Thank you to Netgalley and Nimbus Publishing for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I wanted to like The Goodbye Girls. The business idea was so original, and the beginning felt so real, but everything deteriorated from there. My main problem was with all of characters, except for Lizzie, the main character. Everyone spent most of their time repetitively fighting, and I found most of the relationships to be exhausting. Willa, Lizzie’s best friend, spent a lot of time blowing up at her about her parent’s impending divorce and her denial of their separation. She also constantly criticized Trisha, Lizzie’s older sister, for the kind of person she seemed to be. To be fair, Trisha wasn’t very nice, but I still felt that Willa had no place saying those things. I value strong friendships, and I don’t feel that came through in this book. Trisha herself could have been an interesting character, but I found her to be incredibly petty. I don’t find that to be a driving character trait, and she only had a few moments where she wasn’t being rude or shallow. I could have gotten into a reconciliation story, and I did like her ending, but it wasn’t enough. Trisha’s relationship with Lizzie went way far beyond a sibling rivalry, and most of the time, I was so confounded by her motivations, which were just petty to begin with. Lizzie’s mom seemed to try hard to help her daughter in the beginning and was very encouraging, but once we found out about her relationship everything went downhill. She was made out to be a single parent who’s trying her best with two teenagers, but I don’t understand why she made the choices she did while still trying to be there for her daughters. I wish the mystery in the book had been played up. I think the book could have been stronger if it was more plot focused. I liked the parts in the beginning where Lizzie and Willa were more goal-oriented, when their friendship felt supportive, and they were set on going to New York together. If they had kept up that motivation in finding the saboteur and turning the book into more of a mystery, I would have been able to accept more of the drama. Overall, I give The Goodbye Girls 2/5 stars for all the repetition and toxicity.
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The BaronessHey, I'm Shreya! I love to read, write, travel, and drink tea. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of bookshop.org and I will earn a small commission if you click the above link and make a purchase.
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