Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Masterly. . . . Sensitively explores togetherness, aloneness, betrayal and love. The New York Times Book Review
2016 Honor Book in Fiction, Boston Globe Horn Book Award
A NYT Editors' Choice and NYT Notable Children's Books of 2015 This brilliant novel by Newbery Medal winner Rebecca Stead explores multiple perspectives on the bonds and limits of friendship.
Bridge is an accident survivor who s wondering why she s still alive. Emily has new curves and an almost-boyfriend who wants a certain kind of picture. Tabitha sees through everybody s games or so she tells the world. The three girls are best friends with one rule: No fighting.Can it get them through seventh grade?
This year everything is different for Sherm Russo as he gets to know Bridge Barsamian. What does it mean to fall for a girl as a friend?
On Valentine s Day, an unnamed high school girl struggles with a betrayal. How long can she hide in plain sight?
Each memorable character navigates the challenges of love and change in this captivating novel.
Praise for
Goodbye Stranger
Six Starred Reviews
Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2015
School Library Journal Best Books of 2015
Booklist Editor s Choice 2015
The Horn Book s Fanfare: Best Books of 2015
The Washington Post Best Books of 2015
The New York Times Notable Children s Books of 2015
This astonishingly profound novel is not your average middle-school friendship tale. The Horn Book, Starred
Stead shows how strongly love of all kinds can smooth the juddering path toward adulthood. Winsome, bighearted, and altogether rewarding. Booklist, Starred
Stead] captures the stomach-churning moments of a misstep or an unplanned betrayal and reworks these events with grace, humor, and polish into possibilities for kindness and redemption. Superb. Kirkus Reviews, Starred
This memorable story about female friendships, silly bets, different kinds of love, and bad decisions is authentic in detail and emotion. Publishers Weekly, Starred
Filled with humor and] delightful coincidences. . . . An immensely satisfying addition for Stead s many fans. School Library Journal, Starred
"The author as usual deftly interweaves her plot strands into an organic whole, and between the multifocal plot and the exploration on growth and self-recognition. . .deeply explores mistakes, and forgiveness, and growing away from people as well as toward them." The Bulletin, Starred
This eloquent story of friendship, first love, and identity will resonate powerfully with readers. VOYA, Perfect Ten
"Stead raises questions about whether a relationship can survive change. If someone makes a mistake, can you forgive the person, if not the act? Can two people reconcile, if they are both willing to process what happened? Or is the change more systemic--has one of you become a stranger? . . . It's a question all of the characters ask themselves at some point in Stead's perfectly synchronized novel." Shelf Awareness"
Synopsis
This brilliant, New York Times bestselling novel from the author of the Newbery Medal winner When You Reach Me explores multiple perspectives on the bonds and limits of friendship.
Long ago, best friends Bridge, Emily, and Tab made a pact: no fighting. But it's the start of seventh grade, and everything is changing. Emily's new curves are attracting attention, and Tab is suddenly a member of the Human Rights Club. And then there's Bridge. She's started wearing cat ears and is the only one who's still tempted to draw funny cartoons on her homework.
It's also the beginning of seventh grade for Sherm Russo. He wonders: what does it mean to fall for a girl--as a friend?
By the time Valentine's Day approaches, the girls have begun to question the bonds--and the limits--of friendship. Can they grow up without growing apart?
-Sensitively explores togetherness, aloneness, betrayal and love.- --The New York Times
A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book for Fiction
Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The Guardian, NPR, and more