Goodbye, Stranger
by Rebecca Stead
Friendship
Realistic Fiction
Review #1
* * * Stars (Pretty good)
Bridget (Bridge) Barsamian is an accident survivor. Her life has never been the same since a near-death roller-skating accident left her paralyzed for a year. Her nurse’s words about her surviving for a reason haunt her mind and she often wonders what that reason is. 2 years ago Bridge, Tabitha (Tab), and Emily (Em) made a pact to never, ever fight again. When they get to high school, things are changing around them. Bridge meets Shem, Em is dating Patrick, and Tab wants to save the world. When Em starts taking pictures of herself and sending them to Patrick, the friendship between the 3 girls is questioned. Will their pact be broken? Can they remain friends? Read the book to find out!
I read this in 5th grade and thought, “This reminds me of the moral of every single children’s story I have read.” The moral: friendship. In this book Rebecca Stead makes this moral her own. I enjoyed how she brought the characters to life and how she gave Bridge a sense of purpose. I felt like the plot was highly unrealistic, though.
For middle school teens.
