40 Fun Facts About Goodbye Stranger

Which accessory, inspired by a girl Rebecca Stead met on the street, does Bridge wear daily in Goodbye Stranger?

Cat ears stay on Bridge's head from September to mid-February. Stead once complimented a stranger's pair, and the girl said she had worn them for a year without knowing why.

On which snack cake did Bridge, Tab and Emily swear never to fight, a vow tested in Goodbye Stranger?

A Twinkie sealed the pact, and seventh grade strains it: Em is suddenly noticed by older boys while Tab throws herself into social justice.

What happened to Bridge Barsamian at age eight, years before Goodbye Stranger begins, when she skated into the street?

A car hit her, leaving 13 broken bones and a punctured lung, and the question of why she survived follows Bridge all the way into seventh grade.

On which holiday does the mystery narrator of Goodbye Stranger skip school and avoid her friends for a whole day?

Valentine's Day is where every thread of the novel meets. It is also the birthday of Sherm's grandfather, the man whose messages he has been ignoring.

Which nickname does Ms. Berman, the teacher Tab idolises in Goodbye Stranger, tell her students they may call her?

Berperson suits a teacher who seems to have stepped out of a 1970s women's studies course. Tab soaks up every word, then applies the lessons badly.

What does Sherm do with the letters he writes to his absent grandfather throughout Goodbye Stranger?

Never sends them: the letters are where Sherm keeps his anger at a man who walked out on Sherm's grandmother after 50 years of marriage.

Which older boy trades photos by text with Emily in Goodbye Stranger, leading to a picture of her being widely shared?

Patrick may or may not be trustworthy, and when the picture spreads the blame lands on Emily, a double standard that Tab is quick to call out.

Which career did Goodbye Stranger author Rebecca Stead pursue for years because writing seemed impractical?

Lawyer was the sensible choice, and Stead spent years as a public defender. She only went back to fiction after her two children were born.

Which earlier novel won Goodbye Stranger author Rebecca Stead the 2010 Newbery Medal?

When You Reach Me was only her second novel, a mystery that begins when a sixth grader finds an unsigned note tucked inside her library book.

Goodbye Stranger is set in which city, where its author Rebecca Stead was born and raised?

New York gives the novel its brownstones and its neighbourhood diner, and Stead says she sets stories in places she already knows by instinct.

Which school group does Tab join at the start of seventh grade in Goodbye Stranger, hoping Bridge will sign up too?

Human Rights Club suits Tab's new passion for social justice, but Bridge goes her own way and signs up for a different group instead.

Which school group does Bridge join in Goodbye Stranger, the place where she gets to know Sherm?

Tech Crew is the school's team of stagehands, and it is where Bridge meets Sherm, who becomes nearly as close a confidant as Tab and Emily.

Which sport makes Emily a star at school in Goodbye Stranger, just as older students begin to notice her?

Soccer puts Emily at the centre of the team, and the older boy she starts flirting with by text is a player too.

Which point of view narrates the chapters about the unnamed older girl in Goodbye Stranger, all set on a single day?

Second person keeps her identity hidden for most of the book, while Bridge and Sherm get conventional chapters told from the outside.

What is the name of Tab's older sister, finally revealed as the girl skipping school in Goodbye Stranger?

Celeste has betrayed a new friend's confidence to an old one, and she spends the day working out that some friendships have to end.

Which old friend with a worsening mean streak does the school-skipping narrator of Goodbye Stranger finally let go?

Vinny was once a real friend, which is what hurts. Stead said the story is about accepting that the person you were close to is gone.

Whose secret does Tab's older sister give away in Goodbye Stranger, the betrayal that sends her into hiding for a day?

Gina was a new friend who had trusted her, and the confidence went straight to an old friend who could not be relied on to keep it.

Which historic event does Bridge wonder might have been faked, one of her many worries in Goodbye Stranger?

The moon landing sits on Bridge's list of worries beside whether Sherm likes her and whether her brother will ever shake off a toxic friend.

What is the name of Bridge's older brother in Goodbye Stranger, who keeps losing bets to a not-so-nice friend?

Jamie and Bridge bond over a cheesy Christmas movie they both adore, one of several warm sibling pairs in the novel.

Which toxic 'frenemy' does Bridge hope her older brother will finally shake off in Goodbye Stranger?

