Goodbye Stranger (novel)

Goodbye Stranger is a 2015 young adult realistic fiction novel written by Rebecca Stead that details the social and personal challenges facing modern middle school students.

For the popular song by Supertramp, see Goodbye Stranger.
Goodbye Stranger
Original cover art for Goodbye Stranger. Modified slightly for publication.[1]
AuthorRebecca Stead
Cover artistMarcos Chin
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's novel
Published2015
PublisherWendy Lamb (Penguin Random House)
Pages304
ISBN978-0-385-74317-4
WebsiteOfficial website

Plot summary

The novel, set in New York City, is told from two intertwining perspectives. The first follows the set of friends "who drew creatures on their homework" and initially met in fourth grade, who are now entering seventh grade. Bridget "Bridge" Barsamian (who draws a three-eyed Martian) was involved in a serious accident and missed her third grade year while in the hospital; she starts hanging out with Sherm Russo, another seventh grader in Tech Crew, the school's stagehand organization. Tabitha "Tab" Patel (who draws a funny bird) becomes involved with the Human Rights Club at school. Emily "Em" (no surname given, who draws a spotted snake) is athletic and is starting to attract attention from boys.

In the second, an unnamed student ditches school and avoids her friends on Valentine's Day. It is clear the student knows the first group and lives in the same neighborhood, but her identity is kept a mystery through much of the novel.

Development

Stead said in 2015 that "Goodbye Stranger came from my thinking about and observing middle-school girls and the intense pressure they are under. It’s an interesting stage of life. Kids are changing so quickly, intellectually and physically, and have so many complicated questions about their identity, about how they see themselves, how others see them, and how they want to be seen."[1] Bridge wears cat ears because of a chance encounter Stead had with a stranger in the street: "The idea came from a girl. She was wearing cat ears. And I said, 'Nice ears.' And she said, 'Thanks, I've been wearing them for a year. I don't know why.' And then she ran away."[2]

Publication history
  • — (4 August 2015). Goodbye Stranger (1st, trade ed.). Wendy Lamb Books. ISBN 978-0-385-74317-4. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  • — (4 August 2015). Goodbye Stranger (1st, library ed.). Wendy Lamb Books. ISBN 978-0-375-99098-4. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  • — (4 August 2015). Goodbye Stranger (1st, ebook ed.). Wendy Lamb Books. ISBN 978-0-307-98085-4. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  • — (2 May 2017). Goodbye Stranger (1st, pbk ed.). Wendy Lamb Books. ISBN 978-0-307-98086-1. Retrieved 10 June 2018.

Reception

Meg Wolitzer, reviewing for The New York Times, said the novel "sensitively explores togetherness, aloneness, betrayal and love" and the second storyline "succeeds as a cautionary tale that signals what may lie ahead for the younger girls."[3]

Awards

Goodbye Stranger received a 2016 Boston Globe–Horn Book Fiction Honor Award.[4] National Public Radio named the novel to its 2015 list of Great Reads.[5] School Library Journal named the novel to one of its Best Books of 2015.[6] Booklist made the novel an Editors' Choice in 2015.[7]

See also

References
  1. Lodge, Sally (21 May 2015). "First Look: Rebecca Stead's 'Goodbye Stranger'". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  2. Rebecca Stead (4 August 2015). "The Bonds Of Friendship Stay Strong In 'Stranger'". NPR (Interview). Interviewed by Melissa Block. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  3. Wolitzer, Meg (19 August 2015). "Rebecca Stead's 'Goodbye Stranger'". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  4. "Goodbye Stranger: Author Rebecca Stead's 2016 BGHB Fiction Honor Speech". The Horn Book. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  5. Kenin, Justine (2015). "Goodbye Stranger, by Rebecca Stead". National Public Radio. Retrieved 11 June 2018.
  6. "Best Books 2015, Middle Grade: Goodbye Stranger". Best Books 2015. School Library Journal. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  7. "Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2015". Booklist. 1 January 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2018.

Reviews
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