"Believe me, I don't like this any more than you do, but you're the only one who has the expertise and equipment. There's something going on at St. John's Bridge, and I want to hire you to find out what it is." Jinx is the top paranormal investigator at her high school, and she has a blog to prove it. Jackson is a jock by day and Jinx's ghost-hunting partner by night-former partner, anyway. After a shakeup in the Paranormalists' operation, the two ex-best friends are on the outs, and at the worst possible time. Because a deadly supernatural threat is putting their classmates in harm's way . . .

A class field trip to a bog dredges up long-buried drama between Jasmine and her friends. But she's too busy admiring jewelry from her mysterious new boyfriend to pay attention to a little thing like the discovery of a mummified bog body. So what if the bog doubles as a cursed gateway to the undead? No big deal! She might laugh off rumors of a curse, but Jasmine's former best friends are pretty sure she's in the thick of some real danger.

A dark, shiny poster was spread across the board, crowding out school lunch menus and events calendars: NEED TO BANISH A GHOST? CALL THE PARANORMALATOR. I SEEK KNOWLEDGE AND FIND THE SOURCE. Jackson and Jinx looked at each other. Jinx's mouth hung wide open. Everything about the poster ripped off the Paranormalists. When a new kid in town tries to get in on Jinx and Jackson's paranormal investigation business, Jinx is furious. But Jinx's quest to shut down her competition will lead them down a dangerous path . . .

Jinx felt something rumble through the room. She began to shake and moved closer to Jackson. "Do you feel that?" she whispered. Jackson nodded. When Jinx glanced at him, his face had turned bright white. As if he'd seen a ghost. When a popular girl named Emily asks Jinx and Jackson to explore a haunting in her dad's apartment, Jackson insists they take the case. And the truth they find is even stranger than Emily's story.

Back in grade five, Bridge, Tabitha and Emily made a pact. Never to fight, ever. Now, two years later, they’re still best friends, but other things are changing. Bridge meets Sherm, and is soon excited and confused by her new, strange feelings. And when Emily starts texting pictures of herself to Patrick, Bridge and Tab find themselves complicit in a naïve plan that quickly spirals out of control. And while the three friends navigate the challenges of their changing friendship, another story—of betrayal and remorse—keeps you guessing until the very end. Goodbye Stranger is a tender and intricate story about friendships, and love, and the pain of sometimes making the wrong choices. Rebecca Stead is the author of four novels: First Light, When You Reach Me (a New York Times bestseller and Newbery Medal winner), Liar & Spy (Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize winner and New York Times bestseller) and, most recently, Goodbye Stranger. She lives in New York City with her family. ‘This memorable story about female friendships, silly bets, different kinds of love, and bad decisions is authentic in detail and emotion—another Stead hallmark.’ STARRED Review, Publishers Weekly ‘[Stead] captures the stomach-churning moments of a misstep or an unplanned betrayal and reworks these events with grace, humour, and polish into possibilities for kindness and redemption. Superb.’ STARRED Review, Kirkus ‘Stead shows how strongly love of all kinds can smooth the juddering path toward adulthood. Winsome, bighearted, and altogether rewarding.’ STARRED Review, Booklist ‘[Stead’s writing is] filled with humor, delightful coincidences, and the sorts of things...that escalate in ways that can seem life-shattering to a 13-year-old. The author keeps all her balls in the air until she catches them safely with ineffable grace.’ STARRED Review, School Library Journal ‘Rebecca Stead’s story is multi-layered and sumptuous, beautifully plotted and a real page-turner.’ Alpha Reader ‘An unforgettable book about young girls coming of age written with wit and compassion.’ ReadPlus ‘Goodbye Stranger was such a pleasure to read...[Stead’s] teenage characters are so real, and charming and likeable, even when they’re not making the best decisions...I will continue to sing the praises of this new book well into the rest of the year (and probably much longer).’ Middle Chapter ‘[Stead has] a profound appreciation for the young people she writes for...She creates the kind of situations that would shatter a vulnerable thirteen-year-old girl but somehow manages to do so with a deft, light touch full of empathy and humour.’ Readings ‘Goodbye Stranger is the kind of book you might call a revelation. It is surprising, generous, thoughtful, honest and it paints a picture of the time after childhood and before youth more honestly than I have ever seen depicted.’ Where the Writer Comes to Write ‘The language is often dazzling and the minor characters have great appeal. A very satisfying read.’ Stuff NZ ‘The emotional complexity is deftly done by Stead in a way that is satisfying and accessible for young adults and adults alike, without being patronising, and acknowledging that we all make mistakes along the way.’ New Zealand Book Council ‘Goodbye Stranger falls in the zone of upper middle fiction/young YA, and is a great book to discuss with a tween as it gently preempts teen issues...Stead opens up a discussion of phone use and photos that never veers into shaming or hysteria.’ Leanne Hall, Readings