emma_the_greatest's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
_sarah_reads_'s review against another edition
5.0
This book made me wish I could go back in time and do my friendships differently.
crystal_reading's review against another edition
4.0
I review copy: ARC from publisher at ALA
Review to come
Review to come
lulurocks101's review against another edition
4.0
4.5*
I’m leaving this book feeling a bit emotional - not a cry bubble but the sensation of something hushing in the back of my throat and head. It’s not quite sadness. Maybe melancholy for the human experience.
This is a book that I want my younger self to read. I started it, actually, when I was in middle school (bc of my absolute love for Rebecca Stead) and am not sure why I never finished it (considering I remembered the major plot point of the book). I think I was meant to read it now though. I’m still working through how I understand the title, but I think more so, this book is making me mourn the “ease” of girlhood friendships. I don’t think I experience friendship in this same way anymore and that makes me sad. I’m not sure where things started to complicate themselves - the involvement of other people, dishonesty, mal-intention. It feels like you can’t really have the relationships with these people in the same way that you used to, and it’s a bit heartbreaking. I miss wanting to tell people everything. “The girls you can see looking back at you are gone. No one talks about these disappearances. Everyone pretends it’s all right.” “If you keep your own body out of sight, you could be nine years old again.” “I guess my question is: Is the new you the stranger? Or is the stranger the person you leave behind?” “I feel like - like there’s this part of me that nobody knows. And I don’t know how it got there.”
Can you tell I just finished school and started my big girl job this week and am trying to emotionally decipher my place in the world and reconcile who I am with who I used to be and identify what those differences are? I need to journal.
I’m leaving this book feeling a bit emotional - not a cry bubble but the sensation of something hushing in the back of my throat and head. It’s not quite sadness. Maybe melancholy for the human experience.
This is a book that I want my younger self to read. I started it, actually, when I was in middle school (bc of my absolute love for Rebecca Stead) and am not sure why I never finished it (considering I remembered the major plot point of the book). I think I was meant to read it now though. I’m still working through how I understand the title, but I think more so, this book is making me mourn the “ease” of girlhood friendships. I don’t think I experience friendship in this same way anymore and that makes me sad. I’m not sure where things started to complicate themselves - the involvement of other people, dishonesty, mal-intention. It feels like you can’t really have the relationships with these people in the same way that you used to, and it’s a bit heartbreaking. I miss wanting to tell people everything. “The girls you can see looking back at you are gone. No one talks about these disappearances. Everyone pretends it’s all right.” “If you keep your own body out of sight, you could be nine years old again.” “I guess my question is: Is the new you the stranger? Or is the stranger the person you leave behind?” “I feel like - like there’s this part of me that nobody knows. And I don’t know how it got there.”
Can you tell I just finished school and started my big girl job this week and am trying to emotionally decipher my place in the world and reconcile who I am with who I used to be and identify what those differences are? I need to journal.
megancrews's review against another edition
5.0
Rebecca Stead’s latest novel Goodbye Stranger is a shining example how amazing children’s realistic fiction can be. Stead dares to believe that children can grapple with big questions that secretly plague us about our place in the cosmos and that they will understand and relate to complex characters can’t explain why they do things like wear cat ears everyday. What she creates is a beautiful story that will be loved by readers young and old.
The story is told from three different points of view and different perspectives in time. Much of the narrative focuses on Bridge and her best friends who are trying their best to hold fast to one another during the tumultuous times of seventh grade as navigate their first forays in love and beginning to find their place in the bigger world around them.
Bridge also become close with the second narrator of the story, a boy named Sherm, who narrates to us through unsent letters to his grandfather who Sherm isn’t speaking to. The final narrator is an unnamed high school student speaking to us in second person from Valentine’s Day. Her story seems unrelated to the other characters except that it touches on the same themes of friendship, and finding out who the person you are becoming really is. In the end the stories fall perfectly together into an intricately crafted plot. This book is sure to be appeal to fans of Stead’s other works as well as fans of [b:Wonder|23302416|Wonder|R.J. Palacio|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412358842s/23302416.jpg|16319487]Wonder.
The story is told from three different points of view and different perspectives in time. Much of the narrative focuses on Bridge and her best friends who are trying their best to hold fast to one another during the tumultuous times of seventh grade as navigate their first forays in love and beginning to find their place in the bigger world around them.
Bridge also become close with the second narrator of the story, a boy named Sherm, who narrates to us through unsent letters to his grandfather who Sherm isn’t speaking to. The final narrator is an unnamed high school student speaking to us in second person from Valentine’s Day. Her story seems unrelated to the other characters except that it touches on the same themes of friendship, and finding out who the person you are becoming really is. In the end the stories fall perfectly together into an intricately crafted plot. This book is sure to be appeal to fans of Stead’s other works as well as fans of [b:Wonder|23302416|Wonder|R.J. Palacio|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1412358842s/23302416.jpg|16319487]Wonder.
limeywesty's review against another edition
3.0
If I was to send "Goodbye Stranger" carnations, I would send it three. One pink, because I liked it, one red, because I also loved it, and one white, because (as books are my friends) this book is my friend.
How impressive it is that friendship is the true champion of Stead's latest novel. Yes, teaching resources, eat your heart out, this book has all the thematic discussions of gender equality, cyber bullying, internet safety and incidental diversity that makes it perfect for every classroom context, but the mature portrayal of friendship is the real star feature.
