Goodbye Days

Goodbye Days is a young adult novel by Jeff Zentner. Published in 2017, it follows a teenage boy, Carver Briggs, who is grappling with the deaths of his three best friends. All three boys died in a car crash on their way to pick up Carver from work. Carver’s survivor’s guilt is exacerbated by the fact that he’s facing a possible criminal investigation for “negligent homicide” for his supposed role in the accident. Carver texted the boy driving when the crash occurred, and it appears that the boy crashed while trying to respond to Carver’s text. The book follows Carver’s attempts to cope with his grief and guilt by having a series of “goodbye days” with each of the dead boys’ families—a sort of tribute to the dead.

Jeff Zentner is the author of several young adult novels. He lives in Nashville, where Goodbye Days is set. His novels have been translated into 15 languages. He is also a successful guitarist and songwriter, and music plays a part in many of his works, including Goodbye Days. The edition of the novel used for this study guide was published by Crown Books in 2017.

Plot Summary

Carver Briggs is a 17-year-old high school student whose three best friends have just died in a violent car crash. Eli Bauer, Blake Lloyd, and Thurgood Marshall (“Mars”) were Carver’s best friends. The boys, who called themselves “Sauce Crew,” were all preparing to enter their senior year at Nashville Arts Academy. Carver blames himself for the accident because Mars was responding to a text message he sent when the accident happened. The story is told from Carver’s point of view, allowing an intimate look at the emotional journey the boy goes through following this trauma.

In the wake of the accident, Carver is left lonely and grappling with feelings of guilt and grief. These feelings are amplified by the fact that some of the dead boys’ family members blame him. Mars’s father, Judge Edwards, goes so far as to call for the district attorney to open up an investigation into the accident. Carver’s parents, as a precaution, hire a lawyer to protect him. The lawyer explains that Carver could be charged with criminally negligent homicide. Carver thus deals with this stress on top of the guilt and grief he already feels.

The narrative follows Carver’s emotional evolution as he comes to terms with the deaths of his friends. The story is driven by a series of goodbye days: Carver has a day with each of the dead boy’s family members, memorializing the deceased. Each goodbye day allows the reader to become intimately acquainted with one of the dead boys through the stories their loves ones tell about them.

The goodbye days take place against the backdrop of Carver’s near-constant emotional distress, conveyed through internal monologues, dreams, memories of his friends, and imaginary conversations with the dead boys. Carver’s grief and guilt manifest physically in panic attacks. Carver also develops romantic feelings for the girl Eli was dating before his death, Jesmyn Holder. These feelings further exacerbate his guilt.

Ultimately, the investigation into Carver’s role in the accident is dropped. Not only is Carver absolved in the eyes of the law, but he also manages to absolve himself of his own guilt. With the help of his therapist, Dr. Mendez, Carver reframes his view of the accident. He learns that it’s unwise and even dangerous to attribute a cause to every event in a chaotic universe. By the book’s end, Carver has managed to find closure and appears to be adjusting to life after the accident.