Fans of Sarah Dressen will enjoy this summer romance story about Lucy and Ben, 2 teens who cannot seem to find the right thing to say each other after Lucy's best friend and Ben's sister dies unexpectedly.

This was a bit of a slow-burn story that totally paid off. It reminded me a lot of Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson (but not quite as sad). It's about navigating between grief and hope and being stuck in between the two. I love summer love stories, and this is one of the best I've read in a long time. It's much more character-driven than plot, but the cast of characters are enjoyable and relateable. Even when Ben is being an asshole, you totally understand why.

TLTYS is a fantastic debut and I can't wait to see what comes next from this author! I LOVE when the setting becomes its own character, and that is done so well in Ben and Lucy's lakeside Minnesota town. Their parents are present and fully part of the story, which is refreshing as well. I totally recommend this story to lovers of summery YA romance. It's going down as one of my 2017 favorites!

I loved this story. it is a realistic fiction romance. I loved the dynamic in the small town and how everyone knew everyone. I could relate to Lucy and how she was feeling. She not only lost her very best friend but the boy she loved all in the same day. Yet she was able to stay whole and re-build her life. This is an awesome story. I can't wait to recommend it to my customers!

This book was heavy. I read it in one 3-hour sitting about a week ago and I still can't stop thinking about it. That's a good thing, I suppose, right?

Death is a complicated situation. It can either bring people together, tear them apart OR both. The majority of this book is spent watching death tear people apart. And I don't just mean the main characters, Lucy and Ben, I mean everyone. The mothers and fathers and aunts and uncle, you get to see it all. Death really messes up a family but the worst part is, the person who died, would never want her family acting this way.

Trixie. This book wouldn't even exist if it wasn't for Trixie. Last summer, Trixie, Ben, Lucy and Clayton(Lucy's brother) were all relaxing in the water. Then Trixie decided to have a swimming race to the island no too far from where they were floating. Her heart gives out during the race and her friends are unable to save her. Swimming was something she loved. She died doing something she loved and it took almost the entirety of this book for people to realize that. Yes, it is still a tragedy. And that tragedy ripped families apart because those families let her death do that. And that is not something Trixie would have wanted, at all. The bits and pieces we get about her and her life throughout this book paint a picture of a loving, caring, beautiful girl with a soul that matches. The author didn't just tell us that Trixie was an amazing person and expect us to go along with it. No, she showed us who Trixie was and that is exactly the right thing to do. So, after her death, we are left with Lucy and Ben, her best friend and her brother, and we get to see just how badly losing Trixie messed them up.

Lucy is our main character. We get to see things through her eyes, past and present. I really enjoyed her flashbacks and her Trixie's(you'll find out what these are if you read the book). With these we got to know Trixie even though she was dead. It's always nice to get a back story on a deceased character instead of the author just saying 'blah blah is dead' and moving on. Now, Lucy herself, I have multiple feelings towards her. She had moments where I was sad with her and then there were moments where I wish she would just stop the stupid crap she was doing. She was definitely a case of smart girl making stupid decisions.

Lucy and Ben are left to navigate life without Trixie and it really shatters their worlds. Ben turned self-distructive and that made this entire situation even harder to bear for Lucy. He hurt Lucy and that made losing her best friend AND seeing him anywhere extremely hard. Especially since Lucy is playing nanny to Ben and Trixie's little cousin so she sees him almost every day.

I loved Ben. Don't get me wrong. I was half and half between wanting to hug him and wanting to rip his face off. I also think that he was forgiven way too easily, especially after the HORRIBLE shit he said and did. But, love isn't just another 4-letter word, it is encompassing and full of every emotion you could possibly think of. Love is raw. Love is giving someone all the trust in the world that they won't rip you apart but it is also forgiving them if they do rip you apart. Love is the most sought after thing in this world. So why shouldn't it hurt like hell? Why shouldn't it give you every emotion this world has to offer? Life isn't worth living if you don't get to feel everything it has to offer. With that being said, I hope he gets his anger issues under control because he can be a great guy when he doesn't let his rage control him.

