This is an excellent YA novel. Actually it is a great story that will appeal to readers of all ages.

The story unfolds through the eyes of sixteen year old Carmella, whose older sister has just died from a drug overdose.

Brady skillfully captures the frustrations, guilt, heartbreak and despair of dealing with the loss of a loved one. This is an honest and raw portrayal of a family on the brink of disintegration.

It’s also a love story. But not a fairy tale.

Highly recommended.

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I won a copy through the Goodreads' Firstreads program!

How do we deal when someone is ripped from our lives? Where do we turn? This is a novel that deals with the harsh reality of the sharp knife of a short life. Carmella (Mello) is reeling from the death of her older sister. As the reader, you walk through the grieving process with her, her family, and family friends.

I found honesty in this book, as someone who has lost many loved ones. The raw emotions, distancing, and physical pain are all very real effects. There's always that light at the end, that person or place to pull you back to the land of the living. Mello finds hers in a boy who is different from most.

I would recommend this book to anyone dealing with loss, or to anyone wanting to understand what it's like. I will look for more from this author! Happy reading. :) ( )

A truly moving story about how a young girl deals with losing her older sister and having to learn to face life without her. Our heroine Carmella (yes, I declare her a heroine because it is not easy for a 16 year old to deal with so much burden as she does) has to not only deal with her grief in losing her sister, but she also faces having to live with her parents who are lost in their own worlds of either work or religion and she also worries about her older sisters boyfriend who bears his guilt by getting drunk. You can't help but feel for Carmella, sympathize with her and just want to hold her tight and tell her "everything will be okay."
Shari A. Brady, you did a magnificent job in being able to have readers really be with the character from start to finish. ( )

There is just something about a book that gets to you emotionally. a book that makes you think as well as feel when you are reading it. Wish I Could Have Said Goodbye is one of those books. It shows the harsh reality in the aftermath when someone you love dies. The author's writing is solid it pulls you I from the beginning. This story is one of healing. It shows that life if hard when something bad happens but it does get better in time. You just need to communicate with those around you.

The author takes you through the grieving process through the eyes of Carmella or Mello to her friends. Carmella seems to be lost and stuck in the background of her parents lives. Her life seems to have taken a tail spin since her sister's death through an accidental drug overdose. Mello doesn't rebel but she puts distance between herself and others I think to protect herself. She doesn't want to feel that kind of pain again. For her in the long run she is actually causing herself pain.

Mello's life changes when she meets Howie. He is a young boy that understands everything that she is going through. Howie is exactly what Mello needs, someone from outside being there for her.
Carmella's parents are good parents but I think in a crisis they are blissfully oblivious to things that are happening. They lost their oldest daughter despite seeing the signs that something was going on with her. Now their youngest is suffering but no one really sees. I think that they had become lost in their own grief that they forgot that others feel pain too.

I applaud the author in her writing. She tells a story of grief and understanding and seems to add a bit of herself to the story. I think this is why it is so easy for the reader to become involved with the characters. I truly loved reading this book and I recommend this read 15 years+.

I received this book courtesy of the author and Innovative Online Book Tours for review. ( )

Wish I Could Have Said Goodbye was a heartbreaking read. I really felt for Carmella, Losing a loved one is hard to deal with. But Carmella was also dealing with guilt, thinking it was her fault in some way that her sister had died. She shut herself off from her friends and the world. Trying to please her parents but also not happy with the way they are treating her since the death of her sister. I thought her parents we not letting Carmella deal with the grief in her own way, poor girl.

Besides the sadness and grief there was also a love story that lightened the intensity of the book. Carmella was a very likeable character throughout the book although I did find myself telling her to talk to Howie instead of clamming up.

The book was very well written, very detailed and was a pleasure to read. I never put the book down hoping in my heart that things would work out fine for Carmella. ( )