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Blog 6: The Theme and Lesson

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BLOG SIX - GOODBYE DAYS Written by Aaliyah Strayhorne  After reading Goodbye Days, I feel as though people can learn a lot if they read it themselves. This book was full of strong emotions and lessons throughout but I think the biggest take away would be the idea that there is always a way out of the darkest holes you face in life. Carver, the main character, demonstrates this when he is faced with the death of all of his closest and best friends. And he can only blame himself. However, Carver eventually finds help, learns to take care of himself, and gets better. Of course, like many people, Carver wanted to give up but he kept pushing, even when he thought he couldn't. I feel as though many people can learn from Carver. In life, we are met with many challenges, some minor, others large, but either way, they could impact us negatively. We go through trauma. It’s the human experience. Getting out of bad times is also the human experience. When we go through something, it’s hard to ...
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Blog 5: Who is to Blame?

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BLOG FIVE - GOODBYE DAYS Written by Aaliyah Strayhorne  In the book, the number one question is, who is to blame? As we know, Carver had texted his friend while they were driving, which as his friend was attempting to respond, they got into a car accident, ending with the death of all Carver’s best friends since they were all in the car at the time. In the book, there seems to be a debate over whether Carver is to blame or not. Carver did text his friend while he was driving and also demanded a text back, which does make it seem like Carver’s text is to blame for the entire situation. Many characters in the story believe it is his fault. I mean, if he never sent the text, his friend would not have had any text to feel obligated to respond to. However, it is the driver’s responsibility to stay off their phone while they are operating a vehicle. It is illegal to go on your phone while you are driving. So when you look at it from this perspective, the driver is in the wrong. While Car...
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Blog 4: Stereotyping

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BLOG FOUR - GOODBYE DAYS Written by Aaliyah Strayhorne       So far, from what I've read in Goodbye Days, I noticed the vocabulary is that of a teenage boy as it is written from the main character's perspective. As we know, the main character is a boy in high school and the author truly uses diction and phrases that a teenager would. The author does implement a couple curse words as well as slang. However, I feel as though the author was playing the part too well, but not in a good way. The character, Jesmyn, has been described as an Asian girl with white parents. She said she was adopted. Carver is white. There have been a couple instances where Carver has made comments about her race, but not quite in a bad way. Except, there was a part where they were sitting in the car and Jesmyn was talking about her favorite food, which was southern food. Carver thought it was a bit funny and surprising since she was Asian. Jesmyn knew he was slightly making fun of her but she ...
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Blog 3: Second Thoughts

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BLOG THREE - GOODBYE DAYS Written by Aaliyah Strayhorne  Okay, remember when I said I thought Carver and Jesmyn would stay friends? Yeah, scratch that. The last few chapters I just read made me change my mind. Let me start off by saying, if Carver and Jesmyn do not end up dating I would be extremely surprised. Carver basically took Jesmyn out on a date, but of course they were just “hanging out” as “friends”, which I guess they technically were, but it just did not seem that way at all! First of all, Carver totally has a crush on Jesmyn. Or he is at least developing feelings for her– Same thing. It is hard to say whether or not Jesmyn feels the same way or not, but she is super sweet to Carver, which could just be her personality or something, I am not sure. All I know is she definitely cares about him a lot. I will have to read more if he acts that way towards everyone or just Carver. But anyways, like I said in my past blogs, it’s written from a first person point of view so I ...
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Blog 2: Odd Relationships

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 BLOG TWO - GOODBYE DAYS Written by Aaliyah Strayhorne      To be honest, I do not know exactly how to feel about Carver and Jesmyn, his dead friend’s girlfriend. As I read, I kind of get the vibe that Carver may sort of be developing feelings for Jesmyn. While it is too early to decipher, it just seems like they are going to be more than friends by the end of the book. Initially Carver just needed someone to talk to, but I mean, they stayed on the phone with one another all night long. Personally, I’m only doing that with someone I have a crush on… It doesn’t sit right with me solely because Jesmyn is the girlfriend of one of his friends that died. Like, wouldn’t Carver be reminded of his friend every time he saw her? Wouldn’t he feel weird dating Jesmyn after the car accident? Taking his friend’s place after he died in a fatal accident? It just seems disrespectful. Imagine how his friend would feel, seeing Carver steal his girlfriend as soon as he passed away. If ...
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Blog 1: Initial Feelings

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BLOG ONE - GOODBYE DAYS  Written by Aaliyah Strayhorne The book I am reading, Goodbye Days, by Jeff Zentner, makes me feel pretty sad, as I feel sympathy for the main character. For some background knowledge, the main character, Carver, is experiencing and dealing with the death of his three best friends, and the worst part is, he may be responsible. Not on purpose of course. While I can’t understand how he truly feels, as none of my best friends have died before, it still makes me feel upset. With the book being written from a first person point of view, I am able to perceive Carver’s emotions and thoughts firsthand. He experiences feelings of guilt, misery, anxiety, and mourning. I could not imagine losing my best friend, or anyone I love. I’m very lucky to be fortunate enough to have all my friends still in my life. I’ve lost friends in a way where we no longer talk or parted ways, that’s as much as I can relate. I know losing friends due to death is a much more painful, trauma...
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