Absolutely beautifully written! I ate this book up in just 2 days!

The Last Thing You Said is a coming of novel about two young people dealing with the grief of losing someone close to them. Lucy's life changed the moment she lost her best friend, Trixie. She no longer has the brave best friend by her side to give her courage. Not only did she lose Trixie, though. She also lost Trixie's brother, Ben.

Ben can't forgive himself for what he couldn't do the day Trixie died. His grief has caused him to push away the people he loved the most. One of those people is his sister's best friend, Lucy. He can't stop thinking about Lucy, but he knows there's nothing he can do to make up for the way he's acted.

After a year of carefully avoiding each other, Ben and Trixie are forced to see each other at their summer jobs. Despite the pain of the past year, neither can stop thinking about what could have been.

The Last Thing You Said broke my heart over and over again. It did it slowly, throughout the entire book. The pain each character felt crushed me and made me yearn for better times for Lucy and Ben. Their pain was so raw. I wanted to lock them in a room and force them to talk to each other.

Ben was a tough character to like. I wanted to give him a good shake! The way he treated Lucy and everyone around him was frustrating. I hated how he became dependent on alcohol to numb his pain. His way of coping hurt more than it helped, and it was painful to read. I wanted him to dig himself out of the hole he was creating.

I loved Lucy, but she made me so sad. I remember what it was like to have my heart-broken and I empathized with her pain. She knew the way he treated her was horrible and she shouldn't want to be with him anymore, but she couldn't stop her feelings for him. It was painful to feel her discomfort every time she saw Ben. I liked that Lucy tried hard to move on, even if the way she did it wasn't the best.

No matter how painful The Last Thing You Said was to read at times, I still loved it. Ben frustrated the heck out of me and Lucy made me want to cry, but I couldn’t put the book down. I loved it. It was so beautifully written and filled with emotion. Even when I hated something a character was doing, I loved them. I wanted to see them overcome their problems and be happy.

I can’t believe this is Sara Biren’s debut novel. Reading The Last Thing You Said felt like reading a book from a seasoned author. It felt so real and raw. I’m incredibly excited to see what comes next from her.

Sara Biren's debut novel 'The Last Thing You Said' is that summer love between teenagers, but ripped apart by tragedy. The careful balance of teenage emotion and trying to be strong that Biren balances is the perfect combination to bring out a story that will put on all heart strings.

The story focuses around Lucy and Ben as they cope almost a year later with the death of someone very close to them. A death that ended up ripping their own friendship apart. Living in a small lake town, you are bound to run into each other, and these encounters cause awkwardness, old pent up emotions to flow out, and angry disputes. While these teens try and juggle their normal summer lives of working and hanging out with old and new friends, we watch as they learn about heart ache, resentment, forgiveness, and teenage angst.

Biren's writing is simplistic and has a great flow about it. The story transitions from one viewpoint to the other and you end up reading a chunk of the book without even realizing how long you have been sitting there. I love that about this novel. It's an easy read that draws you in. Lucy is average teenager. Juggling family, work, and trying to be a little normal. She regrets some of her decisions and realizes the mistakes she has made based on her emotions. This story is good for anyone, of any age. It's a fantastic spring read on a nice day sitting outside on the porch, or for those in snowy states, curled up on the couch with a good book. Being from Michigan, I could practically close my eyes and picture the small lake town, tourists milling about, taking boats out on the water, town parades, and all the other summer lake stories you hear about. They are all real and Biren nailed them in this novel. It's like a fresh blast of air from back home. I highly recommend this book for anyone to check out and read. Five out of five stars.

Thank your for the chance to read this book, however, it's a DNF for me and I won't be reviewing it at this time.

This is a great book of loss, survival, love, and what happens when you lose someone you love. What happens to relationships and the people you leave behind. The author put a lot of thought into how people react to the loss of a loved one and how the closed relationships can deteriorate when it happens. A great heartfelt, heartwarming, real story.

The last thing she said --
"It's a good day to have a good day." She leans in close to me and whispers, "BRB, Lucy. Promise me."

I knew this books would elicit tears, when a few escaped as I read the author's introductory note.

This is a sad story of what happens when a life is cut short. It's about those who are left behind, and how they are supposed to survive without that person. I lost several friends too soon, and therefore was able to relate to this story. Biren deftly portrayed people in the throes of grief. The primary focus of the story was Ben and Lucy, but she also included Trixie's parents and other family members. I appreciated that Biren did this, because she showed that grief and how one deals with this grief is not a one-size-fits-all situation.

"Her life was short, but she did - she lived it."

This story really hit home for me on so many levels, as I lost several friends way too soon. It made me reflect on how I dealt with those losses. The coincidence that I finished reading this story on THIS day, which is always a little sad for me as I remember my good friend who I lost in a plane crash, was uncanny. It was many years ago, but I still hold a little piece of him in my heart and a little bit of the pain is still there too. So, yeah, I could relate to this story, and found that the pain and ache permeated this story was so real.

