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Goodbye Stranger

Rebecca Stead

3.93 · Rating details · 12,632 ratings · 2,199 reviews

Bridge is an accident survivor who's wondering why she's still alive. Emily has new curves and an almost-boyfriend who wants a certain kind of picture. Tabitha sees through everybody's games—or so she tells the world. The three girls are best friends with one rule: No fighting. Can it get them through seventh grade?
This year everything is different for Sherm Russo as he ...more

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Hardcover, 289 pages

Published August 4th 2015 by Wendy Lamb Books

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2016 Mock Newbery

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585 books — 1,153 voters

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Mar 03, 2015 Betsy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: realistic-fiction, middle-school-books, new-york-city, bully-books

After much consideration, I think I’m going to begin this review with what has to be the hoity toity-est opening I have ever come up with. Gird thy loins, mes amies. In her 2006 book Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity (don’t say you weren’t warned), philosopher Rebecca Goldstein wrote the following passage about the concept of personal identity: “What is it that makes a person the very person that she is, herself alone and not another, an integrity of identity that persist After much consideration, I think I’m going to begin this review with what has to be the hoity toity-est opening I have ever come up with. Gird thy loins, mes amies. In her 2006 book Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity (don’t say you weren’t warned), philosopher Rebecca Goldstein wrote the following passage about the concept of personal identity: “What is it that makes a person the very person that she is, herself alone and not another, an integrity of identity that persists over time, undergoing changes and yet still continuing to be — until she does not continue any longer, at least not unproblematically?” In other words, why is the “you” that you were at five the same person as the “you” at thirteen or fourteen? Now I don’t know that a lot of 10-14 year olds spend their days contemplating the philosophical meanings behind their sense of self from one stage of life to another. But if they hadn’t before, they’re about to now. Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead has taken what on the surface might look like a fluffy middle school tale of selfies and first loves and turned it into a much more layered discussion of bodies, feminism, the male (and female) gaze, female friendships, relationships, and betrayals. And fake moon landings. And fuzzy cat ear headbands. Hard to pin this one down, honestly.

By all logic, Bridge should have died when she was eight years old. She skated into the street and got hit by a car, after all. Yet Bridge lived and with seemingly no serious repercussions. Recently she’s been taking to wearing little black cat ears on her head, but her best friends Emily and Tab don’t mind. It’s their seventh grade year and there are bigger things on their minds. Emily’s been flirting with a cute older soccer player, Tab’s trying to save the world in her way, and now Bridge has become friends with Sherm, a guy she’d never even talked to until this year. When a wayward selfie throws the friends into a tizzy, it’s all the three can do to keep their promise to one another never to fight. Meanwhile, several months in the future, an unnamed teenager is skipping school. Something terrible has happened and she wants to avoid the blowback. But while thinking about her ex-best friend and the way things have changed, she may be unable to hide from herself as well as she hides from others.

Let’s get back to that idea that with every new age in your life, you’re an entirely different person than you were before. That philosopher I was quoting, Ms. Goldstein, asks, “Is death one of those adventures from which I can’t emerge as myself?” Actual death, she’s saying, is where you change into something other than your own “self” for good. But aren’t the changes throughout your life little deaths as well? Is that five-year-old you in that photograph really you? Do you share something essential? Stead isn’t delving deep into these questions but simply raising points to make kids think. So when her teenage character ponders that her best friend has undergone a change from which her old self will never return the book reads, “But another part of you, the part that stayed quiet, began to understand that maybe Vinny, your Vinny, was gone.” Poof! Sherm wonders something similar about his grandfather and the man’s odd actions. He writes in a letter that his grandfather now feels like a stranger and then says, “Is the new you the stranger? Or is the stranger the person you leave behind?”

To write one part of the book, the teenager, in the second person was a daring choice. It’s so unusual, in fact, that you cannot look at it without wondering what the reasoning was behind its direction. When Ms. Stead was deciding how to put Goodbye Stranger together, there had to come a point where she made the conscious decision that the teenager’s voice could only work in the second person. Why? Maybe to make the reader identify with her more directly. Maybe to make her tale, which is significantly less fraught than some of the other stories in this book, more immediate and in your face. Insofar as it goes, it works. The purpose of the narrative is perhaps to prove to kids that age does not necessarily begat wisdom. For them, the revelation of the identity of the runaway, who was previously seen as so wise and older, should prove a bit of a shocker. It also drives home the theme of changing personalities and who the “self” really is from one age to another really well.

Right now, I can predict the future. Don’t believe me? It’s true. I see hundreds of children’s books clubs assigned this book. I see hundreds of teachers having kids read it over the summer. And time after time I see kids handed sheets of paper (or maybe virtual paper – I’m flexible) with a bunch of questions about the book and their interpretation of the events. And right there, clear as crystal, is the following question: “What is the significance of Bridge’s cat ears?” Don’t answer that, kids. Don’t do it. Because if the adult who handed you this book is asking you that question, then they themselves didn’t really read the book. You could ask a hundred questions about “Goodbye Stranger” but if the cat ears are your focus then I think you took the wrong message away from this story.

