Bye Forever, I Guess by Jodi Meadows
Ingrid is in 8th grade. Her parents died and she lives with her grandmother. She has a best friend of sorts, Rachel. Rachel is always trying to get Ingrid to be more outgoing. Ingrid has other interests, she loves playing an online game, she loves reading her favorite fantasy series, and she also runs a social media account…anonymously. It’s sort of a neat account. She posts screenshots of wrong number texts. Sounds simple, but it is very popular.
One day at lunch, Rachel talks to two new kids at their school, Alyx and Oliver. She flippantly tells the new kids about Ingrid’s parents’ death, and this really hurts her. It was sort of blunt.
“Ingrid lost her parents a few years ago. I’m always doing my best to help her come out of her shell.”
What? Who does that? She said this to two people she had just met, and in front of the person who had lost their parents. Wow, just wow.
Ingrid decides to stand up to Rachel and her pushy ways. This causes her to lose a few other friends and her seat at lunch. I understand how she would be so upset about all of this, but she sort of just ran away and started avoiding everyone. She didn’t really say why she was upset.
Later, she gets a text message with the wrong number from a boy, and they chat and become friends. She also invites him to play her online game with her online friend, Lorren. As they play the game and get to know each other, Ingrid shares her struggles at school and what she is going through with her ex-best friend. As he is called in the game, this wrong-number person, Traveler, listens to all her troubles and even tries to help with some advice. They have a nice friendship starting. But who is Traveler?
So, now, Ingrid has two online friends but no real-life friends. But one of the new kids, Oliver, seems to be giving her some attention. Ingrid is immediately on edge. Why is he interested in her? Is he spying for Rachel? That sounds like something Rachel would have people do for her. What does he know about her? How can she get rid of him? Or does she want to get rid of him?
Ingrid takes her troubles to her online friends. They are, of course, very sweet and understanding. They are ready to help her with whatever she needs. So now she has an online crush, Traveler, and a real-life crush (maybe), Oliver. Who will she choose? It’s a very sweet romance.
Four out of Five Magical Coffee Cups
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