The Goodbye Kids Debbie Iancu-Haddad

Moral dilemmas abound

Jorden can never measure up to his Earther leader father’s high standards. He’s pretty much given up. Until a bold Earther plan gives him the chance to save planet Earth and finally match his mother’s heroic sacrifice in the cause. He’s likely to die, but that’s what being a hero is about. What he didn’t figure on, is falling in love.

Haley lives on a space station watching travellers arrive and depart again for New Horizons – a new world financed by The Conglomerate where those lucky enough can escape overcrowded, polluted, dying Earth. With no friends among the few Space Station kids and heartache the result of getting too close to the transient travellers, Haley is a loner.

Find The Goodbye Kids here .

When Jordern and Haley’s paths cross, they find in each other what they’ve been searching for. But that’s not necessarily a good thing.

This fast-paced, intricately plotted novel has a lot going for it, and top of the list are the characters. Jordern is a brilliant mixture of confident can-do while being driven crazy by doubt as he faces the realities of his mission. I kept finding myself alternately applauding and groaning at his decisions, and wondering how on earth (pun intended) this was all going to work out. Haley is a delight, with her acknowledged insecurities and her courage to work through them, she’s someone to root for and love. The secondary characters play their parts well, including Nano, the robotic dog.  

The author also creates easy to visualise settings, from the rural beauty of the Farm on Earth, to the sanitised, predictable comfort of the Space Station. In many ways, the different settings reflect the personalities of the two main characters. Jordern is a child of the Farm, where decisions are never straightforward, where there’s debate and conflict, and the simple hard task of surviving in the natural world occupies the inhabitants. He has to think on his feet. Haley has none of this to deal with. Until Jordern comes into her life, her biggest issue is passing her pilot’s test to be able to apply to Star Academy. If she follows the rules, works hard, she believes, life is fine.

Moral dilemmas abound in this story, and they’re not all Jordern’s, or even Haley’s. The idea of this kind of scenario playing out for real is not too far-fetched, which gives the tale an added poignancy.

A great read for YA and adults alike, you don’t have to be a scifi fan to appreciate the very human issues brought so well to life in The Goodbye Kids.

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