And there’s such beautiful prose to be enjoyed as well. Sentences like “You can see the sun touching the tops of the buildings across the street, making its way through the neighborhood like someone whose attention you are careful not to attract.” Or, “You can have it all, but you can’t have it all at once.” And maybe my favorite one, “You know what my dad told me once? He said the human heart doesn’t really pump the way everyone thinks . . . He said that the heart wrings itself out. It twists in two different directions, like you’d do to squeeze the water out of a wet towel.” Trust me – if I could spend the rest of this review just quoting from this book, I’d do it. I suspect that would only amuse me in the end, though.

Bane of the cataloging librarian’s job, this book is a middle school title for middle schoolers. Not young kids. Not jaded teens. Middle. School. Kids. As such, were it not for the author’s fantastic writing and already existing fan base, it would languish away in that no man’s land between child and teen fiction. Fortunately Stead has a longstanding, strong, and dedicated group of young followers who are willing to dip a toe into the potentially murky world of middle school. There they will find exactly what we all found when we were that age. There will be kids who seem to be enjoying an extended childhood, while others have found themselves thrust into mature bodies they have no experience operating. With this book the selfie has officially entered the children’s literature lexicon and woe betide those who seek to turn back the clock. Naturally, this will lead some adults to believe that the book is better suited in the YA and teen sections of their libraries and bookstores. I condemn no one’s choice on where best to place this book, particularly since some communities are a bit more conservative in their tastes and attitudes than others. That said, I am of the firm opinion that this is a book for kids. We may like to believe that the situations that occur here (and they are very PG situations, for what it’s worth) don’t occur in the real world, but we’d be fooling ourselves. If the heroine of the book had been Bridge’s friend Emily and not Bridge herself, then a stronger case could be made for the book’s YA inclinations. Moreover the tone of the book, while certainly filled with intelligent kids, is truly intended for a child audience. Adults will enjoy it. Teens might even enjoy it. But it’s kids that will benefit the most from it in the end.

The trickiest part of the book, and the part that may raise the most eyebrows, is Stead’s handling of the notion of feminism and the perception of girls and women. Emily and Bridge’s friend Tab takes a class from a woman who seems to have stepped out of a 1974 women’s studies college course. Her name is Ms. Berman but she says the kids can call her Berperson. Tab, for her part, devours everything the Berperson (as they prefer to call her) says and then takes what she’s learned and applies it in a bad way. She’s a middle schooler. There are college girls who do very much the same thing. So I watched very closely to see how Tab’s feminist interpretation of events went down. First off, the Berperson does not approve of what Tab does later in the book. Then I wanted to see if Tab’s continual feminist statements made any good points. Sometimes they really really do. When it comes to the selfie, Tab’s the smartest of her three friends. Other times she’s incredibly annoying. So what’s a kid going to take away from this book re: feminism? For the most part, it’s complicated but the end result is that Tab is left, for all her smarts early on, a fool. That’s a strong message and one that I’m worried will cast a long shadow over the concept of feminism itself, reinforcing stereotypes that it’s humorless and self-righteous. On the flip side, there are some very intelligent things being said about how girls are perceived in society. When a girl is slut shamed (the exact phrase isn’t used but that’s what it is) for her picture, she says later, “But the bad part wasn’t that everyone was looking at the picture. I mean, it was weird and not great. But the bad part was that it felt like they were making fun of my feeling good about the picture. Of me liking myself.” Lots to unpack there.

If Stead has a known style then perhaps it’s in writing mysteries that aren’t mysteries. Every question raised by the text along with every loose end is tied up by the story’s close. Characters are smart and their interactions with one another carry the thrill of authenticity. Stead is sort of a twenty-first century E.L. Konigsburg. Her kids are intelligent but (unlike Konigsberg, I would argue) they still feel like kids. And there are connections between the characters and events that you didn’t even think to hope for until, at last, they are revealed to you. I heard one adult who had read this book say that it was “layered”. I suppose that’s a pretty good way of describing it. It has this surface simplicity to it but even the slightest scratch to that surface yields gold. I’ve focused on just a couple of the aspects of the title that I personally find interesting, but there are so many other directions that a person could go with it. If Stead has a known style, maybe it isn’t mysteries or kids smart beyond their years or multiple connections. Maybe her style is just writing great books. The evidence in this case speaks for itself.

For ages 10 and up.
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Nov 09, 2015 Idarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, own

“Who’s the real you? The person who did something awful, or the one who’s horrified by the awful thing you did? Is one part of you allowed to forgive the other?”

