Goodbye Stranger

Stead, R. (2015). Goodbye stranger. Boston: Boston Globe-Horn Book Honors.

Summary: Bridget Barsamian is in seventh grade with her two best friends, Emily and Tab. Bridge survived a fatal accident when she was eight years old and she has been struggling with the question of why she did. Bridge often wonders about many things like whether her friend Sherm likes her as more than a friend or if the moon landing was faked. Although the three friends vowed never to fight, Emily gets embroiled in a sexting scandal in school over something that Bridge made her promise not to do. There are multiple story lines that explore the subjects of love and relationships.
Commentary: The characters in the story are all very relatable. They are in middle school and are plagued with the problems of any adolescent readers. There are multiple story lines that help to give us a more well-rounded view of the whole story. The theme of this story seems to be that there was a reason people were put on this earth. Bridge believes there is a reason she was allowed to live through her near fatal accident.
Connections: Teacher Resources, Book Trailer, Book Review, Author Interview
Similar Books: Ask the Passengers by A.S. King; By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters; The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin
Textbook Connections: In Goodbye Stranger, we see characters that are growing and developing in different ways under differing circumstances.