Simon... UGH. I don't even know if I want to go there, but I guess I have to. He was a fricken creeper. He was so disgusting and lowkey controlling. I have no idea how Lucy could stand to do that entire 'relationship'. God, just thinking about it makes me sickened. I would rather lick a skunk than have been in Lucy's shoes that summer and I'm so glad he got put in his place. I'm not sure if this is how the author meant for Simon to be perceived but I can't really imagine what else she would have been aiming for.

The setting of this book was really beautiful. It took place in a small town on the water. The residents all seemed to know each other and it was a pretty nice feeling. I don't know if the author based it off of an existing town or made it up entirely but either way she definitely made it come to life. The author is also very talented in making real, believable characters.

So, with all the back and forth emotions this book made me feel, I can say that I loved it. I hated some of the situations and I got angry at some people, but if a book doesn't made you feel SOMETHING then it has no right being a book. Lucy's parents were okay people. Her brother was a mooching ass-hat. Ben's parents weren't exactly the greatest. I understand they lost a daughter but they still had a son. Sadly, this is the common situation if a parent loses a child and has other children.

Overall, I gave the book 5/5 stars.

The Last Thing You Said by Sara Biren is a page-turning tale of a pair of teenagers who are trying to navigate life while also dealing with an incredible amount of loss. Lucy’s best friend Trixie died the summer before the story starts and her loss if felt on every page. When Ben, Trixie’s brother, takes out his grief on Lucy the two begin their lives as individuals and not friends.
Lucy tries to fill the hole in her heart with a new best friend, Hannah who knows about her struggles and tries to support her and help her. Ben has a string of new girlfriends who all think they can heal his broken heart.
The two struggle with grief not only over Trixie’s death, but also the loss of their friendship. I love the alternating points of view because we get to see both of their thoughts and see just how much both are struggling.
We get to see Lucy try to have a relationship with her new neighbor all the while her heart still belongs to Ben. This relationship always seemed so awkward to me because it just felt strained. No matter how happy Lucy tried to be it was doomed from the beginning because her heart was still broken, both by Trixie’s death and by Ben’s actions after her death. It also bothered me that Simon was always so eager to further their relationship and just pretend that he didn’t know Lucy’s true emotions.
Another element that I really loved were all the “Trixie” stories that Lucy shared with Emily. I just thought that was an absolutely perfect way for Lucy to teach Emily about her cousin. The fact that Lucy will tell Emily the not so happy Trixie’s when she’s older was also really great because it will help Emily to learn as much as she can about the cousin she will probably be too young to have any real memories of.
The story was evenly paced, descriptive, and captivating. Once I started reading it, I did not want to put it down. I’m not a huge fan of contemporaries so in order to read one it has to be worth it, and trust me you guys, this one is.

The Last Thing You Said tells the story of Lucy and Ben, two teenagers who almost a year ago lost one of the most important people in their lives. When Trixie died Ben lost his sister, and Lucy lost her best friend and her second family. The story begins the following May when Lucy starts her summer job working at the resort in her home town. The cabins she works at are owned by Trixie’s aunt and uncle and she spends most of her time babysitting Emily, Trixie’s cousin that they used to watch together. Emily is only just turned five and so her memories of her cousin are a little blurry and she enjoys nothing more than having Lucy tell her a Trixie – a little story about her cousin. Ben also helps out at his aunt and uncle’s resort although he’s not spoken to Lucy since the day of Trixie’s funeral, something that upsets and confuses his parents considering how close they were before Trixie’s death, you really feel that for them they’ve lost two daughters despite the fact one still lives across town.

