Review: How Many Letters Are in Goodbye? by Yvonne Cassidy

Title: How Many Letters Are In Goodbye?
Author: Yvonne Cassidy 
Publisher: Hachette
Release Date: June 5th, 2014
Pages: 438
Format: e-ARC
Source: Netgalley
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary 

Seventeen-year-old Rhea Farrell carries the scars of a childhood accident in which she lost her arm. But she also carries scars that aren't so visible--the loss of a mother she hardly remembers, the impact of her father's drinking, and her confusion and pain around accepting her sexuality.When Rhea runs away, she turns to the person she always wished she could confide in--her mother. And just like she used to do as a little girl, Rhea starts to write her letters--to tell her things she can't tell anyone else, to share her fears, to ask for help. Rhea's journey on the streets of New York brings her deeper into her mother's past where she uncovers buried family secrets. And as she finds out more about the woman her mother truly was, Rhea also discovers just what kind of woman she wants to be.

I find that keeping a diary can be time consuming and sometimes hard to find motivation to write but overall it can prove the best thing for you. However, reading a diary is something totally different. A diary is not something someone may take time to think out what they are feeling, no, it something feelings can just explode out on to a paper and be the outlet for someone when a person isn’t there.

How Many Letters Are in Goodbye was a book that allowed me to step away not from a different genre but from a different writing style. Written in letter format we see a personal story come to life. This book was a book I feel I needed to read in my life and I am glad I got the chance to.

We hear the story from seventeen year old Rhea who had a traumatic accident when she was younger. Everything happened after Rhea found out that her mother was dead and the ritual that her and her father had of writing letters to her mother every Friday was pointless. Following a story of a girl trying to find out who her mother was may not be the hardest thing when it comes to saying goodbye.

I really enjoyed this story and I thought that the way it was told was different and even though there were moments I felt several emotions coinciding with sadness, I still found myself struggling to put this book down. I was cheering on Rhea hoping she would find the answers she was looking for.

Rhea is a character that I liked. There were moments she pissed me off but what teenager doesn’t piss people off every now and then.  I felt her reasoning for leaving her home were not all to be judgmental of but I would not see myself leaving. Maybe I would. I don’t know. Other than that I feel she meets good people along the way who care about her but her past makes her hesitant in how much trust she puts into them.

Overall this was a good book that even though it has serious topics it is a book I recommend people to give a try. Another book that can be added to the pile of going in blind and liking.

I give this book 4 souls!