Title: A Beginners Guide to Goodbye

Author: Melanie Mosher

Publisher; Nimbus Publishing

Pages: 177

Genre: Middle grade fiction

Rating: ★★★★★

Review:

A Beginner’s Guide to Goodbye is a very thoughtful novel that deals with the very delicate subject of love and loss. Laney, a ten year old girl feels responsible for the death of her younger sister Jenny. She’s finding it extremely hard to grapple with the fact that she’s never going to see her younger sister again, and it’s even tougher for her because she blames herself. I thought that this book dealt with loss and grief in a very respectful and easy to read way. As I said before, the subject is delicate, but it’s something that everybody goes through. I think that this novel can offer a source of comfort to those who are grieving, especially younger children for which this book is more suited for. It doesn’t get easier to deal with losing someone as you get older, but this book presents it in a way that it’s good for kids to understand. I feel like you can read this book and be comforted by it.

I thought the writing style was really nice, and it’s got a good story to support it’s main message. I also thought it was really cool on how Laney was writing to Jenny in her diary, and that those entries were included in the book. The whole book was just very sweet and sincere. It’s also just got a lot of fun kid stuff that makes you smile. It really makes you think about summer vacations and swimming in the ocean under the sun. I really could not find anything wrong with this book.

As I said, this book gives off really good summer vibes, and I can look at the cover and I can feel the sea breeze on my face and in my hair, and the smell of the ocean and the soft colour pallet-you get the idea. Breezey summer beach vibes <3 So I think it’s safe to say that I really admired this book, and that I also enjoyed it as well. It was really easy to read, and I think that it could bet really good for anyone dealing with a loss, especially children. I feel like adults or teens can even read it too, I like to think that middle grade means that it’s suited for all ages. I really hope you consider checking out A Beginners Guide to Goodbye by Melanie Mosher, and I think that it’s a really good book that can really be enjoyed by everyone!

Here’s the official synopsis by Nimbus:

Every summer, Laney’s family visits their cottage on Tidnish Beach. Summertime on Nova Scotia’s north shore is slow and sweet: there are long days in the water until fingers turn pruney, bottomless glasses of cherry Kool-Aid, and bonfires with the other families summering along the shore. But this year the baking heat and bright red sand provide cold comfort. This year Laney’s little sister, Jenny, is gone.

Ten-year-old Laney grapples with the loss. She carries immense, secret guilt that she can only work out by writing letters to her sister. Laney’s mother won’t even say Jenny’s name, so writing quickly becomes Laney’s coping mechanism, to the detriment of her social skills. She avoids the other kids until she makes a new friend—one who doesn’t look at her with pity.

It’s a tough lesson for a preteen, but Laney must learn to acknowledge her grief in order to overcome it. When a situation arises and Laney needs to help her new friend, she finally understands that even though she will miss Jenny forever, she can find happiness again. A tender meditation on life and loss through the lens of a childhood summer, A Beginner’s Guide to Goodbye will fill readers with warmth and spark important conversations.