He Forgot to Say Goodbye

"He forgot to say goodbye" describes the pain felt by two teens from radically different backgrounds--Ramiro Lopez and Jake Upthegrove, both of whose families were abandoned by their fathers when they were young. Although Jake lives in a large house and attends a prestigious magnet school, his life

Show More

is profoundly unhappy, due in large part to his vacuous mother and philandering stepfather's superficial, conservative lifestyle. Ramiro, although poor, is encouraged and nurtured by both his loving mother and his intelligent and opinionated friend Alejandra. Their unlikely friendship brings much needed support to Jake and expands Ramiro's world beyond the borders of the barrio. Banjamin Alire Saenz provides realistic dialogue (alot of cursing) and sharp insight. For example, on page 234, Jake describes the encounter between his magazine-perfect mother (referred to as Sally), and his Gothic friend Katie:

"Katie smiled. She managed to kiss my mother's cheek. I know that took a lot. People like Katie and people like Sally just didn't fit. Different countries. I mean, these people did not like to cross into each other's borders--legally or illegally. They just didn't give certain people visas to enter."

Show Less

The characters really pull you into the book. Probably the part at the end of Jake’s birthday party was most compelling. I actually thought it would be kind of boring, but I was wrong. The characters are so real and believable. It’s nice to see how they change as the story progresses. AHS/EK

I

Show More

would tell them that it was a very interesting read and I liked it a lot. The most compelling aspect of the book was how the two boys came together when Tito was sick. I thought it was a very good read. I thought it was a little confusing in the beginning because the chapters didn’t have regular titles, but once I started to understand who was who it was fine. AHS/CC

Show Less

Two boys from different sides of El Paso, Texas are both growing up without their fathers, Ramiro Lopez from Dizzyland, the poor Latino part of town, and Jacob Upthegrove from the Oh Wow Westside, the wealthy side of town. In alternating, often very short chapters, Ram and Jake describe their lives

Show More

and how they slowly become friends. Each boy is dealing with family issues although in comparison to Ram, Jake’s seem superficial. Ram’s brother is in the hospital after overdosing on drugs and is brain dead. Despite having an absent father which weighs heavily on Ram, he has a loving mother doing everything she can to provide a good life for her two sons. In addition, he has a large, extended family of aunts and uncles as a support network, especially his Tia Lisa. Jake on the other hand only has his mom whom he calls sarcastically, Sally, which is not her given first name, and a stepfather, whom he sees in the embrace of another woman. They are both loners in their respective schools which are next door to each other and they slowly become friends because they hang out in the same place off campus. The friendship develops a little too slowly and the beginning of the book is confusing. The characters are well-drawn and once the friendship fully develops including Ram’s friend Alejandra as a love interest for Jake, the book becomes more interesting. Students may not have the patience to wait out the early part of the book.

Show Less

Range of stars goes between 2 and 4.

Early chapters weave in first person between Jake and Ram Mother/Father angst and eventually go pretty slow.
Plot picks up when Upthegrove ups it with escalating tension between him and his mother and gets slapped.

He bravely handles his mother's firing of their

Show More

long time maid by finding an Immigration lawyer!

Jake's confidence gradually increases until the plot fails as he refused to confront David with the adultery he witnessed,
thus leaving his mother to be the last to know about his lies. Instead they watch a movie. Huh?
So he lives a completely dishonest home life to protect his mother who would easily slap him again and
toss him under a bridge in favor of lying David.

And David as a professional lawyer seeking to kiss another woman way out in public made no character sense.

Ram, his Mother, and Tia Lisa have their lives forever changed by the drug death of Ram's brother, Tito.

Both Ram and Jake could benefit from the example of Alexandra's Black Belt and her ongoing reasonable courage.
Ram would stop allowing himself to get pushed in the stomach and Jake could be more ready to live on his own,
notably by petitioning to change his last name.

("Destroy," effen, and Sally were way overdone.)

Show Less