Hello lovelies and welcome to my Blog Tour Stop for Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candace Ganger hosted by Wednesday Books. I knew this book would be heartbreaking and it is such a hard-hitting and emotional story, but it’s also really delightful, entertaining, and full of so much love. I hope you get to meet Naima and Dew and follow them as they both try to learn to say goodbye to the people they love.

Full of tender, funny, and downright heartbreaking moments, Ganger’s second novel will have you cheering and crying all on the same page.

Don’t miss out on this YA powerhouse standalone!

Published: September 24, 2019

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary

Format: Hardcover, 320 pages

AMAZON – BARNES AND NOBLE – BOOKSAMILLION – INDIEBOUND – POWELLS

Two teens meet after tragedy and learn about love, loss, and letting go

Naima Rodriguez doesn’t want your patronizing sympathy as she grieves her father, her hero—a fallen Marine. She’ll hate you forever if you ask her to open up and remember him “as he was,” though that’s all her loving family wants her to do in order to manage her complex OCD and GAD. She’d rather everyone back the-eff off while she separates her Lucky Charms marshmallows into six, always six, Ziploc bags, while she avoids friends and people and living the life her father so desperately wanted for her. 

Dew respectfully requests a little more time to process the sudden loss of his parents. It’s causing an avalanche of secret anxieties, so he counts on his trusty voice recorder to convey the things he can’t otherwise say aloud. He could really use a friend to navigate a life swimming with pain and loss and all the lovely moments in between. And then he meets Naima and everything’s changed—just not in the way he, or she, expects. 

Candace Ganger’s Six Goodbyes We Never Saidis no love story. If you ask Naima, it’s not even a like story. But it is a story about love and fear and how sometimes you need a little help to be brave enough to say goodbye.

A wonderfully meaningful and beautifully touching story about loss, grief, friendship, hope and love

Candace Ganger has penned a beautifully touching story about loss, grief, friendship, hope, and love. This isn’t an easy or lighthearted read, but I enjoyed all the achingly feels.

Naima and Dew have both lost people they love. They have their own issues and struggles that affect their daily lives and the people around them. They’re hurting and they’re scared, but they want to be happy. What happens when two broken souls meet? Will they be able to help each other heal, let go, and finally say their goodbyes?

This story is absolutely lovely and so meaningful. Both POVs and storylines touched my heart in so many ways and by the end, I definitely had so many wonderful feels. There are plenty of raw, real, and emotionally painful parts that affected me, but there are also so many heartwarming and sweet moments sprinkled throughout the story. Some scenes even made me smile and laugh and yes… there’s a bit of swooning too. There’s just so much honesty, hope and love in this story that even if my heart hurt so much for Naima and Dew, I felt some joy too.

The characters are not always easy to like at all times, but they’re charming and intriguing with so much realness. Naima’s pain and anger is so palpable that sometimes I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Her part of the story is definitely the most difficult for me to read. Naima’s relationship with her father broke my heart a thousand times. I didn’t see my dad before he passed because he lived in the Philippines, so this really hit me so hard.

I adored Dew so much.  He’s sweet, caring, funny, honest, kind, loving, and always tries sees the best in people. He is just pure light and goodness so it’s literally impossible not to fall for him. I enjoyed reading his part of the story and his friendship with Violet is so cute and endearing. I love his quirks so much. Dew absolutely stole a piece of my heart and soul and I’m perfectly okay with that.

The supporting characters are just wonderful. Violet is eccentric in her own way, but I definitely liked her. She’s interesting and fun. Dew’s sister, Faith, can be a brat, but I liked her sassy personality. I love JJ and Kam and Stella and Thomas. I think they’re amazing — patient, supportive, kind, and loving. I liked Nell too. She seems to really care about Naima’s well-being and she tries to be there for her. Even though Ray is gone from Naima’s life, I could feel how much he truly cares and loves his daughter throught the messages he leaves her.

Wonderfully meaningful and utterly poignant, Six Goodbyes We Never Said by Candace Ganger is such a beautifully written story about grief, friendship, family, love, and having the courage to say goodbye and move on.  I loved the writing, the loveable characters, the heartwarming relationships, the sweet moments, and all the emotions. It’s heartbreaking and difficult to digest, but there are so many amazing and uplifting moments that filled me with so much hope and love. Such a touching and lovely story and I honestly can’t recommend it enough.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher Wednesday Books via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review and for participating in a blog tour. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Candace Ganger is the author of Six Goodbyes We Never Said and The Inevitable Collision of Birdie & Bash as well as a contributing writer for HelloGiggles and obsessive marathoner. Aside from having past lives as a singer, nanotechnology website editor, and world’s worst vacuum sales rep, she’s also ghostwritten hundreds of projects for companies, best-selling fiction and award-winning nonfiction authors alike. She lives in Ohio with her family.

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Thanks for stopping by and reading sweeties. I hope you enjoyed reading this review and have a chance to read this lovely book.

Have a wonderful weekend and take care my sweets!