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Rebecca Stead’s Goodbye Stranger and 3 More Must-Reads from the Newbery Medal-Winning Author
My thing when I was in middle school was my older brother’s long-sleeved denim shirt. I wore it over everything: flowered dresses, my beloved black T-shirt from the Broadway musical Cats, embarrassing knee-length shorts (my school required they be that length—we all looked like we were modeling middle-aged cruisewear). Some kids would comment, point, and laugh about the fact that I wore this shirt almost every day, but it was like a security blanket for me. Fictional seventh-grader Bridget Barsamian’s thing is her cat ears, always perched on top of her head like they’re a part of her. And Newbery Medal-winning author Rebecca Stead’s thing is writing unbelievably amazing middle-grade books that stick with you long after you turn the last page.
In her latest, Goodbye Stranger, out August 4, Stead tackles friendship, love, and life in a New York City middle school. Highly introspective for her age, Bridget—or Bridge, the nickname she chooses after being hit by a car at age 8—has one rule in her friendship with Emily and Tabitha: no fighting. But that might be too tall of an order as the three embark on seventh grade together. In her typical style, Stead beautifully weaves together three seemingly disparate storylines—Bridge’s; her friend Sherman’s, told through letters to his grandfather; and that of an unnamed high school girl dealing with the betrayal of a friend.
If you have yet to discover the wonder of Stead’s writing—which is just as appealing to adults as it is tweens and teens—stick a pin in your plans for a weekend, and get to binge reading.
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First Light
Stead’s fanciful debut novel from 2008 is definitely worth circling back to for the author’s newer fans. Twelve-year-old Peter, one of the book’s two narrators, is the son of a glaciologist dad and genetic scientist mom, and he’s super-psyched to accompany his parents on an expedition to Greenland, where his father will study global warming. Fourteen-year-old Thea, the book’s other narrator, lives in a secret society called Gracehope, hidden beneath the ice in Greenland. Thea has never even seen the sun and dreams of life up on the surface. But once her world and Peter’s collide, it could lead to disastrous results.
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When You Reach Me
An outstanding and imaginative novel, When You Reach Me is one of those books that you finish and then immediately flip back to the beginning, saying, “Whoa.” You just realized how all of the intricately woven pieces of the story fit together, and you want to read it all over again with your newfound knowledge of the surprise ending. Growing up in late-’70s Manhattan, 12-year-old Miranda loves two things—the book A Wrinkle in Time and her best friend, Sal. But one day Sal completely cuts Miranda out of his life after he’s punched in the stomach by another kid, the first of many oddities to come in Miranda’s life. The spare key to her apartment is later stolen, and she starts receiving notes that seem to accurately predict the future and claim to be from someone who wants to save her friend’s life. Can she piece together the mystery before it’s too late?
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Liar & Spy
With no friends and a hectic home life, what seventh-grader Georges needs is an outlet; what he finds is Spy Club, a one-boy operation run by a homeschooled kid named Safer. Georges’s first assignment is to track the mysterious Mr. X, a man who dresses in all black and lives in the apartment upstairs. But as the investigation grows more and more intense and Safer becomes more and more demanding, Georges begins to question his new friend’s motives and actions. But Safer has some questions of his own about Georges in this fantastic read about friendship, family, and conquering one’s fears.
Goodbye Stranger
Love is ______. Filling in that blank is Bridge’s homework assignment—and also part of what Stead’s newest book answers. Bridge and her two best friends, Tab and Emily, are entering seventh grade with a pact they’re hoping will keep them together. Emily has new curves and an eighth-grade boy who’s asking her to text him a revealing photo. Tab has the ability to read people—or so she thinks. And Bridge has her cat-ears headband, emotional scars from an accident when she was 8 that almost killed her, and a new friend who’s a boy but not a boyfriend. This profound coming-of-age story details the complications of relationships—friendly, romantic, or otherwise—for both children and adults with humor, grace, and an altogether satisfying ending.
What’s your favorite Rebecca Stead book?