What I found worked really well was the story being told from both Ben’s and Lucy’s point of view, you get to understand how confused both teens are, Lucy doesn’t understand what it was that made Ben turn on her, and Ben struggles to deal with his guilt from that fateful day. They both make mistakes and I could have shouted No! at each of them several times, but that’s a true reflection on life, outside looking in it’s very easy to make judgements, but in reality we make mistakes, we do something because it’s easy and makes us feel better, and we pick the wrong person to date. I liked the addition of the ‘Trixies’ throughout the story to really show the friendship that Lulu and Trixie had built over the years, and I loved the little snippets from their ‘Book of Quotes’

At the beginning of the ARC there is a brief note from Sara Biren that talks about the inspiration for her writing this book, the loss of a friend during high school, and then reading the online journal of a local teen that was dying. I think you can tell this from her writing, losing a friend wasn’t something I dealt with during school but to me it feels very genuine, be it Lucy’s well meaning parents trying to get her to move on, not fully understanding how much the loss of her best friend has, and will continue to affect her even a year on, to Ben’s anger and misplaced guilt. The misplaced guilt is something I particularly identified with, one Thursday I missed my usual regular dinner with my grandma because I was away for a few days, a couple of days into my trip I got a phone call to say that my grandma had had a massive heart attack and passed away. Despite the fact there was noway I could have known that was going to happen it took me a very long time to get over the guilt I felt on missing what would have been our last dinner together, even now nearly ten years later it can still get to me.

Would I recommend it?

Absolutely, this book is so well written and is believable account of two teen’s journeys through grief. It’s written by an author who has made a similar journey herself and that comes across in the writing, it also had a really satisfying upbeat conclusion.

The Last Thing You Said by Sara Biren is a tender story about a girl who lost her best friend. About a friendship that no matter what will never end, and how grieving someone you lost is different for everybody involved.

The Last Thing You Said is a beautiful look at the enduring power of first love and how two teens must reach through the murky waters of grief to reconnect. The whole story is peppered with beautiful quotes and my favorite will stay with me for a long time: “It’s a good day to have a good day.” I loved how Biren portrayed love as a brave act—because it is such a brave act—and how she explored the courage it takes to trust in romantic love after losing a beloved friend. This is a brave debut, a brave look at the raw, messy, confusing bits of young love.

At thw beginning of the book the reader learns pieces of information about Trixie's death; such as, the way things were before her death, and why things are the way they are now between Ben and Lucy. There are little stories interspersed throughout the book gives this book depth and substance to the backstory.

This book has a lot of drama. Simon the renter who moves in next door to Lucy for the summer and with whom Lucy sparks a summer romance. Ben struggles with guilt, grief, and disgust with himself about his choices and mistakes. Ben's family and the way they are handling their grief. Lucy and her family's struggle to understand Lucy's grief and stay financially afloat. There is so much wonderful, glorious, messy love in this book- sibling, familial, romantic, and friendship love. And the characters are flawed and make mistakes, many that had me cringing and crying out, 'no, don't do that, don't make it worse.' But the characters and the story are all the richer for mess that offsets the beauty in this moving book.

I received this book from ABRAMS Kids and Amulet Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The anniversary of Trixie's death is quickly approaching, but Lucy and Ben are still trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. They are forced to confront their feelings when they find themselves working together for the summer.

In The Last Thing You Said, Sara Biren explores the different ways people deal with loss. The things Ben and Lucy do to cope aren't always the healthiest choices, but I appreciated how realistic they are and how well they fit the characters. My favorite thing about the book is the "Trixies"-- the stories Lucy tells to keep Trixie's memory alive. These stories are magical and so sweet. I absolutely loved this book.

I’m not sure what I was expecting from this book, but I enjoyed it way more than I was thinking at first. Actually I loved it, and yeah, of course I cried. This book is again about grief and guilt, but also how to move on from something that you know you had no hand on. But unlike Goodbye Days, where those were the main themes, this one is definitly a romance.

