Goodbye Stranger

Citation:

Stead, R. (2015). Goodbye stranger. New York: Wendy Lamb Books.

Summary:

Three different stories are expertly woven together in this easy to read novel. Bridge shares the journey through her seventh grade year, at times struggling to maintain connected to her two best friends, Tabitha and Emily, who are rapidly changing. She also begins a friendship with Sherman, a classmate whose story is also told through a series of letters he writes to his estranged grandfather who has betrayed the family by leaving his grandmother for another woman. The story of a third character, whose identity is not revealed until the end of the book, deals with a slightly older freshmen girl who is trying to sort out her own evolving friendships and figure out who she has become. Through sharing their own stories, the ups and downs of several other characters including friends and family are also shared. This book has a satisfying ending that is authentic and optimistic, without sounding artificial.

Response:

This novel is ideal for middle school students, especially girls. It is a book without material that is too edgy or graphic, yet it still deals with hard topics such as divorce, betrayal by friends, romantic interactions, and misuse of social media. At first this novel seems a bit like an episode of Seinfeld, a book where nothing really happens, but as it unfolds readers see how the three perspectives are all intertwined. One of the main themes of this book is that friendships evolve as people grow and change. Following these characters for nearly a year, this book shows emotional growth and stronger self-acceptance for everybody, displayed in different ways. I think that this is a great book for middle school students who are starting to navigate the waters of changing friendships. This book portrays the struggles and benefits of keeping healthy friendships strong, allowing unhealthy friendships to naturally end, and how some friendships evolve into romance.

Other resources:

Lyrics to the song "Goodbye Stranger" by Supertramp for analysis

Video of the song "Goodbye Stranger" by Supertramp for listening

Author's website with book reviews

Textbook Connections:
Genre: fiction
Characters, setting, plot are realistic.
This book is relatable because the struggles that characters face are similar to the everyday problems many students have.
This book is a "clean read" with no edgy depictions or curse words.