When You Reach Me (Yearling Newbery)

Rating: 4/5 (for young readers or as a read-aloud book)

When You Reach Me is, in part, an homage to A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle's Newbury Medal Award winner about some kids who travel through space and time to save their dad), young protagonist Miranda’s favorite book. She carries around a worn copy with her wherever she goes. She has read it hundreds of times and knows it backwards and forwards.

Miranda is in sixth grade and has been best friends with Sal, the kid who lives one floor below her in her apartment in NYC, for years. But things are starting to change. One day, when they are walking home from school, a random kid sucker punches Sal, and Miranda stands by helpless. After that, Sal doesn’t want to hang out with Miranda like he used to (Miranda assumes he’s just embarrassed by what happened), and Miranda is forced to make new friends. Miranda has to navigate the new (and, to her, confusing) dynamic with Sal, relationships with new friends (whose quirks she doesn’t yet know), her first crush, jealousies, and fears. Miranda soon discovers that her favorite book connects her to two people she doesn’t particularly like: Julia (one of her new best friend’s former best friend) and Marcus (the boy who punched Sal).

Meanwhile, weird things keep happening. The key that she and her mom hid goes missing, and their apartment gets opened up . . . but nothing gets stolen. Miranda begins finding random, eerily prescient (and rather creepy) notes in odd places. And a scary homeless man starts hanging out near her apartment and around her school. All of these weird things are tied together, and Miranda slowly unravels the mystery connecting them.

In terms of adult enjoyment, I can’t give this book a particularly high rating (maybe a 3/5?), because it is written for such a young audience. That said, if you have youngsters (grades 3-7), then I would highly recommend this for them. As a read-aloud book, this is a great choice (appropriate, I would say, to read to second through fourth graders). It deals with the difficulties of changing friendship dynamics, bullying, independence, and becoming aware of the impact of differing socioeconomic backgrounds. It is cute, fun, and fanciful, and it’s a celebration of smarts and friendship and quirkiness. And, as good kids’ books do, it has some great lessons (“Sometimes you never feel meaner than the moment you stop being mean. It’s like how turning on a light makes you realize how dark the room had gotten.”), without being at all preachy.

My daughter was confused by the book until we realized the pages were out of order and we were missing a lot of pages. Had to get the book from the library and we both loved the story. I cannot exchange or return the book as it has been too long.

The description on the back of this book, made it seem very mysterious. Although, the story didn't get until I was 3/4 through the book. As an educator for 9 - 10 year olds, this book would be hard to follow. Main character tells the story, but every so often, she starts talking to someone else, "The Mysterious Person."
There are 4- 5 story lines to follow. These are each of the main character's friendships that go off in different directions. But they do not connect until the last 6 pages of the book. The ending, which the whole books leads up to wraps up super quick in 3 pages. I was very disappointed.

In a conventional novel for young people, Miranda Sinclair's mother practicing to be a contestant on The $20,000 Pyramid would be the highlight -- nay, the entirety -- of the novel. But by now you've guessed that "When You Reach Me" is no ordinary novel; instead, it's one of the most unconventional novels I've ever read -- and I'm including The Name of the Rose,The Icarus Hunt,Dorp Dead, and Miranda's favorite book of all time, A Wrinkle in Time. Miranda's mother, a bleeding-heart paralegal and single mom, does achieve her dream of garnering a spot on the ABC game show, but that fact is dwarfed by the main point of the novel, which doesn't reveal itself until two-thirds of the way through.

"When You Reach Me" is best enjoyed when the reader goes in without knowing much. But I can reveal that the novel dwells on how a small act can profoundly affect those around you, for good or ill. That what has become a platitude can be expressed so profoundly and uniquely is a testament to author Rebecca Stead's talent. Miranda and her friends Sal, Annemarie, Colin, Marcus Heilbronner, and Julia -- whether in their pettiness or superciliousness or self-absorbed cruelty or bad-boy misunderstood pose -- will strike the reader as real kids, with all the rough edges and inexplicable kindnesses and cruelties that that implies. Whether you're an adult or child, this will be one of the more original works you'll ever read.

So why four stars and not five? The book didn't reach me emotionally in the same way as, say, "The Wrinkle in Time" or The Ring of Rocamadour or The Magic Thief did, although I can't quite put my finger on why. As a native New Yorker, I should have fallen in love with this chronicle of New York City's West Side in 1978, but I never did. Perhaps, like Charles Wallace Murray in "The Wrinkle in Time," I somehow just couldn't connect. But I suspect that the mystery didn't start building too late for me to become swept up in the book. Still, very much recommended.

