He Forgot to Say Goodbye

He Forgot to Say Goodbye Hardcover – June 17, 2008 by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (Author).

"I mean, it's not as if I want a father. I have a father. It's just that I don't know who he is or where he is. But I have one."

Ramiro Lopez and Jake Upthegrove don't appear to have much in common. Ram lives in the Mexican-American working-class barrio of El Paso called "Dizzy Land." His brother is sinking into a world of drugs, wreaking havoc in their household. Jake is a rich West Side white boy who has developed a problem managing his anger. An only child, he is a misfit in his mother's shallow and materialistic world. But Ram and Jake do have one thing in common: They are lost boys who have never met their fathers. This sad fact has left both of them undeniably scarred and obsessed with the men who abandoned them. As Jake and Ram overcome their suspicions of each other, they begin to move away from their loner existences and realize that they are capable of reaching out beyond their wounds and the neighborhoods that they grew up in. Their friendship becomes a healing in a world of hurt.

San Antonio Express-News wrote, "Benjamin Alire Sáenz exquisitely captures the mood and voice of a community, a culture, and a generation"; that is proven again in this beautifully crafted novel.

Product details

• For ages 12-17
• Format Hardback | 272 pages
• Dimensions 150.11 x 210.82 x 28.7mm | 417.3g
• Publication date 17 Jun 2008
• Publisher Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
• Publication City/Country New York, United States
• Language English
• ISBN10 1416949631
• ISBN13 9781416949633