"'Tell me a Trixie.' I smile. This has become one of our favorite activities, a way I can keep Trixie alive."

The parts where memories of Trixie were shared were among my favorite parts of this book. I swear! Every one of them brought a smile to my face, and made my eyes shiny. These vignettes were so beautifully crafted, and radiated with love for their cherished friend and sister. They were just perfect. The picture of Trixie painted for us, was one of a girl who loved recklessly and lived her life out loud. She brought joy to those who she loved and who loved her back, but she had flaws, and I liked that Biren included those too.

"Be really brave. BRB - our code."

The broken relationship between Ben and Lucy was so painful! There were times when I thought my heart just could not take any more. These two were so deep in their hole of anguish, that they were missing out on their best means for survival. It is here that I will thank Biren for giving both Ben and Lucy such wonderful support systems in the form of Guthrie and Hannah. Guthrie was this fabulous strong but silent type, who has this zen-mystical quality. And Hannah! Hannah was loud and showy and sometimes crass, but she was thoughtful, understanding, persistent when necessary, and perceptive. She knew exactly what Lucy needed and when. It was really touching the way she shared in Lucy's pain and wanted to help her remember Trixie, even though she never met her. #FriendshipGoals.

I really loved the way Biren worked the inuksuit into the story. The whole purpose of the inuksuit as a form of communication to say you were here or to tell someone they are on the right path. Ben used these structures as a way to find his way back: back to Lucy and back to himself. It was very poetic and beautiful .

"I stack the rocks and they fall and I stack them again until I find balance. "

"Ben was so careful and methodical about it, so intent on achieving balance where there should be none."

And the ending image featuring the inuksuit just made my heart leap with joy.

Overall: A lovely and poignant story of love and loss which hit me right in the feels, and is leaving me wanting more from Sara Biren.

Loved this one so much. It is romantic and melancholy at the same time. Well done, highly recommended.

* I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion. *

This book is powerful. And from the title and description alone, I had a feeling I'd love it.

I was right.

Lucy's best friend died nearly a year ago. Her death occurred right on the cusp of Lucy getting what she'd always wanted—Trixie's brother, Ben. But as is the case with death, everything screeches to a halt. Things change, people change. And, <i>The Last Thing You Said</i> is a brilliant portrayal of death, grief, and first love.

Now, this isn't the first time I've said this, nor will it be the last, but I adore the best friends to lovers trope. It never gets old regardless of how many stories I read. So that was my first pull/draw to this book. The second? The death of a loved one. Maybe I'm morbid, but I find myself enjoying the stories of those dealing with grief while in the midst of love. What sets this apart from others I've read, though, is that the "couple" have both been affected by the same death. Both are grieving, but unfortunately, separate instead of together. And really, this is where 90% of the angst in this book stems from.

I won't even lie—I'm about to be a hypocrite. In my past review, I claimed to hate the brooding hero trope. And while it's still true, this time, it has merit. I loved Ben. I understood why he was moody and damaged. However, I also hated him for what he'd done to Lucy; how he was still treating her. I lost count of all the times I wanted to punch him for doing stupid things. I did give him a pass (somewhat) because both were stubborn. And, Lucy... I felt her pain. I can't imagine losing not only a best friend, but a second family as well. Or, potentially the love of my life. All in one swoop. And I'm in no way saying her actions weren't stupid at times, because they were. I did understand her reasoning, though, with how the distance came into play. Both characters were extremely well-developed, but more importantly, had their own voices. It actually felt as though I were in the heads of two separate people. And since this isn't always the case, I appreciated it.

Thankfully, we do get both points of view. Witnessing the damage the tragic death of Trixie caused was devastating. My heart broke for both. But again, all I wanted was them to get their heads out of their asses and TALK. The angst factor in this book is out of control. So much tension! And this doesn't go away... not until nearly the end. But it's not just about them. We see how it affected their families. Their other relationships, too. It's honest and real.

Hannah is a joy. As is Guthrie. Those two made for great background characters. And Emily. Through Lucy's storytelling to the little girl, we get to know Trixie a little better. We, too, get to mourn her loss.

This is one of the best contemporary stories I've read in a while. Maybe since 2015, even. I haven't been this invested in one in nearly as long. From Simon to Dana to Lucy to Ben... it's a tale that isn't always easy. But it's an honest, brilliant, realistic story. One that will stay with me for a long time.

This book is a heart-wrenching tale of loss, grief, love, and moving on after tragedy. A general purchase for all teen collections.

This book made me cry - and I HATE crying, especially when I am reading.

Sad, uplifting, deep and did I mention brave? Biren's book (I believe it is her first) takes an honest look at how the death of a loved one (especially one so young) affects everyone on so many different levels and even when you think you are getting through it - unexpected things can both be good and bad at the same time.

The tentative romantic connection of these two characters is so well done. Love, but how can I love someone when there is so much guilt? how can I love when someone else will never love? Deep writing, giving me lots of things to think about.

Lovely.