This recent Newbery winner presents a complicated mystery--as well as the age-old dilemma of the time-space continuum: is time travel at least theoretically possible? Sixth-graders Miranda and her neighborhood pal, Sal, are comfortable with their life in 1979 New York City. The only eccentricities she notices are the crazy antics of a "jumping man" at the corner mailbox and her mother's obsession with appearing on the TV game show: $25.00 Pyramid. Attending middle school (before it was even Called a middle school) these kids have their friends and their daily activities so life seems okay.

Then strange things start happening: her dead father's shoes go missing--as does the hidden spare apartment key; Sal is punched in the face by an older boy for absolutely no reason. Most puzzling of all: Miranda starts receiving mysterious letters from--she has no idea whom. Letters which she is urged to keep secret and not reveal to anyone. What kind of a sick hoax is this? At home she coaches and preps her mother for an appearance on her beloved game show, with the dream of wining enough money not to have to worry about paying the rent.

Bound together by mysteries and tween-age social concerns WHEN YOU REACH ME also unashamedly promotes Madeline L'Engle' Sci Fi book, A WRINKLE IN TIME; perhaps because that seems to be what Miranda is personally experiencing. (It is rare to find any YA book pushing another one in the very text, but it does lend the flavor of the pre-1980's (complete with the smell of purple mimeograph ink) to the story.

Miranda learns some solemn and valuable life lessons just from her normal human relationships--about friendship and job ethics. She even makes the acquaintance of an older youth--who suggests that time travel may indeed be possible. At least he treats her crazy theories with dignity. Is there a future relationship brewing there for her? Should she really follow the instructions of her mystery correspondent ( a kind of pen pal from the future--or is it the past). Details of the 1979 blend with contemporary school and home life--as the present blurs with Before and After. When Miranda and readers puzzle out the identify of the YOU and the ME of the four letters, she realizes that her life will never be the same again--but it will be a gift that she alone can claim!

The story is actually set in 1979, and is focused on the life of 12-year-old Miranda, living in New York City, whose Mom is preparing to be a contestant on the $20,000 Pyramid game show. The author, Rebecca Stead, won the 2010 Newbury Medal for this book, and what’s really interesting is that there seems to be a bit of Rebecca in Miranda. She too was raised in NYC, and would have been around the same age in 1979 as Miranda.

One of the reasons why this story is set in the 70s is that there is an element of time travel. Miranda is interested in time travel and wonders frequently if it’s even possible. It turns out, that in this story at least, it is possible!

As I am someone who was born in the 70s, it was interesting to pick out signs that this was set in that decade. Of course the game show $20,000 Pyramid was a hit in the 70s, and it was hosted by a younger Dick Clark. And although I wouldn’t refuse $20,000, the prize money today wouldn’t be exciting enough for a game show! Miranda and her friends are allowed to wander the city streets alone – something that even in a much smaller town would almost never happen in 2014. Especially after a confrontation with a crazy seemingly homeless man who is always on the corner near her apartment, these kids would not be walking New York City streets alone.

The target audience for this book is 9 – 12 years old. One of those other signs of the 70s is that Stead mentions that one of the characters received a draft deferment during the Vietnam War. This is kind of interesting to me as an adult reader, and it definitely gives a good description of that character. I’m not sure young readers will have an understanding of that characterization. That may be the only, even remotely, critical thin I have to say about When You Reach Me. This really is a great story.

Miranda is being raised by a single mother who dropped out of law school after getting pregnant. She works as a paralegal, and even her daughter knows that she is smarter and more capable than most of the lawyers she works for. They have a very close relationship, yet face difficulty when her Mom announces her engagement to Richard, a close friend, right around Christmas. The story pivots on a series of mysterious and anonymous notes that Miranda finds that in several locations around their home. Her mom helps her to solve the mystery. Who left these notes and why?

“Common sense is just a name for the way we’re used to thinking.” She always seems to be challenging and challenged by ideas, concepts, and common beliefs. As a character, she has incredible tenacity and wisdom, something to admire in a 12 year old. This is such a great story, and so interesting the way time travel fits in – reminding me of The Time Traveler’s Wife, which I absolutely love! Like other young adult novels, this is one adults will love too!

Miranda lives with her mom in a New York City apartment. In sixth grade, she and her friend Sal, who lives below her, have earned their parents' trust enough to navigate their neighborhood on their own. Together they learn to avoid the group of boys that hang out in front of the old garage and the mentally ill homeless man who habituates the corner by their homes.

