Book Review: He Forgot to Say Goodbye

This is a review of one of last spring’s featured books.  I got a little behind, so I decided to wait to share it until we were back posting regularly. It actually worked out better than I could have hoped because this book pairs up so well with our September featured novel, Gabi, A Girl in Pieces.  They’re both written in a journal or diary like confessional style, but this one has two male protagonists, while Gabi has a female protagonist.  It’d be great to have your class read both and do a comparative analysis.

He Forgot to Say Goodbye
Written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Published by Simon and Schuster 2010
ISBN:
Age Level: 12 and Up

Book Summary:

Ramiro Lopez and Jake Upthegrove don’t appear to have much in common. Ram lives in the Mexican-American working-class barrio of El Paso called “Dizzy Land.” His brother is sinking into a world of drugs, wreaking havoc in their household. Jake is a rich West Side white boy who has developed a problem managing his anger. An only child, he is a misfit in his mother’s shallow and materialistic world. But Ram and Jake do have one thing in common: They are lost boys who have never met their fathers. This sad fact has left both of them undeniably scarred and obsessed with the men who abandoned them. As Jake and Ram overcome their suspicions of each other, they begin to move away from their loner existences and realize that they are capable of reaching out beyond their wounds and the neighborhoods that they grew up in. Their friendship becomes a healing in a world of hurt.

My Thoughts:

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Our Next Good Read. . .He Forgot to Say Goodbye

Join us March 2^nd at Bookworks from 5:00-7:00 pm to discuss our next book.  We are reading He Forgot to Say Goodbye (ages 12 and up) by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

Here’s a sneak peek into the book: (from Goodreads)

Ramiro Lopez and Jake Upthegrove don’t appear to have much in common. Ram lives in the Mexican-American working-class barrio of El Paso called “Dizzy Land.” His brother is sinking into a world of drugs, wreaking havoc in their household. Jake is a rich West Side white boy who has developed a problem managing his anger. An only child, he is a misfit in his mother’s shallow and materialistic world. But Ram and Jake do have one thing in common: They are lost boys who have never met their fathers. This sad fact has left both of them undeniably scarred and obsessed with the men who abandoned them. As Jake and Ram overcome their suspicions of each other, they begin to move away from their loner existences and realize that they are capable of reaching out beyond their wounds and the neighborhoods that they grew up in. Their friendship becomes a healing in a world of hurt.

Book Giveaway!! He Forgot to Say Goodbye

We’re giving away a copy of He Forgot to Say Goodbye (ages 12 and up)written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz-our featured novel for March’s book group meeting!! Check out the following review from Publishers Weekly:

Setting this wise and trenchant coming-of-age story in El Paso, Tex., Sáenz (Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood) alternates between two teenage narrators from very different backgrounds who nonetheless share the same disfiguring pain—their fathers walked out on them years ago. Soft-spoken Ramiro Lopez is the responsible son of a hardworking single mother, a role that intensifies when his bitter younger brother overdoses on heroin; Ram’s high school is next door to that of combative Jake Upthegrove, who’s disgusted with his mother and stepfather’s shallow, materialistic values. As the characters endure traumatic events…the author shows them developing redemptive friendships—all the while preserving their highly individuated voices. The protagonists and their friends seem so real and earn the audience’s loyalty so legitimately that it will be hard for readers to part from them.