How Many Letters Are In Goodbye?

January 15, 2016
Teenage immigrant Rhea Farrell must figure out how to confront fear and loss in 1999 New York City. In a series of letters to her mum, Rhea details her new life in America, far from Ireland, where her father was buried and her mother's body remains, unfound. Rhea feels free in New York, away from overbearing Aunt Ruth in Coral Springs, Florida. Surviving the streets of the big city seems feasible with the aid of charismatic Sergei, until money and Sergei's charms run low. Every day someone denies her a job, staring at what's left of her right arm while offering a thin excuse. At this rate, Rhea knows she cannot move forward, but she cannot go back to the loose ends in Coral Springs. A meeting one night alters Rhea's course and teaches her that running away is not a proper goodbye. Cassidy anchors readers in Rhea's kaleidoscope of emotions, writing a narrative that's at times dizzying from the intensity of Rhea's mood changes and at others frustrating due to her stubbornness. It's a rough emotional landscape, demanding readers with a high tolerance for angst, but the limited point of view pays off eventually. Rhea's journey does not always offer thrills, but Cassidy's consistent momentum moves her forward to where she needs to go. Heavy and intense, this book will make readers confront their own senses of identity. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)

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January 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-Cassidy's epistolary novel skillfully explores the trauma of family tragedy against the backdrop of New York City in 1999. As her 18th birthday approaches, Rhea wrestles with experiences of homelessness and confronting the tragedies in her family's past by writing a series of letters to the mother she lost when she was only three. After running away from her aunt's home to survive in the city she had obsessed over as a child, Rhea is given the opportunity to work at a seaside summer camp for homeless youth. At camp Rhea begins to heal from the pain of her mother's death and her father's alcoholism and learns to accept herself and her sexuality. Rhea's undeliverable letters provide insight into her past and present, progressively revealing the tragedies of her past interwoven with the stark realities of her life on the street. Rhea's frustration over being perceived as disabled due to the childhood incident in which she lost her arm feels authentic, even as her denial of family history sometimes borders on naivete. The individuals whom Rhea encounters are appropriately portrayed with varied degrees of complexity, shaking Rhea's assumptions about the appearances of lesbians, people who eat in soup kitchens, and alcoholism. References to sexual abuse and spare descriptions of sexual experiences make this work appropriate for mature teens. A heartbreaking story about the challenges of trusting, healing, and saying goodbye. VERDICT An additional purchase; give this title to readers looking for emotional impact.-Amanda Foulk, Sacramento Public Library

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