Eighth-grader Ingrid runs a popular blog anonymously and has online personal more popular than she is, but when a wrong-number text message offers her a chance at connection, Ingrid opens herself to the opportunity to make a real live friend.

Book Synopsis

Can a guarded gamer girl lower her shield for a new friend... or more-than-friend?

"EARNEST AND LAUGH-OUT-LOUD... PITCH PERFECT."--Publishers Weekly, starred review

Thirteen-year-old Ingrid's been living a double life. At school, she's the Girl With Dead Parents, her popular friend Rachel's charity case. Online, things are different: she crushes it in her favorite MMORPG, geeks out in her favorite fantasy fandom, and runs a popular social media account. If only real life were that easy.

But when Ingrid finally stands up to Rachel and "starts drama," it suddenly feels like she has no life at all . . . and nowhere to sit at lunch.

Until she gets a supersweet wrong-number text from a mystery boy at her school, and everything starts to go right. Spending time together playing Ancient Tomes Online as "Stitches" and "Traveler" makes her feel like she's really connecting with someone. But when she begins to suspect that Traveler may be a popular classmate who is WAY above her in the cool-kid food chain--and whose original text was actually intended for Rachel--she faces a difficult choice. Can they be friends IRL? She wants to open up, but getting close to people has hurt her before.

Is making real friends only fantasy after all?

Bye Forever, I Guess is the fresh, funny, and deeply sweet middle-grade debut of New York Times bestselling author Jodi Meadows (MY LADY JANE). Speaking to the messiness of middle-school friendships (and first loves), this is a warm, witty, enormously entertaining book--and a love letter to geek culture, gaming, and the healing power of fantasy.

"HILARIOUS... Charming, funny, and endearing."--Kirkus Reviews

"The most DELIGHTFUL middle-grade romcom I've ever read!"--Ellen Oh, award-winning author of Finding Junie Kim

Review Quotes

Bye Forever, I Guess makes an excellent case for wanting more for ourselves in all areas of our lives, and for insisting on being seen, even if it's awkward or scary at first. Meadows' middle grade debut is a well-written, winning coming-of-age tale with loads of hilarity, empathy and heart.
--BookPage (starred review)

Meadows presents an earnest and laugh-out-loud middle grade debut that's both a winning exploration of tween friendship and a pitch-perfect paean to fan culture and the thrill of finding one's community.
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A hilarious enemies-to-something-more tale, told equally in prose and text messages, this book is sure to please any middle schooler in need of a sweet romance. Hand to fans of Cory Doctorow's In Real Life (2014) and Alexis Nedd's Don't Hate the Player (2021).
--Booklist (starred review)

A must for young rom-com fans.
--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Charming, funny, and endearing.
--Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Jodi Meadows is the author of Nightrender, Dawnbreaker, the Incarnate and Fallen Isles trilogies, and is a coauthor of New York Times bestsellers My Lady Jane and My Plain Jane. You can visit her website at JodiMeadows.com, and connect with her on Instagram @unicornwarlord. She lives in rural Virginia.

Specifications

Dimensions (Overall): 8.2 Inches (H) x 5.5 Inches (W) x .7 Inches (D)

Weight: .6 Pounds

Suggested Age: 10-14 Years

Number of Pages: 288

Genre: Juvenile Fiction

Sub-Genre: Social Themes

Publisher: Holiday House

Theme: Friendship

Format: Paperback

Author: Jodi Meadows

Language: English

Street Date: September 9, 2025

TCIN: 1002216732

UPC: 9780823461844

Item Number (DPCI): 247-32-8800

Origin: Made in the USA or Imported

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Shipping & Returns

Shipping details

Estimated ship dimensions: 0.7 inches length x 5.5 inches width x 8.2 inches height

Estimated ship weight: 0.6 pounds

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