Blog Tour - It Started With Goodbye By Christina June {Review & Giveaway}
Title: It Started With Goodbye
Author: Christina June
Publication Date: May 9th, 2017
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Sixteen-year-old Tatum Elsea is bracing for the worst summer of her life. After being falsely accused of a crime, she’s stuck under stepmother-imposed house arrest and her BFF’s gone ghost. Tatum fills her newfound free time with community service by day and working at her covert graphic design business at night (which includes trading emails with a cute cello-playing client).
When Tatum discovers she’s not the only one in the house keeping secrets, she finds she has the chance to make amends with her family and friends. Equipped with a new perspective, and assisted by her feisty step-abuela-slash-fairy-godmother, Tatum is ready to start fresh and maybe even get her happy ending along the way.
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It Started With Goodbye can be described as a contemporary and modern re-telling of Cinderella. I've always loved fairy tales and Cinderella is definitely no exception. And I would have definitely enjoyed a movie adaptation of the book itself!
The story follows our main character Tatum, who has been arrested for being at the wrong place, at the wrong time and has to spend her summer doing community service and being on house arrest as punishment. Tate's stepmother is making everything worse by not trusting her at all, while her dad is away on a business trip for the entire summer.And if we consider the fact that, she has no relationship whatsoever with her stepsister, things are really not looking that great for her.
Her father and stepmother also decide to invite her stepmother's mom over, that means her step grandmother kind of? to come and live with them in order to make sure that, Tatum doesn't do anything out of line or get in trouble again. So, because of the house arrest, she has to find creative ways to spend her time and ends up creating her own graphic design business. Which goes surprisingly well by the way. And after everything that happens, she discovers new things about her family that she hadn't even realized during all the years she spent living with them and finds herself in the process.
It Started With Goodbye was one of my most anticipated releases and I could not wait to finally get my hands on it! It definitely did not disappoint. As soon as I started reading, I realized that it would be very difficult to put it down. It was such a fun and enjoyable read, perfect for fans of contemporary novels!
The story itself was interesting, fast paced and had me hooked from the beginning. I loved the characters and related to them so much! Everything that happened in this book felt so realistic and because of that, it was more than easy to connect with the characters. It was definitely a relatable story and I could understand how Tatum was feeling perfectly! She was such a likable character as well and I could definitely see my self in her shoes, feeling frustrated because the people that truly mattered didn't believe me and disappointed because of everything that had happened to lead me there.
Everything happened in such a vivid way, which is something that I always enjoy in books. I also loved the fact that, this book was not completely focused on the romance like most YA contemporaries are, but rather explored the relationship between family members and how they came to be so much closer than they used to. Even though they had lived together for years.
I also immensely enjoyed the secondary characters and their part in the development of the story. I adored their relationship with Tatum and how they encouraged and supported her. Something that helped since, she was obviously feeling quite self-conscious and unsure of herself and the path she chose to follow. But, in the end, she stayed true to, not only who she was but also to who she wanted to become and found happiness within herself and her renewed bonds with her family.
And, before I end this review, we really can't forget about the moments with SK, which were completely adorable and swoon worthy. I found the way the romance developed, without actually affecting the moral of the story very admirable and interesting. And quite refreshing actually! Something that I've personally never encountered in books of this particular genre.
It Started With Goodbye was vivid, beautifully written and definitely worth reading! It's a wonderful journey of self discovery, that shows how important family and friendships are along the way!
The story follows our main character Tatum, who has been arrested for being at the wrong place, at the wrong time and has to spend her summer doing community service and being on house arrest as punishment. Tate's stepmother is making everything worse by not trusting her at all, while her dad is away on a business trip for the entire summer.And if we consider the fact that, she has no relationship whatsoever with her stepsister, things are really not looking that great for her.
Her father and stepmother also decide to invite her stepmother's mom over, that means her step grandmother kind of? to come and live with them in order to make sure that, Tatum doesn't do anything out of line or get in trouble again. So, because of the house arrest, she has to find creative ways to spend her time and ends up creating her own graphic design business. Which goes surprisingly well by the way. And after everything that happens, she discovers new things about her family that she hadn't even realized during all the years she spent living with them and finds herself in the process.
It Started With Goodbye was one of my most anticipated releases and I could not wait to finally get my hands on it! It definitely did not disappoint. As soon as I started reading, I realized that it would be very difficult to put it down. It was such a fun and enjoyable read, perfect for fans of contemporary novels!
The story itself was interesting, fast paced and had me hooked from the beginning. I loved the characters and related to them so much! Everything that happened in this book felt so realistic and because of that, it was more than easy to connect with the characters. It was definitely a relatable story and I could understand how Tatum was feeling perfectly! She was such a likable character as well and I could definitely see my self in her shoes, feeling frustrated because the people that truly mattered didn't believe me and disappointed because of everything that had happened to lead me there.
Everything happened in such a vivid way, which is something that I always enjoy in books. I also loved the fact that, this book was not completely focused on the romance like most YA contemporaries are, but rather explored the relationship between family members and how they came to be so much closer than they used to. Even though they had lived together for years.
I also immensely enjoyed the secondary characters and their part in the development of the story. I adored their relationship with Tatum and how they encouraged and supported her. Something that helped since, she was obviously feeling quite self-conscious and unsure of herself and the path she chose to follow. But, in the end, she stayed true to, not only who she was but also to who she wanted to become and found happiness within herself and her renewed bonds with her family.
And, before I end this review, we really can't forget about the moments with SK, which were completely adorable and swoon worthy. I found the way the romance developed, without actually affecting the moral of the story very admirable and interesting. And quite refreshing actually! Something that I've personally never encountered in books of this particular genre.
It Started With Goodbye was vivid, beautifully written and definitely worth reading! It's a wonderful journey of self discovery, that shows how important family and friendships are along the way!
Praise for IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE
"You won't be able to put this book down. This heartfelt read totally sucked me in. A (Prince) Charming read." -- Miranda Kenneally, author of Catching Jordan
"Honest, fun,and entirely compelling, this is a story about how being in the wrong place at the wrong time can lead to a whole lot of right. Tatum is a character you'll relate to, cheer for, and want to befriend." -- Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of Firsts
"Tatum's complex and realistic relationships with her friends, family and the potential love interest will have you savoring every chapter while heavily anticipating the next. It Started With Goodbye is an adorable and clever contemporary that will enthrall you with its fairytale-esque charm." -- Ami Allen-Vath, author of Liars and Losers Like Us
"I loved this fun, contemporary take on the Cinderella tale that explores what it takes to be yourself while finding your place in life, love,and your family. June's characters are vividly drawn, complex people that you'll want to root for, and Tatum's story will strike a chord for anyone who's felt like they were misunderstood." -- Lisa Maxwell, author of Unhooked, Sweet Unrest and Gathering Deep
"A sweet and satisfying portrait of family, friendship, and discovering your own path. Tatum's journey from fear and disappointment to honesty and freedom to be herself is one that will resonate with many readers." -- Ashley Herring Blake, author of Suffer Love
"A fresh, charming debut, brimming with friendship, family, and love." -- Marci Lyn Curtis, author of The One Thing
Christina June writes young adult contemporary fiction when she’s not writing college recommendation letters during her day job as a school counselor. She loves the little moments in life that help someone discover who they’re meant to become – whether it’s her students or her characters. Christina is a voracious reader, loves to travel, eats too many cupcakes, and hopes to one day be bicoastal – the east coast of the US and the east coast of Scotland. She lives just outside Washington DC with her husband and daughter.
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