Rebecca Stead is an author I’ve been meaning to read for the longest time. Her Newbery Medal winning book, When You Reach Me, was the book that put her on my radar, but it’s her latest book, Goodbye Stranger, that I’ve actually read. After such a positive reading experience, I’ve purchased all of her remaining books, and I’m pretty s ...more

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Jan 25, 2015 Ms. Yingling rated it it was ok

E ARC from Netgalley.com

Bridge, Tabitha, and Emily have been friends for a long time, but 7th grade is testing their friendship, as it does for many people. Em has developed more quickly, and has captured the attention of an 8th grade boy, who wants her to send him pictures. Tab is interested in their teacher's feminist views. Bridge, for some reason, has started to wear cat ears on her head. She's struggling with her French class and still trying to make sense of why she wasn't killed in an acc E ARC from Netgalley.com

Bridge, Tabitha, and Emily have been friends for a long time, but 7th grade is testing their friendship, as it does for many people. Em has developed more quickly, and has captured the attention of an 8th grade boy, who wants her to send him pictures. Tab is interested in their teacher's feminist views. Bridge, for some reason, has started to wear cat ears on her head. She's struggling with her French class and still trying to make sense of why she wasn't killed in an accident when she was 8. She skated in front of a car and was gravely injured, but someone told her that she must have been saved for a reason. She just doesn't know what that is. She makes friends with Sherm, a boy whose grandfather has left his grandmother after 50 years of marriage, something he just doesn't understand. The two work on the tech crew for the talent show together, and everyone thinks they "like like" each other. After Emily makes the very poor choice of sending Patrick a picture of herself wearing jeans and a black, lacy bra, there is a lot of drama over how the picture got sent around, and more drama when a picture of Patrick in his underwear gets posted to his account. Em struggles with being the "bad" girl, while her friends wonder what they could have done to stop her.

In alternating chapters, set several months in the future (the main action takes place from the beginning of school past Halloween; these chapters take place on Valentine's Day), we get an account, in second person, from a girl whose friends Vinny, Gina and Zoe have all changed, with Vinny being especially mean. The girl runs away and spends the day with Adrienne at the Bean Bar, a coffee shop owned by Bridge's family.
Strengths: This did have a nicely multicultural cast-- Bridge's father is Armenian, and Tabitha Patel's parents are Hindu. Sherm's grandfather is Italian. The New York City setting is very lovingly done. The episode with Em's picture is worthy of an entire book (something like Vail's Unfriended), because even though librarians deliver Internet Safety talks, apparently students still don't listen, and the ramifications can be terrible.
Weaknesses: The plot was slow moving and confusing, and the Valentine's Day entries in the second person made me think that I must have missed something somewhere.
What I really think: Since my students don't read When You Reach Me or Liar & Spy, I don't think I will purchase this title.

Here's the thing: I'm not a sophisticated reader. I don't read adult fiction; I really dislike anything "literary". I want a good story, with likable characters, a lot of action, and a plot that moves quickly and is easy to understand. I like to think that this makes me more in tune with the sort of books that my students most frequently request.

But I don't think I'm stupid, or a poor reader. So when I come across a book that is so hard to understand that I have to take notes and I still don't know quite what went on, I worry about whether my students will understand it. When it takes me 4 hours to read a 300 page book because I keep finding that trimming my toenails or putting laundry away or reorganizing the pantry is more interesting, I question whether or not I should spend the money to buy it for my students.

At the same time, when I find myself deeply engrossed in the state of my cuticles because the book is lyrical and deep and gorgeously written, I know that everyone else who posts reviews will love the book. And I wonder, just a little, why I don't like this sort of book as much as other bloggers and librarians do.

So here are my thoughts. Read the book for yourself, check out all of the reviews of Goodreads.com, especially the one by Betsy Bird. (http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production...) Go ahead. Just read that review. It's hosted at School Library Journal, after all. I'm just going to go sob gently into my cardigan sleeve and reread Lenora Mattingly Weber's A New and Different Summer for the 20th time while feeling vaguely inadequate and unpopular.
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Jul 21, 2019 L A i N E Y ~back in a bit~ rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed, precious-character, middle-grade, contemporary

Man, the Banana Split Book Club! A book club in a school for kids with divorced parents.

Just WOW. I hope it’s real because it would make me feel a lot better about humanity, seriously. Warms my heart to bits.

My second book from Rebecca Stead and I have to say that she definitely has the ability to create these naturally curious characters so organically. Both When You Reach Me and Goodbye Stranger are not laugh-out-loud funny but they have this air of childhood simplicity about them that’s quit ...more

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Sep 10, 2015 Diane rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, childrens

Rebecca Stead writes about youth so well that she reminds me of another wonderful author I loved when I was a girl: Judy Blume.

Goodbye Stranger is the third Stead novel I've read, and it's very strong. It's the story of a group of friends growing up together, and how their friendship is tested by different challenges. I realize that is the basic synopsis of almost every children's book out there, but Stead makes it her own.

The first character we meet is Bridget (Bridge for short), who survived Rebecca Stead writes about youth so well that she reminds me of another wonderful author I loved when I was a girl: Judy Blume.

Goodbye Stranger is the third Stead novel I've read, and it's very strong. It's the story of a group of friends growing up together, and how their friendship is tested by different challenges. I realize that is the basic synopsis of almost every children's book out there, but Stead makes it her own.

The first character we meet is Bridget (Bridge for short), who survived a terrible accident at a young age, and it imbued her with an odd sense of purpose:

On the day Bridge was discharged from the hospital, one of the nurses said something that changed the way she thought about herself. The nurse said, "Thirteen broken bones and a punctured lung. You must have been put on this earth for a reason, little girl, to have survived." ...

