Goodbye Stranger

This book was snapped up by my more mature Year 8 students (12-13yr) and devoured. Why? Because it addresses this age group without talking down to them, or moving beyond them. The book is told from multiple perspectives, which seems to be a bit of a 'thing' at the moment, but I like that - and so do my students. The writing is beautiful, and the second person narrative of the teen is superb. It is so rare to see effective second person for this age group, that I can't even think of another example. Essentially, there are three girls who swear to be best friends forever, and never to fight. So of course you know that something happens to stretch that promise to its limits. We also know that middle school is the great unevener. It's when some kids grow, some don't. Some get acne, some don't. Feelings about each other change. Friends have boyfriends or girlfriends when other friends are still saying 'eew!' Which is why it is so clever that the main character is called 'Bridge.' Nice. Bridge was hit by a car when she was eight, and shouldn't have survived. One of her nurses tells her she must have survived for a reason. This niggles at Bridge, but not annoyingly, in a 'what is the meaning of life' way. It just arises, every now and then. She starts wearing cat ears to school. She gets to know Sherm - my favourite character in the book, whose grandfather has just run off with his girlfriend, and Sherm is trying to make sense of that! The main plot revolves around a selfie shared unwisely and distributed mysteriously. But this doesn't rule the book. So many things happen to give pause for thought. Goodbye Stranger beautifully captures Middle School and the mysterious changes that bodies, friendships, and people go through as they find out a little more about who they are really. And, if you are as old as me, you can't help but hear Super Tramp in the background, the whole way through!

**Contains a few spoilers, but nothing major*** I read this book with my daughter, along with one of her best friends and the friend's mother in a book group. Overall, this was a great book. It's not exactly the type of book I could see myself re-reading, but everything felt genuine: the characters, the settings, the visual cues. I felt like I was hanging out with this group of people for a few months, watching their lives go by. Since I didn't have a cell phone when I was in middle school, the whole sending-picture scandal was interesting to me, but the overall theme of different kinds of friendship and how they change over time is a universal one. Some stand-alone things that come to mind: I was genuinely surprised that the nameless girl having trouble with her friend Vinny was Celeste, Tab's sister. Maybe its because I was reading quickly to finish the book, but I didn't see it coming. I really, really wish there had been a resolution to finding out Julie Hopper sent the picture of Em. I liked the friendship of Bridge and Sherm, how they really just liked hanging out together and, even if they felt weird sometimes, they still just went with it and trusted each other. I really liked the friendship of Em, Bridge and Tab. Their communication was good, even if that's not necessarily entirely reflective of real life. But it's a great standard to aspire to. I loved all the visuals and unique character details in the story. Bridge and her brother, with their love of the Rudolph Christmas special; Tab and her parents and their fasting ritual; Sherm's relationship with his grandparents; Em and her brother Evan, who reads tarot cards; the Bean Bar and Adrienne (a boxer with blond dreadlocks!); Bridge's cat ears, Em's sportiness, Tab's emerging feminism; Sherm believing the moon landing was faked, Bridge's mom playing cello; and on, and on... This book, in my opinion, definitely stands as a new classic and I think all kids should read it before entering seventh grade. Cheers to Rebecca Stead!

“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 Newberry 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 sure I’ll be getting through those in no time. If I woke up one day to find myself in my twelve-year-old body and had to go back to middle school, I’d check myself into the psych ward. Middle school was an awkward time for me: maturing physically, the tangle of friendships and betrayal, bullying, grades, peer pressure, and the need to please everyone. High school was even weirder. Stead put me right back into that time and place, compouded with the new issues facing youths today. Told from a variety of perspectives, Bridge and her two best friends face challenges related to change and growth when they enter the seventh grade. The advancement of technology has made what used to be black and white definite gray areas. Subjects like divorce, sexting, bullying and a slew of other issues are used by Stead to skillfully weave in the vulnerability and pain of adolescence in today’s world. A great read. Four-and-a-half stars for sure!

I loved this book! I am very picky about what I read but this really hooked me in and whenever I got home I would come and read it. I rate this book for 11-13 year olds and definitely recommend this book!

I expected a more enjoyable read than this as it had quite a few five-star reviews, However, it seems to me to ramble on in a trendy way about nothing in particular. It was cast aside to join the other books that were not interesting enough to finish. It is possibly more suitable for girls than for boys.

Gustó mucho

My 12 year old daughter has read and re-read this book, she says it's the best book that she's ever read (and she's read a lot!)

I really liked this book, but it confused me at parts. Maybe try to make it clearer so it's easier to understand.