It Started with Goodbye (Book 1)
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It Started with Goodbye by Christina June is a young adult realistic fiction novel with a twist on a Cinderella inspired trope. Told from the first person point of view, Tatum Elsea is essentially on house arrest for the summer due to an unfortunate incident towards the end of her sophomore school year.
Chapter 1 opens with Tatum and her parents meeting her attorney to discuss her options and sentencing. She has a $500 fine and 100 hours of community service to complete before September 1st. Why? You might wonder. Tatum, trying to be a good friend to Ashlyn - her BFF since middle school, goes to the mall with Ashlyn and her sleazy boyfriend, Chase. Unbeknownst to both of them, Chase is stealing merchandise from the department store. They are quickly caught and since Tatum was driving the car she is considered an accomplice.
Despite Tatum’s attempts to explain her situation to her parents, it all falls on deaf ears for the summer. To make matters worse, Tatum’s father, who works for the State Department, is leaving for eight weeks to Africa. Meanwhile, Tatum is stuck under the dictatorship of her “stepmonster” Belén. Tatum also has a step-sister that she refers to as an ice princess who attends a prestigious high school and is enrolled in a prestigious summer dance program. Her one ally in her house this summer is Blanche, her step grandmother who comes to live with them while Tatum’s father is away.
Tatum’s world feels pretty much rock bottom at the start of the summer. Her one bright hope is that she starts a graphic design business at the prompting of a client who becomes friend, Abby, in the opening chapters of the story. Her logo is based on a keychain her dad gave her after the death of her mother. It is this keychain that she loses at her stepsister’s end of year school exhibit while talking to a mysterious young man interested in her opinion on selected artwork. She also leaves her business cards on a table that later brings her some additional clients for the summer.
In addition to her graphic design work to occupy her time outside of her community service work, she is pet sitting for a family that is away for the summer. However, Tatum is keeping a secret. Her stepmother actually believes she is babysitting the young girls. Tatum is hesitant to tell her the truth because the time in the house with the animals is her reprieve from the oppressive environment Belén has instituted at home.
As far as her community service endeavors go, she is helping to remove invasive plants with the local park authority. Fortunately, two friends from school are her working companions - Hunter, a musician and Abby, a budding journalist. As the readers find out early on, Abby is smitten on Hunter and her goal this summer is to spend more time with him. All their time together brings together an almost end of summer music festival in which Tatum creates the promotional materials and Abby is writing a feature story for the school newspaper. Of course, as it would happen - Abby and Hunter do end up together by the end of story.
In the midst of all this, Tatum is learning and growing as a character. Blanche, the visiting step grandmother, is really the “fairy godmother” in the story as she gives Tatum advice and insight as the one person in the house she can actually communicate openly with. This grandmother also gives her a special dress and pampering for the upcoming music festival.
While conducting her graphic design business, Tatum takes on her stepsister, Tilly, as client. This is unbeknownst to Tilly at the time when she emails Tatum’s business. This actually thaws the ice and closes the distance between the two of them as they are able to actually be more like sisters. In addition to the growing relationship with Tilly, there is a mysterious young musician - SK - who is emailing Tatum as she works on making a website for his college application process. By the end of the story, the readers learn that SK is the mysterious boy she met back at the beginning of the story and there is, of course, budding romance through their email exchange and when they finally meet at the music festival. He is her Prince Charming.
The story ends coming full circle with her father’s return, their reconciliation, a reconciliation with her friend Ashlyn who has been distant all summer, and ultimately a reconciliation with her stepmother as they both express their part in the failed relationship thus far. The story ends on a happy note full of hope.
Some noteworthy quotes/ points of interest:
On page 11, Tatum tells more about Ash’s boyfriend, Chase. Basically, how he is a high school dropout and “bad boy.” On page 13 there is a mention of “Ashlyn and Chase making out in the cell phone aisle.” And further in the paragraph, “I liked kissing as much as the next girl, but in the middle of a story, where anyone could walk by? No thanks.”
“I gave up trying to defend myself when my dad started using words like ‘disappointed,’ ‘unsafe,’ and ‘poor judgment.’ Hearing how I wasn’t living up to my potential stung. When he said it made him sad that I hadn’t come to him when I first realized by friend was dating someone I didn’t trust, my heart broke a little” (16)
On page 28-29 Tatum discusses the strictness of her home and Ashlyn’s father - who sends her away to a “private, girls-only school” after the event with the shoplifting.