I loved loved loved the writing. I’m super easy to please, but this book just had it: first person, dual POV, direct and beautiful writing. This book also does something a little different, and it has some story chapters, and I loved those! The voices were different, the chapters were short and fast, and reading it just made me feel good, even through the pain. Also, best friends, who have loved each other since forever, having a second chance at love? ADORABLE!

I liked both main characters. I loved that even though Lucy had lost so much, she was still open to other people, and wasn’t mad at life. I did think she did some pretty rash decisions, but she had to make her own mistakes. Ben does and says some pretty bad things through his grief, which was tough to swallow, but I did understand his frustration and guilt though, and I just wanted them to kiss and talk and make up, because it was so clear how great they were for each other.

I thought there were some missed opportunities, especially with Lucy’s brother, and I wish both Lulu and Ben had figured out what they wanted and needed a little earlier, but I really liked their overall journey.

This was a very good book, with deep themes, but an overall hopeful outtake. I highly recommend it.

I really enjoyed this book. While the story is sad at times, there’s definitely lighter moments, and lots of hope. It tells the story of Ben and Lucy. Lucy was best friends with Ben’s sister, Trixie, until last summer when Trixie’s heart unexpectedly gave out during a swim in the lake, and she died. Lucy at that time had been having strong feelings for Ben for a while, and they were on the cusp of admitting those feelings to each other, when the tragedy of Trixie’s death occurred. Their grief tears them apart, and they have a devastating falling out.

Ben feels a lot of guilt surrounding his sister’s death. Instead of dealing with that guilt, and working to move forward, he numbs his feelings with alcohol, while keeping everyone at an arm’s length away, including his parents. His guilt makes him angry, not only at himself, but with others. This includes Lucy, whom he lashes out against.

Lucy feels lost. Not only does she lose her best friend, she also loses the friendship with the boy she loves. To Trixie, Ben, and their parents, Lucy was Lulu. But with that family out of her life, she’s no longer Lulu, and is struggling with that.

Both Lucy and Ben are dealing with a lot of grief, coupled with loneliness, guilt, and anger. These things make it difficult for them to reconcile with each other, even though they both still love each other deeply. While they don’t express those feelings to each other, it is evident in their inner monologues, as well as some of their actions, how they feel about each other. But grief is difficult; especially when their guilt and resentment mixed in.

It was refreshing to see both Lucy and Ben’s parents play such active roles in the story. They are grieving themselves, as well as having to watch their children grieve. I felt their reactions to certain situations in the book were a fairly accurate representation as to how parents would act in real life; at least ones actively involved in their child’s life.

I loved how this story showed how many different ways people deal with grief. There’s not only one way to deal with it. Everyone grieves differently, and it’s important to let them grieve in their own time. I thought Hanna’s friendship with Lucy was a perfect example of this. She was such a wonderful and supportive friend to Lucy, and never denied Lucy her feelings.

The only reason I didn’t rate this 5 stars is because for me at a certain point at the end, it dragged a bit. I like to see more of ‘the after;’ i.e. what happens after the couple reconciles. I would have liked a peek into how Lucy and Ben dealt with their grief as a couple, but I know that wasn’t the focus of the story. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this book.

The Last Thing You Said is a beautiful story that is both heart wrenching and heartwarming, and tells the importance of love and friendship when dealing with loss and grief.

This is one of those books I didn't know what to expect. to be honest, one of the reasons why I requested this book was the cover because it's gorgeous and I'm a sucker for beautiful covers. However, this book is not only beautiful outside because inside is just amazing and I loved everything about it.

This was the second book I read in a week that dealt with grief. Before reading The Last Thing You Said I had read Goodbye Days and while both read with some similar situations they couldn't be more different. One thing is for sure, I loved both for different reasons. Unlike Goodbye Days, The Last Thing You Said deals not only with grief but it's also a romance and I loved it for it. I love romances and if you tell me the story of two people who already loved each other for years and end up having a second chance it's really probable that I'll love it and that's what happened. That this is so much more than romance because during the summer this book is set Lucy and Ben grow so much and part of it has to do with accepting what happened and deal with grief.

