• Age: 14 to 18
• Grade: 9 to 12

The heart-breaking and at times humorous look at one teen's life after the death of his best friends and how he navigates through the guilt and pain by celebrating their lives--and ultimately learns to forgive himself.

     What would you say if you could spend one last day with someone you lost?

          One day Carver Briggs had it all--three best friends, a supportive family and a reputation as a talented writer at his high school, Nashville Academy for the Arts. The next day it all crashed and burned, literally, after he wrote them out of existence with an inane text sent to his friend Mars--the last words his friends ever see. Carver can't stop blaming himself for the fatal crash and he's not the only one. Eli's twin sister is trying to freeze him out of school with her death-ray stare. Even worse, Mars's father, a powerful judge, pressures the district attorney to open a criminal investigation into Carver's actions. 

          But Carver has some unexpected allies: Eli's girlfriend, who is the only person to stand by him at school, and Blake's grandmother, who asks Carver to spend a Goodbye Day with her--having him stand in as Blake for one last day doing all their favorite things so they can share memories and say a proper goodbye. 

          Soon Eli and Mars's families are asking for a Goodbye Day with Carver--but he's unsure of their motives. Will they all be able to make peace with their losses, or will these Goodbye Days bring Carver one step closer to prison or a complete breakdown?

Jeff Zentner's profile page

• Nominated, Carnegie Medal
• Short-listed, Florida Teens Read

JEFF ZENTNER is the acclaimed author of The Serpent King. In addition to writing, he is also a singer-songwriter and guitarist who has recorded with Iggy Pop, Nick Cave, and Debbie Harry. Goodbye Days is his love letter to the city of Nashville and the talented people who populate it. He lives in Nashville with his wife and son. You can follow him on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Twitter at @jeffzentner.

One of Toronto Public Library’s Great Reads for Youth 2018
PRAISE FOR Goodbye Days:

"Racial tensions, spoiled reputations, and broken homes all play roles in an often raw meditation on grief and the futility of entertaining what-ifs when faced with awful, irreversible events." --Starred Review, Publishers Weekly

"Zentner does an excellent job in creating empathetic characters, especially his protagonist Carver, a budding writer whose first-person account of his plight is artful evidence of his talent." --Starred Review, Booklist

"[A] novel full of wisdom." --Kirkus Reviews

"[The] kind of intelligent, intense, and life-affirming tale that will resonate with teens seeking depth and honesty." --School Library Journal
"Zentner skillfully . . . depicts his protagonist's inner turmoil and the beginnings of his recovery in a frequently raw narrative." --The Horn Book Magazine
"This book is a masterfully written piece of young adult literature." --CM Magazine

"A gorgeous, heartbreaking, and ultimately life-affirming meditation on grief and forgiveness . . ." --Nicola Yoon, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything

"Hold on to your heart: this book will wreck you, fix you, and most definitely change you." --Becky Albertalli, author of Morris Award winner Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

PRAISE FOR The Serpent King:
"Zentner's prose wraps you up like a warm, Southern hug and packs the punches of a sweaty country brawl ... The Serpent King is a debut you won't be able to resist or forget. The Southern Boy in me savored every syllable and the reader in me fell in love with every page." --John Corey Whaley, author of Where Things Come Back, winner of the Michael L. Printz Award and William C. Morris Award

"One of the most stunningly heartfelt, lump-in-your-throat novels I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Hold onto your heart: this book will wreck you, fix you, and most definitely change you." --Becky Albertalli, author of Morris Award winner Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda