I read this book at the tail-end of a realistic book binge.
And I liked this book because it was the most real of all these realistic books.
In the first two books I read on this realistic book-binge, the mothers of the main characters were crazy and unsupportive and overall not very motherly, and there wasn’t really any reason for it.
The mother figure in THIS book, Rebel’s (Rebecca’s) aunt was a little unsupportive, but there seemed to be a reason for it! Not the whole reason. As a teenager myself, I understand that sometimes parents do things and act in certain ways that we don’t always understand. As we grow up, we begin to realize a little of the reasoning behind what our parents did, but not all of it, because we don’t live inside out parent’s heads, and therefore, we can never really KNOW.
Also, the romance in this book was believable. It was important, but it wasn’t the point.
Another thing that I liked is that NOT ALL OF THE ITEMS ON THE BUCKETS LISTS WERE FULFILLED. Rebel has her whole life to complete her bucket list (especially those last two items), and she should spend her whole life working though her bucket list.
We never really do find out what happens to Kennedy, but that’s realistic too.
The real world is not figuring out all the answers in the end. The real world is not knowing all the reasons, only some of them, only yours.
The world is not knowing, and not being finished after the last page is turned.
Kudos, Coriell.
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Goodbye, Rebel Blue is an inspiring story of how a tragic event can change another person's attitudes and actions. A wonderful story! ( )

Not much to say at all about this one. Though several of my favorite bloggers adored Rebel’s story, it made little to no impact on me. On the one hand, I found Rebel Blue’s irreverent sense of humor amusing most of the time.

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW AT: http://www.shaelit.com/2013/12/two-mini-reviews-the-distance-between-us-and-good... ( )

This is a great book! I was immediately drown to it because of the synopsis. I mean death is huge. It makes me think about our lives and how short they really are. Do you have a bucket list? Will you do someone else’s bucket list?

Plot: The reader meets Rebel. A girl handed some bad cards and learning to move on. She is introduced to another girl during detention who questioned Rebel’s life. Then she dies. And her bucket list is in Rebel hands. I love this. Watching Rebel complete the bucket list of a dead girl is amazing. The plot flows well, allowing the reader to fully grasp what the bucket list is doing to Rebel. It’s just awesome!

The bucket list: By Rebel doing the bucket list it changed Rebel. It help her looks at things in a whole new perspective. Some good and some bad. But she changed. Watching Rebel struggle and even face her fears in doing the bucket list made me proud of her. No one pushed her and told her to do it, she did it because she wanted too.

Death: Death makes me questions a lot of things. What would you do if you only had one day to live? Where would you go? What would you confess? Rebel’s life has been consumed by death. By the death of her own loved ones, Rebel begins to wonder about her own life. And in doing that she….

Falling in love: This little area of the book I was so surprised and awed at! I love that this friendship grew into something more. That this bucket list not only changed Rebel but changed the guy too. Remember, it’s your life. And what you make of it, is up to you.

This is a fantastic book that I can totally re-visit again. It had a certain appeal that I could not look away from. Goodbye, Rebel Blue is a powerful story and sensitive story that is deeply moving. Truthful yet satisfying, Goodbye, Rebel Blue is great! ( )

Due to copy and paste, formatting has been lost.

ACTUALLY 3.5 STARS

Honestly, I've been looking forward to thins one for a while. So, when I opened a random package and found this, my face immediately went like this: O.O I started it as soon as I could, and in the long run, I really wasn't all that disappointed with it. Yeah, it could have been better, but it also could have been worse; and as a whole I enjoyed it.

I found Rebel to be an interesting, unique type character. She had several quirks that I have too (constant lack of shoes being the #1) and I just connected with her. She was constantly herself, and she was really comfortable that way, which made her rock so hard. She may not have been perfect, but I liked her and that's all that really matters. Also, I love her name-- it fits her personality well. My favorite thing about her-- my absolute favorite-- was her growth. I really feel like she grew throughout the book into a better person.

But for every awesome-I-can't-get-enough-of-you character, there's always one who falls a bit flat. I say this because I know that it is true, and in this case it was Nate, the love interest. I didn't find him to be anymore than subpar, and it surprised me at first that someone as awesome as Rebel would want to be with him. He was such a blank canvas-- typical golden boy. I'm a huge advocate against stereotypes, but in this case he just was one. I didn't particularly care for him, but I loved his colorful family! What kind of a sick joke is that, I ask you?

But let's get to the real heart of the story-- bucket lists. I have always been fascinated by bucket list. The idea that someone somewhere might be completing something on their bucket list at any given time is like the coolest feeling. Kind of makes me wanna do some of the stuff on my...never mind. Anyway, the bucket list-- first of all, I feel like Kennedy's death and the subject of fate were kind of underplayed. Don't shoot me or anything, but that's just me.

I keep getting off subject, but...bucket lists. I liked the idea of completing someone's bucket list after their death, and how it would change someone-- but when I think of bucket lists I think of crazy crazy things, and Kennedy's bucket list was really lacking in that department. She was really white bread, but it was nice to see how doing some of those tasks changed Rebel.

All in all, Goodbye, Rebel Blue really was a good book, and I recommend it if you like bucket lists. Or blue. ;) ( )