Alex is the brother's closest friend and not a kind one, and the brother is on the verge of losing yet another bet to him.

Who told the young Bridge she must have survived for a reason, a remark that stays with her in Goodbye Stranger?

A nurse said it in the hospital, and Bridge made finding that reason her mission. Years later, in seventh grade, she is still asking what it could be.

Which creature does Bridge still doodle on her homework in Goodbye Stranger, a habit her best friends have dropped?

A three-eyed Martian is Bridge's signature. The three became friends as the girls who decorated their homework with animals, a bird for Tab and a snake for Em.

How does the boy Emily likes say her private photo got out in Goodbye Stranger, a story she chooses to believe?

Someone took his phone and forwarded the picture, he says. Emily stands by him, while Tab is convinced he let things go too far and takes matters into her own hands.

Rebecca Stead said she wanted Goodbye Stranger to be a serious book about which subject, shown in many forms?

Love in the novel is rarely dramatic. Stead set out to show the meaningful kinds, from best friends and siblings to a first crush.

Which school rule in Goodbye Stranger did Rebecca Stead tie to the way the school responds to Emily's photo?

The dress code debate matters to Stead, who finds it strange to tell girls to cover their shoulders so that they will not distract classmates.

The photo swap between Emily and an older boy in Goodbye Stranger starts innocently with pictures of what?

Knees and elbows come first, then the pictures grow more revealing by degrees, which is how a private game ends up in front of a much larger group.

Which school subject is Bridge afraid of failing in Goodbye Stranger, on top of her bigger questions about survival?

French joins a list of worries that runs from whether a classmate likes her all the way to why she was spared.

In Goodbye Stranger, Bridge's father is an American of which heritage?

Armenian heritage is one strand in a cast drawn from several immigrant families, and the novel never turns anyone's background into an issue.

Which Rebecca Stead novel made her the first American winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize?

Liar & Spy nearly had a sequel: Stead began Goodbye Stranger as a story about Candy, a character from that book, before Bridge took over the page.

Which broadcaster named Goodbye Stranger a 2015 'Great Read' and interviewed Rebecca Stead about the novel's origins?

NPR also aired Stead describing the book's seed: she knew early on that one girl would send a boy a picture and still feel good about herself.

Which Hindu fast, kept by wives for their husbands, does Tab's mother observe in Goodbye Stranger?

Karva Chauth divides the sisters: Tab calls it sexist, her older sister finds it romantic, and Bridge watches Tab's father feed his wife as the fast ends.

What do Emily's parents still do together in Goodbye Stranger, even though the two of them are divorced?

Go on dates: the novel sets their friendly split beside the story of Sherm's grandfather, who walked out after 50 years, to show how differently couples part.

At the local diner in Goodbye Stranger, what do the friends order to share alongside their vanilla milkshakes?

Cinnamon toast in a diner booth is part of the walk home from school to the brownstones, a routine that charmed one Australian reviewer.

From which Italian island did Sherm's grandparents emigrate, according to Goodbye Stranger?

Sicily is where the family story starts, and Sherm's father urges the grandfather to go back to Italy for a visit to remember who he is.

By which name does Sherm address his estranged grandfather in the letters of Goodbye Stranger?

Nonno Gio shares his birthday with the day the whole novel builds towards, and he keeps texting a grandson who refuses to reply.

Which award gave Goodbye Stranger a Fiction Honor in 2016, with The Lie Tree taking the top prize?

Boston Globe–Horn Book judges picked two fiction honour books that year, Stead's novel and The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz.

Which Random House imprint published Rebecca Stead's novel Goodbye Stranger?

Wendy Lamb Books also published Stead's debut, First Light. The imprint is named for her editor, who helped expand the draft that went on to win the Newbery Medal.

How did Rebecca Stead write most of Goodbye Stranger, a choice she made to keep the story moving forward?

In longhand, away from the internet: Stead said she wrote every day until she discovered something about the story that she had not known.

Which intense teacher in Goodbye Stranger runs a book club for children whose parents are divorced?

Mr. P also supervises the students who work alongside Bridge and Sherm in their school group, which puts him at the centre of their growing friendship.

What is the name of Emily's odd little brother, whom her friends also look out for in Goodbye Stranger?

Evan is one of the siblings who give the novel its warmth, along with Tab's older sister, who shares a bedroom with her without any fuss.