BookBright
ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSIngrid Ant is an eighth grader in the small town of Deer Hill, Virginia, who has spent years being invisible, partly by choice and partly because her lifelong best friend, Rachel Allan, treats her like an accessory. Ingrid does have one secret that makes her feel powerful. Under the handle Anony Mouse, she anonymously runs a hugely popular scroll on an app called Scrollr, where she posts the strange wrong-number texts that keep landing on her phone, and nobody at school has any idea it is hers. Then Rachel humiliates her in front of the new kids in town, and Ingrid finally cuts her off, losing every other friend she has in the process. Around the same time, a stranger texts her by mistake. Instead of the usual one-time joke, the two of them keep talking, first by text and then in the video game Ingrid plays every night with her long-distance best friend. The more she likes him, the harder it gets to stay anonymous.
Free Battle of the Books questions for Bye Forever, I Guess
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about Bye Forever, I Guess. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a girl hang a framed wrong number text above her desk?
✓ Answer
Bye Forever, I Guess by Jodi Meadows
The printout is the very first misdirected message Ingrid ever received, and it inspired the anonymous Scrollr account she runs in secret. She keeps it on her wall the way other people keep a favorite photo.
- First half
In what book does a girl verify a stranger with a fifteen-second video call?
✓ Answer
Bye Forever, I Guess by Jodi Meadows
Lorren privately messages Traveler for his number, calls him, confirms he really is a boy their age, and hangs up without saying much at all. She risked losing her phone privileges to do it, which tells Ingrid how much Lorren cares.
- First half
In what book does an iced power line set a sagging cedar branch on fire?
✓ Answer
Bye Forever, I Guess by Jodi Meadows
A wintry mix drags the lines down into the trees outside Ingrid's house, the power dies, and the fire department does not even pick up the phone. She and Grandma end up keeping watch by candlelight and warming the house with the woodstove.
- Second half
In what book does a girl nearly choke on a sunflower seed butter sandwich?
✓ Answer
Bye Forever, I Guess by Jodi Meadows
Ingrid is eating lunch alone in the library at her peanut-free school when the sticky bread glues itself to the roof of her mouth. Oliver walks over with a water bottle to help, and she snaps that she does not want anything from him.
- Second half
In what book does a mean ex-friend claim a stranger's romantic post was for her?
✓ Answer
Bye Forever, I Guess by Jodi Meadows
At the Valentine's fair, Rachel catches Ingrid's eye and says the post really was for her, which tells Ingrid that Rachel has known about the scroll all along. It also means Traveler once liked Rachel, and the news flattens Ingrid.
- Near the end
In what book does an author unwrap a hand-knit hat and hug the fan?
✓ Answer
Bye Forever, I Guess by Jodi Meadows
Ingrid hands P.J. Clarke the hat she spent months charting and knitting, and the author comes around the table to hug her and then wears it for their photo. After years of imagining this moment, Ingrid can barely get her arms to work.
