Goodbye Stranger

The minute I looked at this cover, I got excited for this book. It’s simple, understated and gave off this classy feel to the book and I was SO EXCITED to dive in. Looking at it again just before I flipped open the book brought back that same feeling and I was waiting for what Rebecca Stead had in store for me. The cover made the couple sitting there look like high schoolers or college goers and I couldn’t wait to see (and hopefully feel) the romance between them and everything else the blurb promised me. Unfortunately, Goodbye Strangers and just didn’t click. Let’s break it down: 1. Rebecca Stead’s writing REALLY drew me in in the beginning. It had this quirky, unconventional style of narration as it introduced us to the characters and the world. 2. Though I liked the beginning, it was also when I realised that Goodbye Stranger was a middle grade book. Almost all of the characters are 12 and in the seventh grade and I honestly think I a) wasn’t in the mind set to read a middle grade book and b) it was very very slow paced for even a middle grade book. 3. I love that this book handled so many important topics like bullying, harassment, mental health, first love and others. Goodbye Stranger handled all of it really well, but I felt like a lot of the book was a filler and the important topics were handled for only a fraction of the book. 4. Most of all, I COULD NOT SHAKE THE FEELING THAT I HAD… OUTGROWN THIS BOOK AND BOOKS LIKE THIS. I started reading Middle Grade books by the age of ten and by the age of twelve, I was already into the simpler YA. I’ve been over middle grade books for a while and this book seemed to contain all the things my life used to have and I was… bored. At the end of the day, I can’t fault a good book because I’m a little grown up for it. Definitely a must read for middle graders or kids entering the precarious preteen stage. 2.75 stars ~ 3 stars.