Goodbye Days by Jeff Zentner
(2017) 399 pages

Carver Briggs, a 17-year-old high school student, recently learned that his three closest friends had perished in a terrible vehicle accident. Carver’s closest pals were Thurgood Marshall (“Mars”), Eli Bauer, and Blake Lloyd. The “Sauce Crew” group of boys was getting ready to start their senior year at Nashville Arts Academy. Mars was responding to a text message that Carver had sent at the time of the collision, and Carver holds himself responsible. The narrative is delivered from Carver’s perspective, providing an intimate glimpse into the boy’s emotional recovery from this traumatic event.

Carver struggles with loneliness and guilt after the event while also experiencing grief. The fact that he is held accountable by some of the families of the slain lads only intensifies these emotions. Judge Edwards, Mars’s father, even requests that the district attorney launched an investigation into the incident. As a precaution, Carver’s parents retain legal counsel to defend him. Carver might face a charge of criminally negligent homicide, the attorney explains. In this way, Carver manages his stress in addition to the shame and anguish he already experiences.

The story traces Carver’s emotional development as he adjusts to the loss of his companions. The narrative is based on a sequence of goodbye days, during which Carver spends time with each of the deceased boy’s family members to remember him. The reader can get to know each of the dead lads personally through the stories their loved ones share about them on each goodbye day.

Carver’s mental turmoil, which is shown through internal dialogue, dreams, flashbacks to his pals, and fictitious discussions with the murdered boys, sets the scene for the final days. Panic attacks are a bodily manifestation of Carver’s sorrow and remorse. Carver also starts feeling attracted to Jesmyn Holder, the woman Eli was seeing prior to his passing. These emotions only make him feel guiltier. 

In the end, Carver’s involvement in the disaster is not further investigated. Carver succeeds in clearing his name of culpability as well as clearing his name in the eyes of the law. Carver reframes his perception of the accident with the aid of his therapist, Dr. Mendez. He discovers that trying to assign a reason for every occurrence in a chaotic environment is foolish and even harmful. By the end of the novel, Carver has been able to come to terms with the accident and seems to be moving on with his life.