Goodbye Stranger

Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead follows Bridge Barsamian as she grows up in New York City, with an eclectic group of friends and their families. The book follows Bridge as she struggles with adolescence, but also incorporates the struggles faced by not only her friends, but their parents and grandparents as well.

Goodbye Stranger is a coming-of-age chapter book in a contemporary realistic style. It is recommended for readers in middle school and above, owing to its dealing and inclusion of adult issues like divorce, politics, and relationships.

Activities

1. Character Study: Choose one character from Bridge and her friends. What are they struggling with? What helps them? How does it impact their relationships with friends and/or family? 
2. Pick one character that isn't the focus of the Valentine's Day story, and write a new ending as though they are. Who did you pick? What would make sense for them if they were the focus of the story? 
3. Recipe: What are the ingredients in this story? Love, shame, thoughtfulness? Pick at least 7 things to make a Goodbye Stranger cake, and describe how you'd put together all the drama between Bridge and her friends and family.
4. Add yourself into the story. Who are you? Are you friends with Bridge? Do you get along with Tabitha? Write a 2-3 page sample chapter as though you are a part of the group. Make sure to think about what your conflict is, and how the other characters react.
5. How do the adults in the story factor in? What do they struggle with? Pick one of the adults and write about their struggle, and compare it with the struggles of one of the teens. 

I definitely found a lot of lovely moments in this book! Stead writes with sensitivity and a great awareness of the importance of introspection and empathy as they develop among teens. I found her adult characters to be very realistic and full of as much life as her teen characters. The book is a wonderful example of the emotional development experienced in teen years, as well as the importance of thinking of the feelings of others. Similar books include When You Reach Me, another wonderful coming-of-age tale by Stead with multidimensional adult characters, The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall (another sensitively written coming-of-age tale), and Paper Things by Jennifer Richard.

Bibliography

Stead, Rebecca. Goodbye Stranger. (2015) Wendy Lamb Books.