Bridge, Tab and Em are a "set" of friends that don't fight. And they do, but they don't. Yes, they argue. Yes, they get mad and say mean things to one another. But their underlying friendships, even when faced with "betrayals" are stronger than hot headed emotions. There are no grudges, petty squabbles or, "I hate you forever and ever even though you've been my friend since always" that usually characterise passionate and multidimensional friendships in YA. These are admirable friendships, the kind to aspire to, and a level-headedness that teens usually have, but adults forget.
The only criticisms I have are of the switching narrative voice and the extremely subtle (I read: imperceptible) shift in tone. It wasn't until the first person was obviously Sherm (I didn't even notice the third anonymous voice until too late) I had to reconsider what I was understanding, and this was a good third of my way into the book.
Thanks Rebecca Stead for a book about friendship, not about romance. For a book about cyber safety, not about getting rid of snapchat. For a book about feminism, but also about humankind. For a book I want people to want to read. Essentially you rock, and so does "Goodbye Stranger." I'll be sure to let everyone know.
How impressive it is that friendship is the true champion of Stead's latest novel. Yes, teaching resources, eat your heart out, this book has all the thematic discussions of gender equality, cyber bullying, internet safety and incidental diversity that makes it perfect for every classroom context, but the mature portrayal of friendship is the real star feature.
Bridge, Tab and Em are a "set" of friends that don't fight. And they do, but they don't. Yes, they argue. Yes, they get mad and say mean things to one another. But their underlying friendships, even when faced with "betrayals" are stronger than hot headed emotions. There are no grudges, petty squabbles or, "I hate you forever and ever even though you've been my friend since always" that usually characterise passionate and multidimensional friendships in YA. These are admirable friendships, the kind to aspire to, and a level-headedness that teens usually have, but adults forget.
The only criticisms I have are of the switching narrative voice and the extremely subtle (I read: imperceptible) shift in tone. It wasn't until the first person was obviously Sherm (I didn't even notice the third anonymous voice until too late) I had to reconsider what I was understanding, and this was a good third of my way into the book.
Thanks Rebecca Stead for a book about friendship, not about romance. For a book about cyber safety, not about getting rid of snapchat. For a book about feminism, but also about humankind. For a book I want people to want to read. Essentially you rock, and so does "Goodbye Stranger." I'll be sure to let everyone know.
marmoset737's review against another edition
5.0
As always - a beautiful, thoughtful and actual kid-friendly book about coming of age, middle school, friendship, and love from Rebecca Stead (definitely one of my favorite authors for middle-grade readers)
elliebailey's review against another edition
5.0
AMAZING! I adored this book. I (HIGHLY) recommend this book to anyone 11+, adults too. The language was so simple, but it suited the story really well. The separate story lines connect in the end in a satisfying way. I loved the characters, Bridge and Emily and Sherm especially.
Rebecca Stead is a fabulous writer. She wrote some of my other favorite books, (First Light and When You Reach Me ) I recommend both of those books as well as this one.
This is not a romance book. I am frustrated with the cover because I believe it sends the wrong message about the story. The cover lead me to believe this was a romance book, but Sherm and Bridge (the characters depicted on the cover) are not in any romantic relationship. In fact, the story is strong because it shows that girls and boys can be " JUST FRIENDS " This is a message that the media rarely expresses so I loved seeing this theme expressed in this book.
The plot was also intriguing. Stead wove three different stories together and they came together in the last few chapters. She used a similar (but not exact) technique in When You Reach Me .
I read an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book which I received from my school librarian. So it does not actually come out until August 4. But I do suggest pre-ordering it online or putting it on hold at the library as soon as it comes out because it will surely be flying of the shelves.
****EDIT******
The one thing I did not get was the title. What does that mean? The phrase was not used in the book.
Rebecca Stead is a fabulous writer. She wrote some of my other favorite books, (First Light and When You Reach Me ) I recommend both of those books as well as this one.
This is not a romance book. I am frustrated with the cover because I believe it sends the wrong message about the story. The cover lead me to believe this was a romance book, but Sherm and Bridge (the characters depicted on the cover) are not in any romantic relationship. In fact, the story is strong because it shows that girls and boys can be " JUST FRIENDS " This is a message that the media rarely expresses so I loved seeing this theme expressed in this book.
The plot was also intriguing. Stead wove three different stories together and they came together in the last few chapters. She used a similar (but not exact) technique in When You Reach Me .
I read an Advanced Reader's Copy of this book which I received from my school librarian. So it does not actually come out until August 4. But I do suggest pre-ordering it online or putting it on hold at the library as soon as it comes out because it will surely be flying of the shelves.
****EDIT******
The one thing I did not get was the title. What does that mean? The phrase was not used in the book.
raechsreads's review against another edition
4.0
Three narrators interweave to tell the story how one can say goodbye to someone they thought of as a stranger, including themselves. I love that Rebecca Stead was able to bring in that elusive you narration and make it fit! The you narrator left me wondering who this person was and I didn't catch on until just before the big reveal. I love the characters Bridge and Sherm, also. The two of them are dealing with big issues for seventh graders - the common one is how the divorce of anyone can have a ripple effect on everyone's lives. Overall this book is just amazing!