Six Goodbyes We Never Said

Biracial (Latinx and white) Naima, 17, and Dew, 15, who is Latinx, have both recently lost parents and also struggle with mental health challenges. When the two become neighbors in Ivy Springs, Ind., however, their attraction to each other is anything but mutual. Sweet Dew’s clumsy, overly cordial overtures put irritable Naima off; she would rather console herself than become involved with someone as complicated as she thinks she is. Eventually, though, the two establish an unconventional friendship (she is sharp with him; he feels most comfortable when he’s speaking into a mic attached to a tape recorder) as Naima, who is spending the summer with her grandparents, awaits her late Marine father’s memorial and Dew adjusts to living with his adoptive parents and sister. With great empathy, Ganger (The Inevitable Collision of Birdie and Bash) alternates the protagonists’ points of view, revealing the way Naima navigates her OCD, anxiety and depression, and PTSD, and Dew handles his social anxiety amid their grief, loneliness, and sorrow. Through the teens’ humorously awkward gravitation toward each other, Ganger creates a heartfelt, convincing story about the restorative power of self-care and friendship. Ages 14–up. Agent: Dan Mandel, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. [em](Sept.) [/em]