Author: Christina June
Publication
Date: May 9th, 2017
Publisher: Blink/Harper Collins
Genre: YA
Pages: 304
ISBN: 0310758661
Source: Publisher
Rating: 
Synopsis
(from Publisher):
Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer
of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under
stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her
newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert
graphic design business at night (which includes trading emails with a cute
cello-playing client). When Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the house
keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family
and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty
step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even
get her happy ending along the way.
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Christina June writes young adult contemporary fiction when
she’s not writing college recommendation letters during her day job as a school
counselor. She loves the little moments in life that help someone discover who
they’re meant to become – whether it’s her students or her characters.
Christina is a voracious reader, loves to travel, and hopes to one day be
bicoastal – the east coast of the US and the east coast of Scotland. She lives
just outside Washington DC with her husband and daughter.
It
Started with Goodbye is a modern Cinderella story that allows
you to walk side by side with sixteen year old Tatum, the main character, as
she goes on an emotional journey of self-discovery. Though Tatum doesn’t go
around the world, her journey takes place right in her hometown; specifically
her room, the house she goes to babysit, and her laptop.
With
continuing conflicts between her, the “step monster”, and her uptight distant
stepsister, Tatum feels like an outcast in her own home besides the unbreakable
love she has for her father. Unfortunately, Tatum is accused of a crime she did
not commit and breaks the already shaky trust she had from her step mother and
make her father wary of her judgment. She finds comfort in her art and a
charming client of her design business. Thus begins the new chapter of Tatum’s
life that will teach her the value of trust, love, and forgiveness.
I was surprised to see that even though the book is a ‘modern
cinderella’ story, Tatum is a remarkably relatable character. Her choices, concerns,
and goals are true to a teens in this generation. I believe the author was
trying to convey the importance of trust, love, and forgiveness. She did an
amazing job at writing about those things without overdoing it to the point
where it’s unrealistic. I laughed, felt second hand embarrassment (along with
Tate), and teared up a little on scenes that really made you feel the value in
the relationships Tatum has. I loved the diversity in the book; whether it was
through the fact that Tatum was a graphic designer or that her step mothers
side was from Chile, it really gave the book character and uniqueness. One
thing that I loved and admired of the book is that I found no foul language.
Not even once. The author gave the characters distinct personalities and also
made you feel without the use of curse words. It’s something that not many YA
authors do. Props to her for doing that.
This is a book is a quick read. I recommend it to teens who need a
pick-me-up or those who simply enjoy a book with a good moral. The book was
really sweet in my opinion. It portrayed a lot of what teens might be going
through now in their lives. So, go ahead and give it a try, it’s worth the
read. Simply because it’s a book I would read once and remember and not
necessarily read again, I’d give it a 4 out of 5.
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