody take back some of that control, to make the conscious effort to continue to move forward and forming that connection with one another are the shining moments of the book. That they are both fully supported in their grief, but also supported in moving out of that grief.
Overall, I was so happily surprised by this book, this story. It's the first book I've read by Fiona Lucas, but I'll definitely be on the lookout to see what comes next.
*ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders