~ My Thoughts and Review ~
Kaira Rouda artfully weaves together the lives and stories of several families facing a time of major change to their lives. The Goodbye Year takes place in well-to-do Crystal Beach, California. It all begins at the welcome back to school meeting for parents. Their kids are starting their senior year of high school. All the parents are beginning to feel the effects of the upcoming “empty nest syndrome”. Unfortunately, this major life change happens to coincide with mid-life crisis’s for these families.
We meet each family in alternating chapters. We get to know their challenges and issues through the eyes of the parents, as well as, their teenagers. Each person shares their point of view of the situations as they unfold and intertwine with each other.
It always amazes me, to learn what goes on behind closed doors. People put on a fake persona to the world, one that seems like they have it all together and can handle everything that life throws at them, but in reality, they are barely hanging on.
The Goodbye Year is full of drama, as you can well imagine, centering on hormonal teenagers, peri-menopausal mothers and mid-life crisis fathers going through a major change to life as they know it.
I really enjoyed this book, and I believe you will too 🙂
Melanie, a perfectionist mom who views the approaching end of parenting as a type of death, can’t believe she has only one more year to live vicariously through her slacker senior son, Dane. Gorgeous mom Sarah has just begun to realize that her only daughter, Ashley, has been serving as a stand-in for her traveling husband, and the thought of her daughter leaving for college is cracking the carefully cultivated façade of her life. Will and his wife are fine—as long as he follows the instructions on the family calendar and is sure to keep secret his whole other life with Lauren, the woman he turns to for fun (and who also happens to have a daughter in the senior class).
Told from the points of view of both the parents and the kids, The Goodbye Year explores high school peer pressure, what it’s like for young people to face the unknown of life after high school, and how a transition that should be the beginning of a couple’s second act together—empty nesting—might possibly be the end.
Available to buy from…
Kindle Amazon Print Barnes and Noble iBooks Kobo Google Play
“Rouda deftly examines the difficult transition parents and their children face as they prepare for the end of one life and the beginning of another. Her latest is a compelling story and a thoughtful examination of the nature of change and the importance of working to accept it.” ―Booklist
“The Goodbye Year is an often hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, always engaging look at the last year before high school seniors leave their families for good. I devoured it!” -Meg Mitchell Moore, author of The Admissions, So Far Away, and The Arrivals
“The family dramas and dynamics are things that we can all relate to…”
-Redbook magazine, “20 Best Books to Read Come Spring”
“Kaira Rouda channels Peyton Place meets The Real Housewives of Orange County with her newest book, The Goodbye Year.” ―Working Mother magazine
About the Author
Kaira Rouda is a USA Today bestselling, multiple award-winning author of contemporary women’s fiction and sexy modern romance novels that sparkle with humor and heart.
Her women’s fiction titles include THE GOODBYE YEAR, HERE, HOME, HOPE, ALL THE DIFFERENCE and IN THE MIRROR. Her bestselling short story is titled, A MOTHER’S DAY. Her sexy contemporary romance series include the LAGUNA BEACH Series, the INDIGO ISLAND Series with a new MALIBU Series launching in 2016.
Her nonfiction titles, REAL YOU INCORPORATED: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs, and REAL YOU FOR AUTHORS: 8 Essentials for Women Writers (available for free download on her website) continue to inspire.
Kaira’s work has won numerous awards including the Indie Excellence Award, USA Book Awards, the Reader’s Choice Awards and honorable mention in the Writer’s Digest International Book Awards. She lives in Southern California with her husband and four almost-grown kids, and is at work on her next novel.
Find the author on the following sites…
Website Facebook Twitter Pinterest Google+ Goodreads Amazon Author Page
Follow the book tour
I received this book to review through Beck Valley Books Book Tours, all the opinions above are 100% my own.
NOW FOR THE AUTHOR’S GIVEAWAY
Win a $25 Amazon.com GC / Paypal Cash (winners choice)
Open Worldwide
Ending on Friday 2nd September at 11.59pm EST
Enter Below and Good Luck !!
Save