An incautious, funny, coming-of-age tale for mature teens and adult readers…

By CT Liotta

NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE, YA/LGBT, Rot

Gut Pulp, 308 pp.

Fifteen-year-old Ian Racalmuto’s life is in ruins after an embassy raid in Algiers. His mother, a vodka-drunk spy, is dead. His brother, a diplomat, has vanished. And, he’s lost a cremation urn containing a smartphone that could destroy the world.

Forced to live with his cantankerous grandfather in Philadelphia, Ian has seven days to find his brother and secure the phone—all while adjusting to life in a troubled urban school and dodging assassins sent to kill him.

Ian finds an ally in William Xiang, an undocumented immigrant grappling with poverty, a strict family, and abusive classmates. They make a formidable team, but when Ian’s feelings toward Will grow, bombs, bullets and crazed bounty hunters don’t hold a candle to his fear of his friend finding out. Will it wreck their relationship, roll up their mission, and derail a heist they’ve planned at the State Department?

Like a dime store pulp adventure of the past, No Good About Goodbye is an incautious, funny, coming-of-age tale for mature teens and adult readers. 308p.

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REVIEW

Ian Racalmuto is a badass fifteen year old who would do anything to protect his family, including triggering a bomb with himself inside the building. After the death of his mother following an embassy raid in Algiers, Algeria, Ian discovers that his brother, a diplomat, has vanished, so too has his mother's smartphone, a very deadly device that could destroy everything they have fought to protect. Ian's life becomes even more complicated when his father ships him off to Philadelphia to live with his grandfather. Not only does he have to locate his missing brother and the smartphone, he also has to worry about school bully and his ever growing crush on his new friend William Xiang, an undocumented immigrant from China.

I'm going to be honest, I didn't like the cover. Had I not read the blurb, I probably would have skipped this book, but I'm so glad I read the blurb, because it definitely piqued my interest. This was an interesting book indeed. I loved the subtle humour embedded throughout. These characters were complex and they all had different personalities. Although some are not quite as developed as others, I still felt a connection to them as I felt their interaction with others portrayed their personalities well so you got an understanding of their upbringing even when you didn't get a firsthand experience of their background. I loved the chemistry between Ian and William. It starts off as more bromance than romance, but there were subtle innuendos thrown in to suggest the potential of a romantic connection, which I thought was an authentic portrayal of their relationship given their ages and background, particularly William's religious and cultural background.

Ian reminded me somewhat of the character Artemis Fowl with his cunning and clever ways of manoeuvring through problematic situations, which were sometimes instigated by himself, mostly from his eagerness and will to protect William. Ian moves like an agent: secretive and vigilant. He has a hard time opening up to anyone, perhaps for fear of being disappointed or being rejected. After all, William isn't his first male crush, and that didn't go so well. Ian prefers to work alone but finds himself in an unfamiliar territory where working alone just doesn't get the job done, so, although reluctant to drop his guard, he finds himself having to rely on the kindness of strangers to help him in his bid to stop the chaos that started in Algiers from escalating.

I liked the way the plot unfolded. It was almost as though we started at the end and ended at the beginning. It was well constructed and left a lasting impression, most likely because we already knew the outcome, but seeing what Ian went through in Algiers, building up to the moments of his mother's death was very emotional.

The one thing I didn't enjoy was the head hopping. It made things somewhat jumbled and disorienting at times. I would have liked to have been in one headspace, though I still managed to get a clear understanding of the events taking place. It just would have been more enjoyable and more smooth flowing had the focus been more restricted to the main characters.

Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

VERDICT

Rating: 4 Stars

Source: Pump Up Your Book

PRAISE

“So many treats are in store for the discerning reader of CT Liotta’s brilliant YA novel NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE. There’s a diverse array of multi-racial/cultural characters, organized criminals with complex political goals underway, and keystone-cop humor/blunders often sparking from the evergreen enchantment of a push-pull romance between two young people, neither of whom have yet decided to identify as ‘gay.’ Rich with often realistically crude boy lingo, NO GOOD ABOUT GOODBYE is an utterly charming teenage LGBTQ falling-in-love adventure while simultaneously rocking an international crime storyline.” – C.S. Holmes, IndieReader

★★★★★ “Sharply observed and sarcastic as hell, CT Liotta’s debut is the gay teenage spy thriller we have long needed.” -Matt Harry, author of Superkid and Sorcery for Beginners.

★★★★★ I found this YA spy novel to be an utter delight! Fast-paced and witty, we traverse the globe with Ian, who just lost his mother and is charged with stopping a war with China. All the while he’s 15, enrolled in a High School from hell in Philadelphia and struggling with his identity. The author offers his own particular take on the importance of friendship and found family. He also very cleverly features different viewpoints, so the reading experience never feels stale. Honestly, I did not know what to expect going into this story – I however finished it converted into a fan! – Thomas S., Netgalley

BUYING INFORMATION

CT Liotta was born and raised in West Virginia before moving to Ohio for college, where he majored in Biology. He now uses Philadelphia as his base of operations. You can find him backpacking all over the world.

Liotta takes interest in writing, travel, personal finance, and sociology. He likes vintage airlines and aircraft, politics, news, foreign affairs, '40s pulp and film noir. He doesn't fear math or science, and is always up for Indian food. His favorite candy bar used to be Snickers, but lately it's been 3 Musketeers. He isn't sure why.