Bridge couldn't answer the nurse, because by that time her jaw had been wired shut. Otherwise, she might have asked, "What is the reason?" Instead, the question stayed in her head, where it circled.

That passage is on page 3 of the novel, which proves my point about what a clever writer Stead is -- right off the bat we have a young girl who is questioning her purpose in life. I love it!

We also meet Bridge's friends, who are each battling their own adolescent growing pains (one of the girls gets caught texting inappropriate things to a guy, which is a common problem today) and also a nice boy, Sherm, who tries to do the right thing for Bridge.

There is also a group of girls who are slightly older than Bridge's friends, which is why I included this book in the YA category. Stead's two other works were smart children's novels, but I think this one could be appreciated by teens because it has some older themes.

I don't want to reveal anything more about the plot, because there is a fun mystery at the heart of it. I have enjoyed Stead's novels so much that I look forward to reading anything else she writes. I highly recommend her books.

Favorite Quotes
"But Bridge understood that life didn't balance anymore. Life was a too-tall stack of books that had started to lean to one side, and each new day was another book on top."

"Sherm said, 'My grandfather used to say that everyone alive has already beaten the craziest odds, just being born. Like one in a trillion. Your parents could have had a million different kids, but they had you. And before that could happen, your parents had to be born themselves, and their parents had to be born ... I mean, think about it. It goes all the way back.'"
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Mar 16, 2015 Laura rated it it was amazing

Shelves: cover-me, my-favorite-ya-brothers

Rebecca Stead has done it again. Pure magic! I have a hard time reviewing her books though, so hold on to your hats and cat ears! :D

Goodbye Stranger weaves together love and friendship; betrayal and trust; boys and girls. A story filled with young individuals trying to find their way through junior high and high school with their hearts intact. Trying to learn how to trust, who to trust, how to talk and connect with people, and how to stay connected to the people we love in this world. I have NE ...more

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Mar 31, 2015 Stacey (prettybooks) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-my-twenties, childrens-fiction

“Love is when you like someone so much that you can’t just call it “like,” so you have to call it “love.”

Rebecca Stead is one of my favourite middle grade authors, so I was incredibly excited to read her latest book, Goodbye Stranger. Liar & Spy and When You Reach Me feel a little younger, but I was pleased to be thrown back into Rebecca Stead's writing style. It's not an obvious style; it doesn't jump out at you. It's a bit like coming home.

Many novels, short stories and poems are about ...more

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Oct 27, 2016 Snotchocheez rated it liked it

3 stars

I will always have Rebecca Stead on my radar after reading her perfect Newberry Award-winning When You Reach Me (an homage to Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle In Time). Ms. Stead is one of the best 'middle grade' authors I've encountered. I don't want to dissuade anyone from reading Goodbye Stranger, but this is probably her most 'conventional' book thus and I had a little bit of trouble enjoying it. The idea of 7th graders sexting each other (a trend which Aziz Ansari alerted me to in his ...more

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Dec 20, 2014 Jeff Raymond rated it it was ok

Shelves: arcs-manuscripts, read-ya-contemporary, books-i-own-on-kindle

I had a lot of issues with this book. A lot of issues.

First, seeing after the fact that this is probably meant to be more for the pre-YA crowd makes this book all the more puzzling as the subject matter is pretty mature on a whole, with a key plot point being middle schoolers sending racier and racier pictures to each other. Are we really ready to tackle the pre-teen texting issue like this?

There are other stories in the book, to be sure, and none of them are especially engaging - one involves I had a lot of issues with this book. A lot of issues.

First, seeing after the fact that this is probably meant to be more for the pre-YA crowd makes this book all the more puzzling as the subject matter is pretty mature on a whole, with a key plot point being middle schoolers sending racier and racier pictures to each other. Are we really ready to tackle the pre-teen texting issue like this?

There are other stories in the book, to be sure, and none of them are especially engaging - one involves a kid estranged from his family, another involves skipping school, a third about a kid in recovery from being hit by a car and being clinically dead. The tales intertwine, but not enough in a way that makes for an engaging tale, and it's unfortunate given how well the book is written on a whole. The story is extremely readable, but not especially enjoyable.

Beyond that, the kids sound and act older than they are - the voices sound like teenagers in high school and I had to consistently remind myself they’re middle schoolers. If you're looking for firm consequences for actions such as skipping class and sending scantily-clad photos, they don’t really exist in a significant enough way here - the suspensions levied for some kids and the punishments doled out for others feel like aftereffects and are quickly brushed off as opposed to being significant issues for the kids. While it's hinted at, the fact that kids are being arrested and put on sex offender lists for photos not too far from what is described here means this comes across as highly unrealistic.

It’s as if the focus on their own issues isn’t impacted by anything else happening around them. As well-written from a basic prose standpoint that this book is, it seems like a major miss across the board to try to walk this tightrope and yet seem to not really come to any sort of real solid resolution. It might be *too* realistic in that regard in that nothing is necessarily tied up with a bow. You have lockdown drills, talent shows, and none of it really seems to matter. It's all very strange.

