New Rebecca Stead Book Tugs at Heartstrings


Middle school can be rough for anyone, but add kisses, crushes, and trying to figure out your purpose in life to your schoolwork and it can become a real mess. Bridge and her two friends, Tab and Emily, have a pact, though: no fighting. But soon, Emily has a sort-of boyfriend and Bridge starts crushing on Sherm, a boy in her class, leaving everyone confused. Meanwhile, a high schooler struggles with friendship and betrayal. How can they all be expected to keep everything the same when change is the only thing happening?

Goodbye Stranger is a brilliant novel that will pull at your heartstrings. Written by Rebecca Stead, author of When You Reach Me and Liar and Spy, Goodbye Stranger will touch anyone who reads it, and stay with them long after they’re finished. Readers will be able to connect to this book whether they’re in middle school or not.

This novel has many well-rounded characters and a solid plot, making it more enjoyable and easy to understand. It doesn’t have any plot holes, and it is very well-developed.

Goodbye Stranger would be an excellent read for anyone who enjoyed reading When You Reach Me and Liar and Spy, but it would also be an enjoyable read for someone who hasn’t read the other Rebecca Stead books.

This book is probably better for someone older, though, maybe in the early teen years, because it contains some mature content. Some parents, depending on how much they choose to expose their kids to, may want to read it before letting their kid read it. However, the early teens will be an appropriate age for most everyone.

Goodbye Stranger is a must-not-miss. It is a novel that readers will love, empathize with, and remember for a long time.