I really loved the characters in this book. Lucy was just an amazing girl. While she lost her best friend and is having a hard time dealing with that she still tries to be a normal teen and just like any normal teen she makes some mistakes (that sometimes I prefer to forget that happened). However, she's an awesome and loyal girl and I loved to see her grow during the book. Unlike Lucy, Ben has been having more problems with dealing with his sister's sudden death. He's angry with everyone and he does some stupid things and messes up a lot but deep down he's a great guy and I love him. He was my favorite character in this book. They also pretty amazing when they were together but gosh, did it took them a long time to talk about things that should have been talked about a long time ago. I just wanted them to talk, go back to being friends again and work on their relationship. I also love the families and friends in this book. They are all amazing and super supportive (even when they don't show it as much as they should) but Hannah has a special place in my heart. I'm going to be honest here, I didn't like her at all in the beginning but she is one of the best things that could have happened to Lucy after losing her best friend.

This was my first Sara Biren, since it's her debut novel, but I loved her writing style. I couldn't stop reading. I also loved that she told this story in a dual POV with also a few scenes from the past. It worked really well and it helped a lot to understand Lucy and Ben's relationship with each other but especially with Trixie.

Overall, this was an amazing book. It was emotional and heartbreaking but I loved everything about it. I 100% recommend this book and I can't wait to read what Sara Biren will write next.

The last thing Ben said to Lucy after the death of his sister, and her best friend was cruel and untrue. It hangs over both of their heads for most of the novel, and while the book is a strong depiction of grief and guilt, there are elements that could have been stronger.

We get both Ben and Lucy’s points of view. Ben is drinking himself to numbness, taking advantage of other girls’ sympathy for him, and trying to deny his feelings for Lucy. We see his thoughts oscillate between wanting to move on from Trixie’s terrible death to blaming himself entirely that he wasn’t able to save her. When Lucy starts to date Simon the Renter, Ben’s jealousy and anger force him to confront some cold hard facts: about himself, his family, and his future.

Lucy hasn’t been able to move on either. But her memories of Trixie are happy, and full of Trixie urging her ‘to be brave’ (especially in regards to taking a risk with Ben). Lucy has made a new friend, Hannah, whose support and compassion help. Her family is also suffering and it’s good to see both Ben’s parents and Lucy’s parents grapple with how to deal with their traumatised children.

I was disappointed that every conversation between Lucy and Ben (up to the final moments, of course) is poisoned and hurtful. It’s hard to like today’s Ben, but Lucy remembers a kind boy, a protective boy, and her loyalty to him is commendable. That does fit with his behaviour today, as he believes he doesn’t deserve Lucy, but I wasn’t convinced he needed to be so awful to her. We do observe him treat other people well, so he shows positive traits too. As well, Ben is fascinated by rocks, and the author uses the idea of inuksuk – a Native American traditional tower of rocks perfectly balanced to create a natural sculpture – as a metaphor for Ben finding the right path. It’s poetic and hopeful.

There is a lot of reference to drinking, smoking and sex, but in context, it works within the confines of grief-addled hearts. Fortunately, Ben’s father realises his actions affect his son, and Lucy’s parents start to listen to their daughter, when she opens up to them. Guthrie, Ben’s best friend, and five year old Emily whom Lucy babysits, add depth to a slow moving story that is reliant on readers’ sympathies and desire to see this pair find their way back to each other.

Thanks to Amulet Books and Netgalley for approval of this advanced copy. The Last Thing You Said is released (in the US on April 4, 2017.

Recommended to readers who like their contemporary sad, but with a happy and hopeful resolution. The romance is halted and there is a lot of communication, but friends are around to make the two be honest. The setting is a small lakeside town, with much discussion around fishing and restaurants which make up Ben and Lucy’s summer jobs.

This book by debut author Sarah Biren is about loss of a loved one, the grief that follows and the toll it takes on relationships. It is narrated in alternate point of views - Lucy and Ben's. The author adds a note to readers at the beginning of the book, that it is meant for anyone who has suffered loss. :(
Trixie and Lucy are best friends right from their kindergarten days and are glued to each other. At the age of 12, Lucy realizes that she has a crush on Ben, Trixie's brother and when she blurts it out to her best friend, she is surprised by the fact that Trixie is overjoyed that one day they will be married and the two of them will become sisters. For the next three years, she silently yearns for Ben while he shifts from one girl to another. The summer which changes her life, the summer where Trixie decides to bid goodbye to them forerver, is the summer Ben starts falling for Lucy. Minutes before his sister's death, he is about to ask Lulu to be his girlfriend when Lucy's brother Clayton cries for help and interrupts his question. While both Lucy and Ben grieve for Trixie, Ben kisses her just after the funeral, which turns Lucy into a fireball of emotions and pushes him off. Ben is ashamed of what he did and guilt takes over him that makes him react in the stupidest way possible. He blames Lucy for Trixie's death. That he couldn't save his sister, because he was distracted by Lucy.. Total douche bag move!

Fast forward to the present, its been one year since Trixie's funeral and Ben and Lucy are not talking to each other, let alone be in a relationship. Both the families are trying to recover from the loss of the loved one - Trixie's mom takes up gardening and keeping herself busy, her dad ends up drinking while Ben turns cold, insensitive, alcoholic and angry, round the year. The summer after her death, Lucy is still trying to get over her first love and her neighbor's summer renter Simon turns to be a distraction. Only when something is lost we do realize its worth and Ben soon finds himself jealous of Simon and though he wants Lulu back he is not helping it because of his dumb moves. He couldnt save Trixie, but could he save himself from getting deep into trouble and winning back Lucy's love?

This book is a totally an emotional journey through loss and broken relationships. I have lost my best friend too, not to death but to circumstances and I can imagine how much it would hurt when he/she is no more. But I did not like that their lives are still stuck with the past summer and that 80% of the book is about grieving. I mean, i think that okay, this is the point he is going to make up for his behavior, but no ! again he goes and breaks her heart.

Though the book is about how Lucy is unable to get over Trixie's death, she is atleast trying to live. She tries to be a rebel, sneaks out and goes to the rodeo with Hannah and Simon. For this, she turns out to be my favorite character in the book. You mourn with her, you ache along with her, you feel her...

The book reminded me a little of Twenty Boy Summer, by Sarah Ockler. Sea glasses in that book, while it was agates in here. Both books are about the grief caused by the death of an important character.

Sadly, i do not have a quote that i like from this book, even though there's so much stress on the Book of Quotes that Trixie and Lulu have. I'm not sure whether I will re-read it because its little sad, tragic and emotional, but definitely recommend anyone going through the final stages of mourning a lost love to read this. My rating is 4/5.

When I got the chance to read The Last Thing You Said by Sara Biren I was so excited! I have heard nothing but wonderful things about this book and author. I will admit that this is a tear jerker but there are laughs along the way. The story follows Lucy (Lulu) whose best friend (Trixie) dies without warning. This leaves Lucy and Trixie’s brother Ben in shock and having a hard time excepting the fact that she is gone. The story takes places in a Minnesota resort town where Ben’s family owns a resort where they both work during their summers. It has been almost a year after the accident and they still are not talking. Lucy makes a friend with Hannah, a new girl at their school. While Ben spirals out of control drinking and going from girl to girl. However this summer takes a different turn from last summer. They find that they can’t stop thinking and worrying about each other bring them together at the end. While I could not put this book down, I found that it is really an emotional read with a happy ending, Biren does an amazing job a creating a story that really pulls at your heart strings

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Like many books I choose, this cover and title spoke to me, and because of the description I knew it was a book for me. Having lost my best friend in my 20s, I was anxious to see how teenagers would be portrayed dealing with a lot of the same emotions I had.

