The Things You Kiss Goodbye
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4.8 • 13 Ratings
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- $7.99
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Fans of Sarah Dessen will love this heartbreaking story about family, loss, and the joys and disappointments of first love.
Bettina Vasilis can hardly believe it when star basketball player Brady Cullen convinces her strict father to let them date. That summer, Bettina falls in love with Brady and the freedom that comes along with him. But when school starts up again, Brady unexpectedly changes for the worse. Unable to give up on her first love just yet, she finds herself trapped in an abusive relationship.
Then she meets "Cowboy," a smoldering older guy and the last guy her father would approve. Yet he is everything Brady is not—gentle, caring, and interested in getting to know the real Bettina. When tragedy strikes, Bettina must tell her family the truth—and kiss goodbye the things she thought she knew about herself and the men in her life.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Having led a sheltered life, sophomore Bettina Vasilis is surprised when her strict Greek-American father allows her to date basketball star Brady. Brady is sweet and attentive, at first, "what anyone would call a good boyfriend," but his dark side soon emerges. After a disturbing incident with Brady, Bettina almost literally falls into the arms of a handsome mechanic she nicknames Cowboy, who works near her school. During the weeks that follow, his garage becomes her refuge, and he becomes her confidante as she sorts out her uncertainties and nurses very real bruises. First-person narration brimming with emotion traces how Bettina and Cowboy's friendship evolves, although both of them know her father (not to mention the law) wouldn't condone a romantic relationship. Beautifully capturing the intensity of first love, Connor (Waiting for Normal) draws readers into a world filled with Greek culture and punctuated by upsetting moments of abuse. Readers will be unprepared for the book's shocking climax, which changes Bettina's life forever and brings her closer to her family as she discovers who she is and what she wants. Ages 14 up.
Customer Reviews
SO MANY EMOTIONS
i honestly don’t know how to feel wether i should cry or smile. the book was AMAZING and you definitely have to read it if your thinking about it.