I can't really recommend this to anyone. I get what the attempt was here, and it just doesn't work on a number of levels. ...more

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Jan 26, 2015 Margaret H. Willison rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics-deservedly, inexpressably-good-books, young-adult-fiction, feminist-romance

I often say that there's YA for Everyone (i.e. it's published under that designation, but presents no barriers of enjoyment to older readers) and YA for Teens (totally acceptable books that nonetheless trade in archetypes or tropes that will have lost their freshness and, thereby, their emotional impact for older/more experienced readers). This book is neither. This book is just literature that happens to be about 13 and 14-year-olds, but that approaches them with all the complexity, intelligenc ...more

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Aug 10, 2015 Jessica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: youngadult, contemporary, own

Rebecca Stead's writing is just so EFFORTLESS. Her characters are real kids (and adults) having real conversations, and she just GETS it. This is what middle school feels like. This is what trying to figure out what kind of person you are, what kind of friend you are, is like. This is a beautiful, powerful book, and I think it should be required reading the summer before students start 7th grade. ...more

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Dec 07, 2015 Adri rated it really liked it

Recommended to Adri by: Ivan

Shelves: childrens-middle-grade, favorites, library

4.5/5 Stars

"I think that when you don't know, you should just wait until you do."

An incredible and important novel about growing pains, bumping up against the boundaries between friendship and love (which may, in fact, be nonexistant), learning to like yourself when the world says you shouldn't, and knowing when to call it quits with people who make you more sad than happy. If you're contemplating reading this book, I think that says it all.

The best part about Rebecca Stead's work is that she treats her young characters like humans, allowing them to work through complex problems and engage with the world with awareness and thoughtfulness. She doesn't shelter her characters or romanticize their naïveté/innocence. These are real people going through real things, and what's more, it's not melodramatic. These aren't childish problems being blown out of perspective; they're things that hurt, that scar, and she allows her characters the room to be sad.

I also appreciated how the passage of time was a huge theme in this story. Maybe you don't have the answer right now, maybe you can't change anything right now, but if you give yourself the time to feel what you feel and if you trust in yourself and the support system (the crew) you've assembled around you then eventually you may know what's best for you--and, more importantly, maybe you'll be brave enough to do it. This novel is all about unlearning the bad habit of internalizing other people's ideas for your life. I think it's a sensational story, and I'm so glad that this story exists, not just for young readers but for readers of all ages. We needed it.

I feel like I learned something about love and friendship from this story--how the relationships we form are not a negotiation of the two, but a seamless marriage. This story also gives incredible validation to platonic relationships (as well as romantic relationships), which is something I really needed at this time in my life.

I'm grateful that this book exists, and I can only hope it will make so many more people feel as good as I felt when I reached the last page. ...more

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Dec 16, 2014 Monica Edinger rated it it was amazing

Excerpts from my spoiler-free blog post.

It is apt that I am writing this just before Valentine’s Day as it is love in its numerous manifestations that is central to this novel. There is the love of friendship, the main one here between three 7th grade girls who have been close and committed friends since very young, vowing never to fight. There is sibling love as shown between the main character Bridge and her older brother. There is the love between parent and child that comes wafting through i ...more

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Jul 17, 2015 Jeann (Happy Indulgence) rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya-contemporary, review-copy, young-adult, text-publishing

This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

It’s been a really long time since I’ve been in middle school, and Goodbye Stranger captures the confusing time just before you enter high school. You’re not quite a teenager, so there remains the naivety and optimism that comes with finding yourself and understanding new situations and other people. There’s also the insecurity as well, with saying what you need to say, doing what you need to do but still remaining close to This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

It’s been a really long time since I’ve been in middle school, and Goodbye Stranger captures the confusing time just before you enter high school. You’re not quite a teenager, so there remains the naivety and optimism that comes with finding yourself and understanding new situations and other people. There’s also the insecurity as well, with saying what you need to say, doing what you need to do but still remaining close to your best friends. In essence, Goodbye Stranger is about the growing pains with family, relationships, finding oneself and friends, while venturing unknown territory that you don’t quite understand yet.

The writing here is crisp, relatable and easily read, but I couldn’t connect to the plot and characters. There’s a few different point of views, with an unknown narrator, a letter to a grandfather as well as the major storyline with Bridge and her friends. Even while I reached the end of the book, I didn’t know how the mysterious narrator fit in with the major storyline, which lead to a lot of confusion.

I struggled to connect with the book and its characters while reading. The blurb also gives virtually nothing away about what the book is really about – I thought it was about grief because of Bridge being an accident survivor, or about the consequences of sending shirtless selfies of yourself. But while these things were featured, it didn’t really heavily pursue any particularly plotline, and rather focuses on the whole experience of being a middle schooler and the growing pains. I loved the feminism slant and the glimpse of diversity featured though, which felt natural and a part of the character’s thought systems.

While Goodbye Stranger attempts to capture a confusing time of life and finding yourself, the lack of a strong plotline and character connection affected my rating of it. It reads like YA but is actually aimed at the upper MG level.