Though Trixie's tragic death occurs well before the book begins, her absence remains an obvious hole in the lives of alternating narrators Lucy and Ben - and of the friends and family that try to help them deal with their grief while also dealing with their own.

I was compelled to watch Ben and Lucy as they orbited each other in their small, lakeside town. Though seeing the other brought raw feelings to the surface, Ben and Lucy are inexplicably drawn to each other through their shared loss, former friendship, and hope for the relationship they may have had.

This book is not just about grief over losing a person so integral in one's life. It is about struggling to move on, to remember, and to deal with guilt and everyday reminders of her absence.

Last Summer both Lucy and Ben suffered a great loss. The loss of Trixie who was Lucy's best friend and Bens sister. This story revolves around the emotions and loss that Lucy and Ben are going through. It is a about loss, love and finding yourself. This was a great read and I can't recommend it enough.

ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled a little with my rating here. BUT I think I figured it all out! I tore through this book in one day! I was super invested in the story and the characters. Losing friends young is very hard. I lost family and friends young. One of my long time friends when I was just a senior in high school. So this book called to me right away.
We are dealing with two people at different stages in their grief. Lucy lost Trixie her best friend as if that isn't painful enough she loses Ben as well. The love of her life and Trixies brother. He is alive but is unable to be around her now. Lucy is at the point where she is sad and missing her best friend every day but she knows that she needs to get moving. That living is what Trixie would have wanted. She meets a boy Simon and that's really where everything changes for her.
Ben goes bat shit crazy in the wake of his sister's death. He is harboring guilt because he thinks if he had been paying attention to his sister and not Lucy she would be alive. He hates the world and everything in it. He attacks Lucy with that hate every chance he gets. Bens grief is the kind I understand. I loved that he was angry and reckless. I loved that he cursed like a sailor and acted out sexually. It felt very real to me. Don't get me wrong I was yelling at the book, begging him to get his shit together! That is the point though he invoked a real feeling within me.
Lucy was also a beautiful character. She has made a new friend named Hannah who is trying to help her deal with the grief. I loved their friendship so much. I loved that Hannah wanted to know Trixie. That she treated her with respect even though she was gone. I loved all the female friendships in this book!
" Be really brave. BRB - our code."
That sums up how amazing Trixie and these relationships are. Now on to my issues. Simon the boy Lucy begins dating to try and move on from Ben. He seems extremely sweet and it's so clear at times he loves her in a way. I also felt some off things about him. Maybe he capitalized on grief a little. I don't know if that was intentional because it wasn't addressed. He also throws something very personal in Bens face and that sat very very wrong with me. Simon at the end also faces a grief of his own and I didn't think that was needed. SPOLIERISH? I hated the kind of stress that added to Lucy. Simon and all his flaws was there for her during her grief and she just left him. It did not sit well with me. BUT my conflicting feelings on Simon the ones that think he was using her grief make me think that is why she left him in his time of need. (I don't mean she should have stayed with him by any means. Just been a friend) SO this was my only issue with the story. If you can even call it that.
I really liked this book. I think everyone should read! It dealt with grief in ways we don't often see in the YA world. It also gave us different manifestations of grief helping show that not everyone grieves the same. It was wonderful. FOUR STAR.

