An Un-Calibrated Centrifuge

This is the first Rebecca Stead novel I haven't really liked. It's very contemporary but for some reason that makes it feel boring. Like, I've heard all of these stories before (from shared posts on facebook).

I really lost interest in the story when the girls went as Bollywood for Halloween. I think there might have been a way to make that idea work but it just felt like it became culture as a costume rather than embodying Bollywood (eg dressing as specific stars from specific events/movies).

There are characters of color in the book, but the fact that they're not white is pretty forgettable. I think Sherm's Italian-ness is more emphasized than any other ethnicity. Also all the feminist points in the book feel pretty white feminist. I don't think Stead could have pulled off racialized misogyny convincingly, but I can't decide if ignoring it all together is better or worse than what ended up in the book.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but I found Goodbye Stranger underwhelming.