Goodbye and Everything After - Mae Coyiuto

A teen girl comes face to face with her dad's spirit when she ignores a strict Filipino superstition in this contemporary young adult novel that tackles grief, family tension, and first love.

"I laughed and I cried and I felt like I was inside of Nika's family. Mae Coyiuto has given us a moving—and hilarious—novel about grief and love."—Nina LaCour, Michael L. Printz Award winning author of We Are Okay and Watch Over Me

It’s been five years since Nika’s beloved father passed away, but her family has never fully grieved. They don’t speak of him much at all, except on the anniversary of his death.

Whenever they visit her father’s grave, Nika’s superstitious mother still insists on practicing pagpag, a Filipino belief that you can never go directly home after attending a funeral—or risk the spirit of the departed following you back home.

But when her mom’s new fiancé suddenly shows up at the cemetery for this year’s memorial for her dad, she furiously walks out, breaking the pagpag superstition. The next day, she finds herself face-to-face with the ghost of her dead father. . . and Nika’s the only one who can see him.

As she spends time reconnecting with her dad’s ghost, Nika learns about her parents’ past and how they started dating back in high school. And when she starts to fall for her neighbor Seph and accidentally re-creates memories of her parents’ love story with him, her dad’s spirit slowly becomes more solid and alive. Fearing that she’ll lose her dad again, Nika makes it her mission to find a way to make her dad stay permanently, no matter what the cost.

With a perfect blend of humor and heart, Mae Coyiuto artfully brings past to present in a way that explores grief head-on.

"I laughed and I cried and I felt like I was inside of Nika's family. Mae Coyiuto has given us a moving—and hilarious—novel about grief and love."—Nina LaCour, Michael L. Printz Award winning author of We Are Okay and Watch Over Me

"Nika’s palpable grief will particularly resonate with readers who have experienced loss; her personal growth is satisfying as she takes steps towards healing and embracing change. The strong, banter-filled voice and hearty dose of humor balance the emotional weight of the novel. . . A tender yet funny story about family, grief, and saying goodbye."—Kirkus

"Far from somber, this book is fun, cute, and heartfelt. Nika is a great protagonist—an acerbic troublemaker who nonetheless has a deep well of emotion behind her actions. The busy supporting cast effectively captures the complex familial ties Filipino families often have, and the book even showcases the unique culture of Chinese Filipinos. An uplifting book that will have readers smiling despite their tears."—Booklist

"Clear and touching text renders the family’s unabashed vulnerability while references to pinoy culture and superstition, as well as Filipino banter in Tagalog and Hokkein, suffuse a novel that gracefully explores the nonlinear progression of grief and moving on."—Publishers Weekly

"With a mix of seriousness and humor, Coyiuto’s story is ultimately a heartwarming one of building and rebuilding connections."—The Horn Book