The Goodbye Time

The Goodbye Time by Celeste Conway 98 pages. This slim, coming of age story is about the shifts in feelings between two best friends. Both Anna and Katie are facing changes in their families involving their brothers. Anna's gifted 15 year old brother is destined to leave for Harvard in the fall; Katie's profoundly mentally disabled brother is about to be institutionalized because of his increasing violent episodes. Will their friendship survive these and other changes as they end fifth grade at their elementary school before starting up at middle school? Except for the "evil" shallow rich girl at school, the rest of the characters are kind-hearted and gracious(even Anna's big brother doesn't mind cooking for his young sister and her friend). A gentle book for fourth grade girls.