The Goodbye Year
Fiction
Sparkpress
April 12, 2016
295
Publisher via BookSparks
As a handful of parents and their children face the all-important senior year of high school an intense time of change for the kids and their soon-to-be-empty-nest parents, the cracks beneath the surface of their seemingly perfect lives begin to appear."
My review:
So interesting that this book would come to me during my last child's senior year of high school! The book follows five families in an upscale community who have children leaving the nest at the end of the school calendar year. It's told from the viewpoint of both the students and the parents, and is a well crafted, well written, hard to put down inside look at the goings on that may not be visible on the surface of these characters' lives. Tensions run high, parent-child relationships hang in the balance, marriages are not what they seem, and their is the ever present undercurrent of what will happen to all of them next year? I thought this book was great, although I am in the minority about "empty nest syndrome". I can't wait for my daughter to head off to college (the high school years with both of my daughters have not been my favorite). No matter what stage of your life you are in, there is likely a character in this novel that you will/can relate to. Really good story encompassing many real life events, and the angst they can cause. I thought the ending wrapped things up nicely without seeming rushed as is the case in many books that I read. Kudos to Ms. Rouda, I have another of her books (In the Mirror) waiting for me on my kindle, and I need to get to it soon!
While I generally don't like to compare books, this one lends itself to calling it a "Big Little Lies" of the high school era.
This book is one of the BookSparks "It's Raining Books" spring selections. My opinions, as always, are my own.
I love a good family drama! I know that for me personally, leaving the house meant learning how to have a relationship with my parents given our new dynamic. It was a challenge on both sides, but something that ultimately breathed a new life into our relationship. Thanks for the review and congrats on your daughter's graduation!
Interesting to think you were in the same boat with the final year of seeing someone leave the nest. Sounds like a really good read.
I loved Big Little Lies and the schoolyard type of scandal. I need to add this one to my list. I really suffered from empty nest syndrome when my son left, more suffering than I thought I would have. Thanks for the recommendation. 🙂