[Review] The Last Thing You Said - Sara Biren

Summary: Last summer, Lucy’s and Ben’s lives changed in an instant. One moment, they were shyly flirting on a lake raft, finally about to admit their feelings to each other after years of yearning. In the next, Trixie—Lucy’s best friend and Ben’s sister—was gone, her heart giving out during a routine swim. And just like that, the idyllic world they knew turned upside down, and the would-be couple drifted apart, swallowed up by their grief. Now it’s a year later in their small lake town, and as the anniversary of Trixie’s death looms, Lucy and Ben’s undeniable connection pulls them back together. They can’t change what happened the day they lost Trixie, but the summer might finally bring them closer to healing—and to each other. (Pub Date: Apr 04, 2017)

Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

This was heartbreaking. I know I've been giving it to too many but this too deserved a 3.5.

Lucy has lost Trixie her best friend, and her brother Ben has been treating her like trash, making her lose even more than a friend. Especially considering her long-lasting feelings for him. When a new boy comes to town, she wonders if it is time to move on.

I wasn't expecting the tone in this book. I just thought it would either focus on some drama about Ben and Lucy not being able to get together, or maybe on memories of Lucy's good times with Trixie. Of course, the book had both but they were exceedingly used. The actual tone was closer to paying homage to Trixie and all she was able to accomplish before her death.

This book centered a lot on grieving, too. Maybe it is because I have been going through some very dark weeks myself but some passages spoke to me in a way that I cried not really from being sad but from something deeper. It's hard to explain. Still, this isn't really a book written to make you cry. The author just wrote in very well how mourning someone feels. I don't think I had any moment of punch-in-the-gut, either. I feel that is an accomplishment, being able to take such a theme and resisting the urge to turn it into a tearjerker. It's much harder to reach your reader without that punch, in my opinion. And both Lucy's and Ben's grieving processes seemed real enough they brought me some comfort.

While I say that I don't mean I really liked Ben that much. In fact, if I cheered for him to finally get together with Lucy it was because she really seemed to love him. To be honest, he was unbearable too many times for me to forgive if this were me. Not that his rival was any better—he was so much worse I pitied Lucy. Yes, it was a good thing this book wasn't heavy on the romance. It focused more on friendship and bonds, including the one uniting Lucy and Ben, which happened to have the romantic aspect. I wouldn't have been as satisfied had this story really been a romance, considering what a terrible book boyfriend Ben turned out to be. I do understand he was hurting... it doesn't mean I'd want to have to deal with it.

So why didn't I rate it higher? Even though the story spoke so much to me, I felt it was still bland. Somethings also happened mostly because the author wanted, and others never received the proper attention, like Lucy's brother lacked a more complete ending besides being the big excuse for her parents to have her work extra hours at the family restaurant. Many of the characters lacked dimension, and I wasn't too into the interchangeability between Hannah, Lucy's new friend, and Trixie. Except for the accent, which you obviously can't hear, they just seemed the same person to me.

So this book had a lot of points to be improved but this was still a work that touched me a lot. It was the sort of book I really needed to read. In addition to having good themes to debate on if you want to do a buddy read, this was a very quick read. I never finish books in a day, and yet this one I did.

Rating: 3 out of 5.