Favorite Quote
"It's a good day to have a good day." She leans in close to me and whispers, "BRB, Lucy. Promise me."

lucy and ben had always been connected by trixie. she was lucy's best friend. she was ben's little sister. they'd all grown up together in their small resort town on minnesota's halcyon lake. so when trixie's heart gave out on a routine swim they had no idea how to process that kind of grief.

lucy had loved ben forever. but since trixie died it was as if he only knew how to cause her pain. she didn't understand his anger or his need to hurt her. in the year since her death there had been a thousand small cuts. starting with what he said to her on the day of her funeral.

what he said was actually pretty unforgivable. and ben would take it back if he knew how. he hated hurting lucy. except that every time he saw her he'd think how she was here and trixie wasn't. and he'd think if he hadn't been thinking of lucy. of how her skin felt when it brushed against his. of how he wanted to run his fingers through her hair and caress the freckles dusting her cheek. of how he loved her and wanted to kiss her and be with her. and maybe, just maybe, if he hadn't been so focused on thoughts like that, maybe his sister would still be here. and maybe everything was his fault. but it's easier to blame someone else, and lucy is the only other person he can blame.

and the thing is, she is the only person he can blame who is strong enough to take it. she is the only person he can treat so badly that will still forgive him and love him in the end. and now that the anniversary of trixie's death is approaching, maybe it's time that he stop hating lucy and stop hating himself and stop hating the fact that his sister is dead. maybe if he accepts her death. accepts that it was something that could not have been avoided. she had a heart condition and it would have given out at some point, whether or not ben was there to stop it.

the last thing you said is a story about loss and heartbreak and grief. about how even when things are broken beyond measure they can be put back together again, you just have to accept the differences. lucy and ben's story is beautiful and sad. they both make a lot of stupid choices. they're doing their best to survive, because the only way forward is to take it one day at a time. and maybe they're done with all the hurting and are ready to start healing. sara biren's debut is a powerful exploration of grief and how the experience of loss at such a young age can be devastating and raw and painful.

This was heartbreaking. I know I've been giving it to too many but this too deserved a 3.5.

Lucy has lost Trixie her best friend, and her brother Ben has been treating her like trash, making her lose even more than a friend. Especially considering her long-lasting feelings for him. When a new boy comes to town, she wonders if it is time to move on.

I wasn't expecting the tone in this book. I just thought it would either focus on some drama about Ben and Lucy not being able to get together, or maybe on memories of Lucy's good times with Trixie. Of course, the book had both but they were exceedingly used. The actual tone was closer to paying homage to Trixie and all she was able to accomplish before her death.

This book centered a lot on grieving, too. Maybe it is because I have been going through some very dark weeks myself but some passages spoke to me in a way that I cried not really from being sad but from something deeper. It's hard to explain. Still, this isn't really a book written to make you cry. The author just wrote in very well how mourning someone feels. I don't think I had any moment of punch-in-the-gut, either. I feel that is an accomplishment, being able to take such a theme and resisting the urge to turn it into a tearjerker. It's much harder to reach your reader without that punch, in my opinion. And both Lucy's and Ben's grieving processes seemed real enough they brought me some comfort.

While I say that I don't mean I really liked Ben that much. In fact, if I cheered for him to finally get together with Lucy it was because she really seemed to love him. To be honest, he was unbearable too many times for me to forgive if this were me. Not that his rival was any better—he was so much worse I pitied Lucy. Yes, it was a good thing this book wasn't heavy on the romance. It focused more on friendship and bonds, including the one uniting Lucy and Ben, which happened to have the romantic aspect. I wouldn't have been as satisfied had this story really been a romance, considering what a terrible book boyfriend Ben turned out to be. I do understand he was hurting... it doesn't mean I'd want to have to deal with it.

So why didn't I rate it higher? Even though the story spoke so much to me, I felt it was still bland. Somethings also happened mostly because the author wanted, and others never received the proper attention, like Lucy's brother lacked a more complete ending besides being the big excuse for her parents to have her work extra hours at the family restaurant. Many of the characters lacked dimension, and I wasn't too into the interchangeability between Hannah, Lucy's new friend, and Trixie. Except for the accent, which you obviously can't hear, they just seemed the same person to me.

So this book had a lot of points to be improved but this was still a work that touched me a lot. It was the sort of book I really needed to read. In addition to having good themes to debate on if you want to do a buddy read, this was a very quick read. I never finish books in a day, and yet this one I did.