I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Jan 25, 2015 Jenni Frencham rated it it was ok

Shelves: tween, young-adult, contemporary, bullying, arc-netgalley

Stead, Rebecca. Goodbye Stranger. Wendy Lamb Books, 2015.

This book tells the story of several very different characters: three best friends who have known each other forever and have promised on a Twinkie not to fight, one of whom is a survivor of a horrible car accident, and also a random doctor's son who might want to be friends with one of the girls.

I had such high hopes for this book. It's Rebecca Stead, and I loved When You Reach Me, so I was excited to be able to preview this novel. And i ...more

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Jan 24, 2018 Puck rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Puck by: Adri

Shelves: diverse-reads, underrated, children-middle-grade

Friendship in books is like Cinderella: she can grow out to become the belle of the ball, but only if you give her the proper care and attention.
In most (YA) books she sadly remains an overlooked servant girl, but that’s not the case with Goodbye Stranger In this fantastic middle-grade novel friendship gets room to shine in all its good and bad ways.

We follow three different storylines: we get to know 13-year old Bridget the best, as she and her best friends navigate the world of middle school ...more

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Feb 04, 2015 Beth rated it liked it

Shelves: reviewed

Well, I was prepared to love this. And I think there's a good story buried somewhere beneath the separate points of view. But the POVs alternated so often that I never felt like I was able to sink into the novel or really get to know anyone.

Also, I don't like second person point-of-view at all, and I figured out that narrator early on, and - like Celeste said - if this is what seventh grade is like for them, what's high school going to be like? It was dispiriting, but in flashes, because the po ...more

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Mar 16, 2015 Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley

This is a terrific contemporary snapshot of middle school social community life exploring relationships between friends, teachers, and parents. Relevant universal themes such as 'first crushes', school dress codes, body piercing, injustice, differences, mixed messages, double standards, self expression, awkwardness, and love are passionately heartfelt.

Here are a few quotes I especially love:

1) "They were holding hands. She didn't know what to do. She didn't want to squeeze or let her hand go l This is a terrific contemporary snapshot of middle school social community life exploring relationships between friends, teachers, and parents. Relevant universal themes such as 'first crushes', school dress codes, body piercing, injustice, differences, mixed messages, double standards, self expression, awkwardness, and love are passionately heartfelt.

Here are a few quotes I especially love:

1) "They were holding hands. She didn't know what to do. She didn't want to squeeze or let her hand go limp, but everything she did felt like one or the other, and suddenly all she could think about was keeping fingers lined up normally and applying exactly the right kind of pressure. She was sure Sherm could tell she had no idea what she was doing."
"Maybe we can snag some cookies on the way out, he said, pretending nothing unusual was happening."

***NOTE: Who doesn't remember a time in their life --when 'pretending' nothing unusual just happened 'like this'? When nothing was said...as if all was normal as all other times? --but you knew -and they knew --???

2)"In movies its always looks easy to turn away from the mean girl. That's what the audience wants you to do. But you couldn't stop thinking about everything you knew about Vinny, everything she knew about you. It hurt when she walked right pass you every day, like a real physical hurt. I felt like you were being erased. And time didn't make it any better."

***NOTE: Everyone has lost a friend. It may have been you that ended it --It may have been them that ended it ---but either way -- if you knew them --(really had enjoyed them for a period of time) -- it still hurts for a long time after...(no matter who was at fault).

3)"Everyone feels different on the inside. It doesn't mean you have a secret mission."

***NOTE: This is a great message to learn early in life. Often --When kids feel different --they also feel 'alone'. It helps to know..'everyone' has an inner voice...(and we don't always know who we are --that inner voice --or our social self).

Wonderful Book! Rebecca Stead wrote a 'gem' of a book for kids in Middle School. Their parents will find value also!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley!

...more

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Mar 28, 2015 Shannon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens, middle-grade, realistic-fiction, ebook, 2015, short, new-york, contemporary

This is a seriously highly rated 4 stars, like it's 4.75 and I should just round up. I've loved everything I've read by Rebecca Stead and she's quickly become a "must read" author. She really captures this age well; she writes about kids but doesn't come off like she's patronizing or pandering. Her stories are just that right amount of authentic to feel like realistic fiction. I almost kind of hate her because she makes me remember being that age.

Maybe a longer review to come ... ...more

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Aug 26, 2015 Kate rated it it was amazing

Shelves: teen, middle-school, j-fiction, realistic, middle-grade

DON'T MIND ME, I JUST HAVE SOMETHING IN MY EYE THAT'S MAKING TEARS COME OUT. ...more

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Aug 01, 2018 Karina rated it liked it

3.5... Cute read about middle schoolers trying to figure out how to be good friends and people. The plot was a little bland but for the genre it makes sense. Emily and Patrick start texting and a sexy picture of her gets out to the whole school. Her two friends are there for her but they struggle to do the right thing while learning things about themselves in the process. I like how Rebecca Stead makes these strong characters that solve their problems with common sense instead of killing themsel ...more

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Jan 16, 2015 Mary Lee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2015, coming-of-age, ya

My two favorite quotes:

"I'll tell you a secret, " he said. "Pretty much nothing is in the budget."

