The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

She doesn’t tell Dave about the vision because she’s worried he’ll think she’s crazy. However, the phone thankfully still maintains its memory, including Ty’s last text.

At one point, Lex thinks she sees his ghost and throws her phone, which breaks.

Her mother is convinced Ty is still around, haunting the house. In the present day, what’s left of Lex’s family continues to unravel. Lex’s final entry in her diary is December 20th, which was her six month anniversary with Steven, as well as the day Tyler killed himself. Ty began dating a cheerleader named Ashley, but their relationship ended in an ugly fashion and he wound up punching one of his friends, breaking the boy’s jaw. At the same time, Lex began to develop a relationship with a fellow classmate named Steven. Since then, their father remarried, their mother went back to college, and Tyler became a basketball player while Lex focused on college. He went on antidepressants and seemed to be doing better. The diary entries cover events from shortly after their parents’ divorce, when it’s revealed that Tyler previously attempted suicide by taking an overdose of pills. She begins the diary seven weeks after Tyler’s death, at the request of her therapist Dave. The book alternates between events in the present and past diary entries that explain some of the backstory of Tyler’s suicide. Her family collapsed after her father moved out four years ago, and everyone involved was devastated when her sixteen-year-old brother Tyler committed suicide months ago. The Last Time We Say Goodbye focuses on Alexis “Lex” Riggs, who lives with her mother in Nebraska. Exploring themes of grief, regret, and family bonds, The Last Time We Say Goodbye received positive reviews for its detailed and accurate depiction of the aftermath of a traumatic death, and received a citation from the American Library Association's Booklist. As she tries to keep her grief hidden and move on, she’s haunted by a secret text that Tyler sent, that could have possibly changed everything. It focuses on a teenage girl named Lex, who is dealing with the dual traumas of her parents’ divorce and the recent, mysterious suicide of her younger brother Tyler. The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a 2015 young adult novel by American author Cynthia Hand.

The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand