Book review: Goodbye Days

A WORD of warning before you start this book. Be prepared to bawl your eyes out.
Right from the beginning, a knot will grow in your heart and a lump will form in your throat and before you know it, the waterworks will start.
But you won't be able to stop because this story grabs you and will not let go until your tears are spent. And it is all because of texting and driving.
Carver Brigg has it all. Three best friends in Mars, Eli and Blake, a wonderful family and a talent in writing, in which he is studying at the Nashville Academy for the Arts.
But a simple text to his friend Mars causes everything to change. In the process of replying to his text while driving, Mars' car crashes, killing himself, Eli, and Blake.
Now, Eli's twin sister hates him, and Mars' father, a powerful judge, is out to get him by pressuring the district attorney to open a criminal investigation into Carver's actions.
Carver himself can't get past the fact that he might have caused his best friends' deaths even if he didn't mean to. The world is closing in and he's losing it.
Fortunately, he finds some unexpected allies in Eli's girlfriend, his therapist, and Blake's grandmother, who asks Carver to spend a Goodbye Day with her to share memories and say a proper goodbye.
Soon, the others are asking for the same but what are their motives, and will it help them to make peace, or will it drive Carver closer to the brink?
Interspersing the breathtaking heartbreak throughout the book, you get glimpses of the boys' friendship, which makes it all the more poignant.
This book is highly recommended for those young and old who are always glued to their phones even when they are driving. Learn from Goodbye Days or suffer the consequences.