"Life isn't something that happens to you. It's something you make yourself, all the time."

Okay, three:

"Bridge knew why she was here. It's why we're all here, she thought."

...more

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Jun 03, 2015 Colby Sharp rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2015, 2015-nerdy, 2015-newbery

Best book I've read in a long long time. ...more

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May 03, 2015 Hazel (Stay Bookish) rated it really liked it

Shelves: own-physical-arc, 2015-lovelies, from-bea-15

Visit Stay Bookish for more book reviews!

I’ve heard nothing but great things about Rebecca Stead’s writing and this sparked my interest in reading Goodbye Stranger. Finally having read one of her works, I see the appeal and wonder why I didn’t take to reading her books sooner. With Goodbye Stranger, Stead expertly intertwines multiple stories and multiple viewpoints, layered with depth and complexity.

“You’re going to think I’m weird.”
“I already think you’re weird.”

I don’t read a lot of younger Y Visit Stay Bookish for more book reviews!

I’ve heard nothing but great things about Rebecca Stead’s writing and this sparked my interest in reading Goodbye Stranger. Finally having read one of her works, I see the appeal and wonder why I didn’t take to reading her books sooner. With Goodbye Stranger, Stead expertly intertwines multiple stories and multiple viewpoints, layered with depth and complexity.

“You’re going to think I’m weird.”
“I already think you’re weird.”

I don’t read a lot of younger YA/MG books these days but if most of them are like this one, I’d definitely be picking them up more often. There’s a certain lightness in reading Goodbye Stranger, being set in middle school and featuring realistic middle school characters, despite tackling some weighty themes. There’s a girl who’s pondering life after a near-death experience, a boy who writes letters to a grandfather who walked away and an unnamed high schooler who’s struggling with a treacherous friendship. They’re all connected somehow, and not just because they’re going through the same muddle that is the in-betweens of early teenage years.

“Everyone feels different on the inside. It doesn’t mean you have a secret mission.”

There are just so many aspects that I enjoyed in Goodbye Stranger- the mysterious narrator, the positivity and support between Bridge, Emily and Tabitha, the adorable mild romance between Sherm and Bridge, the way the story tackled sexuality and body image, the feminist outlook and the impactful writing. It all ties up together very well and makes for an engaging ornate plot. I’d go into detail but I feel it’s best to start the book with a vague idea and discover for yourself what it’s truly about.

“Life isn’t something that happens to you. It’s something you make yourself, all the time.”

Goodbye Stranger is not at all your typical cute YA/MG crossover novel. It’s a lovely narrative of young teenagers who feel and think deeply and an introspective story exploring friendship and growing up. I strongly recommend picking it up if you’re looking for a quick but meaningful read ...more

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May 29, 2016 Maddie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs, stand-alones

This story was so real. The three different plot line weave together to create such an interesting collective of first love, friendship and fear of what's to come. Bridge was so quirky, Sherm was so emotionally in touch, and the Mystery Girl, who's story is told in second person, was what really made me want to keep turning the pages. Somehow, each character is relatable in their own way, and everyone has something going on in their lives. I loved it, and if you're looking for a character driven ...more

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Dec 18, 2014 Brandy Painter rated it it was amazing

Shelves: middle-grade, favorites, galleys, contemporary-fiction

Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.

I've made no secret that I'm a huge fan of Rebecca Stead, and I firmly believe that her books get better and better with each release. Goodbye Stranger has only confirmed that belief.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Bridge is an accident survivor who's wondering why she's still alive.

Emily has new curves and an almost-boyfriend who wants a certain kind of picture.

Tabitha sees through everybody's games--or so she tells the world. The three girls Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.

I've made no secret that I'm a huge fan of Rebecca Stead, and I firmly believe that her books get better and better with each release. Goodbye Stranger has only confirmed that belief.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Bridge is an accident survivor who's wondering why she's still alive.

Emily has new curves and an almost-boyfriend who wants a certain kind of picture.

Tabitha sees through everybody's games--or so she tells the world. The three girls are best friends with one rule: No fighting. Can it get them through seventh grade?

This year everything is different for Sherm Russo as he gets to know Bridge Barsamian. What does it mean to fall for a girl--as a friend?

On Valentine's Day, an unnamed high school girl struggles with a betrayal. How long can she hide in plain sight?

First and foremost this is a book about friendship and community. Bridge, Emily, and Tab have an excellent friendship. Each of them have different interests, passions, and personalities, but they are also a cohesive well-functioning team who made an agreement long ago to never fight. You can imagine what 7th grade does to this pact. But the girls really do have a strong relationship, and the story of how they weather the ups and downs of the scandals, changes, betrayals, and tumultuous twists of the year makes for an emotional and engrossing read. The developing relationship between Bridge and Sherm is wonderful as well. They have a great rapport and they both need each other's friendship exactly as it is exactly in the place they're both in. I love how both of them are strong enough to hold on to it through all the peer pressure surrounding them to be a couple too. They are both independent and self-reliant and this helps. It's an interesting contrast to the relationship between Emily and her sort-of-boyfriend Patrick. Those two are both more vulnerable and far too open to the manipulative powers of the middle school collective brain. The friendship between the three girls and the developing friendship between Bridge and Sherm also contrasts the unnamed teen's struggle with her relationships in high school as she looks back on her own tumultuous year.

The story is told in a mixture of third person telling the story of the 7th graders, letters Sherm is writing to his grandfather, and the teen's story told in second person. Second person is usually a point of view that will have me throwing a book down and running as far away from it as I can possibly get. And I'm not going to lie and say that Stead's writing was such that she made me forget my deep and abiding hatred for the second person. I was still thrown out of the story and frustrated by the use of "you" in action and thoughts I was not having myself. (Seriously, second person is so frustrating. So. Frustrating. I'm not in the book. Artificial means of putting me there only succeed in doing the opposite.) BUT. It didn't make me hate the book like it usually does, and I can even see the literary argument for having those sections told from this perspective. I do think this is the book's one weakness though. However, they are short and fit into the rest of the narrative well enough. And the rest of the story is so strong from a characterization and thematic stand point that it makes up for it.

The books themes are incredibly strong too. It is a wonderful look at feminism, body shaming, the disparity in how boys and girls are treated by adults and by each other, and the unfairness inherent in all of that. It's also about friendship, community, family, and what one's purpose on earth is. I can not wait to read this book with my own daughter. The parents in this book make plenty of mistakes but love their kids and incredibly realistic. I like the way Stead was able to touch upon such timely themes and subject matter without being at all didactic about it. Goodbye Stranger is a story of realistic kids navigating school and life and each other. They make mistakes. They stand up for each other. They are figuring out life. Reading about their struggles and triumphs will be something many young readers will relate to and enjoy.

I read an ARC received via the publisher, Wendy Lamb Books, at ALA Midwinter. Goodbye Stranger is on sale August 4th. ...more

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Apr 28, 2017 R.F. Gammon rated it really liked it

Shelves: family, medical, romance, reading-because-of-the-author, 3-star-books

In hindsight, I gave this 3 stars. Now that I've actually read it recently, I'll be a bit more generous and give it 4 :) It could have been perfect, except for one little quibble I had with it. And that was this:

This was definitely, in part, a cautionary tale, but it had way more to do with the idea that GIRLS are out to get each other than the idea that GUYS are out to hurt girls.

And this is definitely a topic that needs to be addressed. Girls are mean! I've had lots of experience with it, sadl ...more

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Dec 22, 2016 Liz B rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporaryrealisticfiction, yakids, library, buy-for-book-clubs, full-length

This goes way beyond being an issue book (fyi, the issue is middle school sexting) to being a story about people. This is beautifully crafted, each character is believable, and Stead keeps what is really a simple plot utterly compelling.

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Oct 30, 2018 Kateryna rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult-read

This is a story of three best friends, fiercely loyal to each other, but at the same time each finding their own interests and growing up without growing apart. The story was told from various viewpoints. The characters were strong and I liked how the friendship of the three girls was consistently being showcased. The adults were realistic and the outcomes of the problems could happen anywhere. My one problem with Goodbye Stranger is that the Valentine's Day parts were confusing, and although th ...more

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Mar 19, 2015 Beth rated it liked it

Shelves: arcs, middle-grade, 2015-novel-length-reads, building-empathy, feminist-reads, friendship, ya-lit, in-classroom-library, realistic-fiction, bullying

As with all Rebecca Stead novels, Goodbye Stranger warrants a second (or third, or fourth) reading to really pick up on missed details. I didn't entirely get this one. It bounced back and forth between points-of-view and it was difficult to completely connect with characters.

Even with the holes in my comprehension, these are the things I was able to pick up on:
1) This book straddles the line between middle grade and YA. To the point where I wouldn't be surprised if in a year or so we start seei ...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Children's (Tween). Car accident - girl ran across the street to her friend Tabitha. This book occurs a year after her accident when she goes back to school. Read about 2014. [s]	4	12	Dec 01, 2020 08:01PM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Children’s/YA. Coming of age. Friendship between three middle school girls. Main character got hit by car roller skating with best friend after getting distracted by yellow slug bug. [s]	5	16	Apr 07, 2019 09:41PM

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About Rebecca Stead

Rebecca Stead

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I love books but don't feel like stars capture what I want to say about them. Many of the books on my list are, in my opinion, amazing. Some I didn't like. But I give them all five stars, because stars make people - including me -- happy. Confused? Me too.

If you want to talk about any book I've read, I'm here. ...more

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Quotes from Goodbye Stranger

“Who's the real you? The person who did something awful, or the one who's horrified by the awful thing you did? Is one part of you allowed to forgive the other?” — 52 likes

“Life is where you sleep and what you see when you wake up in the morning, and who you tell about your weird dream, and what you eat for breakfast and who you eat it with. Life isn’t something that happens to you. It’s something you make yourself, all the time.” — 27 likes

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