I think Natalie's background is quite remarkable. As an adopted child, she has a good and wealthy family where everyone is kind to her. But what if things were different? What if she wasn't adopted into such a fortunate situation? Maybe her life would have taken a completely different turn. I envision a story where Natalie is placed in a controversial family that restricts her from doing the things she wants. Additionally, I would modify the personality of Natalie's real mother. I find it strange that she could go to a man's house alone at the age of 15. And how is it that Natalie is intelligent while her real mother seems so slow?
Now that I'm deep into the story, I'm eager to find out what happens next when Natalie meets her father, Terry, assuming he's still alive. What will she do? I believe she desires to know the reason why her father didn't want her. If her parents had chosen to raise her, she might never have felt the need to search for them. In my opinion, Natalie is a truthful and forgiving person. Due to these qualities, she doesn't hate her parents for abandoning her.
I hope Natalie will face a similar situation as her real mother did when she was pregnant at a young age. I'm curious to see how Natalie will handle having a baby at a young age. I don't think she'll be like her mother who abandoned her because she has grown up in a loving family that can support her in any way.
Recent high school graduate Natalie Armstrong has always been aware that she was adopted. Now, she has a strong desire to find her birth mother. However, she is cautious not to cause any harm to her adoptive parents in the process. "FIND A STRANGER, SAY GOODBYE" was first published in 1978, when I was in high school. Teen readers today might view this book as historical fiction or a period piece. In 2014, teens likely can't envision life before the era of computers and cell phones. Back then, conducting research meant visiting the library or doing a lot of legwork. We were relieved when old newspapers were microfiched, as it saved us from having to flip through yellowed pages and get ink on our fingers.
Natalie was born in 1960, at a time when almost all adoptions were closed. Today's teens may not comprehend how parents could give their teenager money to drive around and conduct investigations. They might not understand how we were more independent and self-reliant before the era of helicopter parents who wanted to protect their children excessively. Moreover, most teens won't understand that Natalie's boyfriend talking to her in an authoritative and sometimes insulting manner was quite common. In those days, boys were generally the "boss" in relationships, just as husbands often were in marriages. Although not as old-fashioned as in the 1950s, feminism and equality reached small towns at a slower pace.
"FIND A STRANGER" is challenging to rate with stars. When it was written, it might have deserved 5 stars. But when considering today's youth, the rating would be much lower. This slow-paced novel contains a lot of filler, with conversations about mundane topics such as homework or which college someone is going to. These fillers do not contribute anything to the plot or the characters. Natalie seemed like a rather one-dimensional character, a "good girl" who was thoughtful, polite, and kind. She lacked any edge and appeared dull. Most of the characters were like cardboard cutouts, representing types of people rather than unique individuals. I constantly hoped that Natalie would stand up to her boyfriend or break up with him when he dismissed her feelings about searching for her birth mother.
I recommend this book for middle-aged people like me who enjoy a trip down memory lane, and for teens who are interested in pre-digital life or historical fiction. However, YA readers who prefer more edgy and faster-paced books should probably skip this one or pass it on to their moms. It gets 4 stars for those who were teens in the 70s and 2 stars for most of today's teens, resulting in an average of 3 stars.