In chapter 3 Tatum gives context for how her family came to be. Her mother left her “for the supposed better offer from her boy toy.” And “[She’d] always been told [her] mom had been a ‘free spirit’ and ‘her own person,’ which pretty much means she was selfish and decided being a wife and a parent weren’t for her anymore.” Belén and her father met on a dating site (35). On page 45 readers find out that her mother died in a car accident when she was seven years old.
On page 63 Tatum is describing the mysterious boy she meets at the exhibit. “The bright-green eyes were attached to a face with the most flawlessly perfect skin I’d ever seen.” She goes on to describe his look during their interactions as they discuss and critique art work.
On page 64, the boy uses the word “crap.”
In chapter 5 there is a discussion about Abby’s crush on Hunter. Tatum then tells Abby about the mysterious boy she met at the art exhibit.
When SK and Tatum start emailing there is mention of their flirting, but it is cute and harmless. Nothing is appropriate for readers.
The movie Carrie and The Shining are mentioned on page 111. At the end of the story, SK and Tatum are going on a date to watch Carrie in the theater.
On page 127 Tatum gives more context about her friendship with Ashlyn even though they are not speaking at the moment and she mentions a boyfriend she had in eighth grade for three weeks.
On page 160-161 Tatum fantasizes about a family vacation where she gets along well with her stepmother and stepsister. The purpose of this scene just shows how much Tatum really does want connection with her family - to understand and to be understood.
“I cried for the girl whose voice remained unheard, who did her best to be good but didn’t always get it right. I cried for the girl constantly trying to forge a connection, to find someone who took her at face value and didn’t ask her to be something she wasn’t. I cried for the doors that had closed and cried for the ones that might never open” (163).
On page 177, Blanche gives context about Belén and her upbringing. Belén struggled as a girl immigrating to the United States and dealt with bullying and a lack of confidence until she attended college.
“I knew Blanche was trying to get me to stop being so stubborn, and I guess deep down I agreed with her. Even I could brush away my righteous indignation to see it was possible that all of Belén’s rules for life came from a place of good intentions. Care for me and a desire to protect me” (183).
On page 192 Tatum realizes she can look SK up on the internet to see what he looks like, but she can’t find any pictures of him. She concludes, “My efforts thwarted, I reminded myself that the best things were worth waiting for. And, somehow, I knew that finally seeing SK’s face would be worth it. I could wait.”
As a Cinderella connection, Belén leaves Tatum a cleaning list that must be complete for her outing to the music concert. Fortunately, Tilly helps her so they can complete it in time to leave.
There is a joke made on page 222 that Abby should have given Hunter a “good luck kiss” before his performance.
On page 225-241 is the moment of realization of who SK really is (he is a member of Hunter’s band). He even plays a special song just for Tatum and then they go off to roast marshmallows and hold hands. There is a mention of him being the “hot” guy she met at the start of summer. There is a mention of their perfect hug and his kiss on her hand and head.
On page 250 Tatum wishes Seamus (SK) was there for her to kiss and on page 260 they do kiss and mention a middle of date and end of date kiss as well. Seamus is also a gentleman in the novel; it mentions him opening the doors for her to get in and out of the car, meeting her parents, and him dressed nicely. I appreciate the details to show young ladies how young men should act on a date.
“Whatever Belén, or my dad, or Tilly, or even Blanche said after this, I felt good I had gotten it out. Emptied my closet of all the skeleton I had collected over the last two-and-a-half months. I would probably sleep better than I had all summer” (253). This is a great reminder to readers of what confession does to the soul.
Overall, I really did enjoy this story and could not put it down. It is a story I know my niece will enjoy. It is a clean YA romance/realistic fiction novel. The characters are engaging, and I can definitely see teen girls who like this genre really enjoying the story. The romantic elements are not too much or inappropriate and as far as profanity goes - crap- is the only word. Additionally, the story has good themes about responsibility, considering situations from other people’s perspectives, and provides strong parental influences that are trying to guide and teach their children. Those same parents are also seen asking for forgiveness when they know they got it wrong in the way they handled a situation. There is much to like in the messaging of this novel. Furthermore, in doing a little digging on the author, I found two more books by her that utilizes the same characters from this novel, but include another “twist” on other fairy tale stories. I have added those to my reading list for Summer 2025, so keep an eye out for more from Christina June.
