Customer Reviews

Say Goodnight, Gracie 20th Anniversary Edition

5 star:		(102)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was 14 when my best friend was killed, so I am very interested in youth books that deal with death. Most books sugar coat the topic, but this book deals with it head-on and is the most realistic I have read so far. It shows the horror, the pain, the confusion and anger one experiences when a loved one dies. It also shows how we can slowly come to terms with it and even grow from it, but never completely get over it.

I also enjoyed the slight "gender bending" (for lack of a better term) in the book. The main character is a very independent, strong willed young lady - something lacking in most youth books. The other main character is a teenage boy who wants to be a professional dancer and, get this, he is not gay! While I am gay, it was fun for once to read about a straight boy in what is usually a gay venue. The book does touch on homosexuality in one single sentence, but it is refreshingly handled the way most of today's youths handle it - no big deal.

My only criticism of this book is the aunt character. She is a clinical psychologist and she is a bit too quick to administer drugs to help the main character deal with the death of her friend. I would have down played the use of drugs to get through such a painful time. Most children/youths would not have such instant access to prescribed drugs and most do not receive them. If you know of a youth that has suffered a loss through the death of a loved one (or an adult who lost someone while as a youth), buy him/her this book. I have re-read this book several times and each time I cry - but in a good and helpful way. Make sure your local library or your child's school library has a copy of this book.

I loved this book I have read it about six different times it is wonderful. It made me smile, laugh, and even cry at times. I also liked this becuase you actually felt what the characters went through. I could not geet enough of this book and will no doubt end up reading it again.

This was probably one of the best books I've ever read. The heartwrenching depth of characters pulls you in from the beginning, making the conclusion one of the most emotional, I suppose, are in the world. I suggest this book to everyone from the ages of 10-18, but only if you like a GREAT book! The main character is so realistic, it's like your laughing and crying along with her.

Hi to everyone. I write this review, beacause this is one of my all time favorite books. I read it when I was in the 7th grade and I just now read it again, and I'm 17. The book is beautifully written, and can capture the mind of anyone, it did mine. I cried through most of it, considering the whole plot was on loss and healing. I cried mostly because of the chracter Jimmy. He was my favorite and a person, if real, I would love to meet. Then his life tragically cut short in the midst of his career. Which obvisouly affected his best friend since birth, Morgan Hackett (affectionatly called "Hackett".)It reminses and shows their sometimes strange yet loving friendship and how it suddenly ends. This book shows healing of the main chracter, Morgan who will have to face the pain and eventually does. The plot of this story is almost like Romeo and Juliet, but in my eyes more tragic.( A juliet without her Romeo). I recommend this book with 5 stars. ;) And it proves, change does happen.

I picked this book up in fifth grade, just a quick pick in a bookstore, I wasn't really sure what it was about. But I got it, read it in about four hours (from ten pm till about 1 am) with out stopping. I couldn't...I absolutly could not put it down. I was so deeply touched by the delicacy the author portrays losing a loved one. I laughed and cried...it wasn't overally sentimental or sappy, and it didn't focus on the death so much it was edgy and harsh. It was a perfect mix between the two. I am in eighth grade now, and still read it about every month. It's an absolute must bye for anyone.

"Say Goodnight, Gracie" is probably one of the best books I have ever read. This heartfelt story of to best friends who have known each other for all of the 17 years of thier lives is one that will surely win you over as one of your favorites! Let me give you a little taste of the book. It starts out in a town on the out skirts of Chicago where 1 young dancer( Jimmy Wolff) and 1 young actress (Morgan, narrator), both struggling to have careers in the city. Both go through good times and bad, when suddennly an accident has taken Jimmy's life and Morgan must learn to cope without him. Thanks to her aunt, mother and Jimmy's mother, it looks as though she will be just fine! I suggest this book to you because I have read it my self and believe me it is by far the best book I have ever read in my life. Both Jimmy and Morgan are compelling and loveable characters! I sure hope this book gets a lot of publicity because absoloutly should. I recomend you go to the nearest library and check this book out right NOW!!!!!!!

I am 15 years old. I have never lost my best friend. At the end of Say Goodnight, Gracie, though, I felt that I had. I have read this novel 73 times, and it just keeps getting better. When I was maybe 12, I picked it up off of my older sister's dresser, and it feels like I haven't put it down in 3 years. I loved everything about this book. I loved the characters, especially Aunt Lo, who helps Morgan through the most difficult time in her life. I loved the emotions of the story. I loved how it didn't end perfectly, but you felt such happiness when you closed it. I remember crying for Jimmy "and all that he meant to me." I feel such a deep love for this novel. I seemed to slip right in to Morgan's head (and heart) as soon as the book started. I learned so much from her and Jimmy, about friendship, love and getting through the toughest of times. This book was an 11 on a scale of 1-10. I recommend it for absolutely anyone. You don't have to know what loss is like. You really don't. You just have to be in the mood to laugh and cry in one sitting. And, believe me, that's all it is going to take to read this book.

I don't read alot but when I first read this book I couldn't put it down ever since I started reading Goodnight, Gracie I have read at least six different books in the last week all wrote by Julia Reece Deaver!
THANKS FOR READIN LATER!

"Say Goodnight, Gracie" is my all time favorite book. In this tear jerking story Jimmy and Morgan are best friends and are a huge part in each others lives. They seem to always be there for each other when ever they need each other. "You know something Morgan-sometimes it seems that you and i are like an old married couple. No mater what happens to us, we always end up back togeather again."Jimmy had said. This is exactly what it was like. What ever happened they got back togeater. They depend on each other so much nothing could tear them apart. But when something tragic happens Morgan is suddenly left to face the world alone with no one to fall back on. Will she fall apart or will she be able to move on?

Julie Reece Deaver has done it again with this wonderful novel. It's about this girl named Gracie who has a best friend named Jimmy Woolf. They have known each other since birth and live next door to each other. If this website would let you rate higher than 5 stars I would rate this a 10 star book! This deals with death, maturity , and other things. I would recommend this book to people that is ages 11-100. I read this book in the 6th grade and I'm now in the 8th grade and I can still remember this book just like I read it yesterday! So this book was so interesting I finished it in one day! This book is a page turner and will keep you on the edge of your seat on some chapters and others it won't. But if you are a average everyday reader this book is for you! All my friends say that this book is the best one they ever read! So Happy Reading! :)