That’s where When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead starts, but from there the narrative builds into a puzzle, where Miranda gets notes from someone who seems to know a lot about her and her friends. The notes ask her to write down a story, to be delivered at some point in the future. They say the story hasn’t happened yet, but she’ll know when it does.

Miranda can feel change in the air. Her first inkling of it was when her friend Sal got punched by a kid for an unknown reason, and then Sal started to withdraw from their friendship. Another clue was her budding friendship with Colin and Annemarie, who she starts to hang out with at lunch. The three of them work together at a local deli to earn sandwiches. Then Miranda gets to know Marcus, the kid who punched Sal. He’s older and really nice other than the punch, and he seems fascinated with the possibility of time travel, a topic that confuses her.

As the puzzle of the notes builds, Miranda learns a lot about making and keeping friends and speaking up when there’s a problem to be solved. It’s difficult to say too much about When You Reach Me without giving away the mystery of the notes, but I felt Miranda’s story reveals a lot about the tenacity of the human spirit, the tenderness of love, and the timelessness of friendship. This small book unfolds seamlessly while giving readers a lot to think about. By the end, you may find yourself rereading passages that contained clues along the way to get the full impact. I highly recommend it for mother-daughter book club with girls ages 9 to 13.

When I started reading When You Reach Me, I had no idea what it was about. I had heard good reviews from multiple people and that was the sole reason for my decision to read this novel.

Miranda is a 6th grader who lives with her mom in New York City. I loved the descriptions of the Laughing Man, of her work experience at the sandwich shop, of her classmates; they added a whole new dimension to the story. I was able to really visualize the scenery in my head. When You Reach Me was also interesting because it takes place over 1978 and 1979. Society is so different today, and it was fascinating to see the differences.

I absolutely loved the incorporation of A Wrinkle In Time. While I was reading this book, I was a little disappointed because it seemed like a cute story, but kind of shallow. I didn't understand what made this book pop out to other people. until the very end. So, if you are reading this and having similar thoughts, keep reading. The end of this book is incredible.

I did predict who the Laughing Man was, and who Miranda was writing her letter too. However, this did not affect my enjoyment of the novel or it's ending.

So, long story short, READ THIS BOOK. This novel is appropriate for middle-school age kids, but I believe teens and adults will also enjoy it as well.

In New York City in the late 1970s, twelve-year-old Miranda lives with her vibrant but sometimes childish and frustrated mother in a rundown apartment building in a lower class neighborhood. When Sal, her best friend since infancy, suddenly no longer wants to be friends with Miranda, new friends Annemarie, Colin and Marcus enter her life. At the same time, worrisome notes from a stranger are left for Miranda in odd places. The notes warn that the life of one of Miranda’s friends is in danger and state that the writer of the notes needs her help. Slowly, as the pieces of the mystery come together, Miranda also matures and learns more about the people around her.

The winner of the 2010 Newbery Medal, When You Reach Me contains an absorbing plot of mystery and time travel woven with friendship that captivates the reader. Students with cunning and eager minds will enjoy trying to unravel the mystery before the end of the book. Stead’s use of Miranda’s first person point of view is quirky and lively, and seeing the events unfold through Miranda’s eyes helps to guide the reader through what could be a complicated timeline of events. Young fans of energetic mysteries such as Ellen Raskin’s The Westing Game or sci-fi adventures like A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle will want to get their hands on Stead’s When You Reach Me. If your library has a collection for older elementary and younger middle school students, this is a book that you will want on your shelves.

Brief Description: It is the late 1970s in New York City, and sixth grader Miranda has some big things to deal with: the sudden distance of her former best friend Sal, her mom's preparation for an upcoming appearance on The $20,000 Pyramid, and arrival of mysterious notes that predict events in Miranda's life before they actually happen. As Miranda struggles to cope with Sal's coldness, the mysterious notes begin to take on an element of danger. Miranda comes to believe that she must prevent a tragic death ... if only she could figure out what was going on and what she is supposed to do!

My Thoughts: I just fell in love with this book! When reading, it took me right back to my tween years, and I knew this was a book that I would have read and reread at age 10 or 11. In fact, with the 1970s setting, it felt like a book that had been written when I was a tween. At times, I almost felt like I had read this book in my childhood as it had a really specific feel to it that reminded me of two of my all-time favorite books from childhood, From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and Harriet The Spy.

I think the feeling of familiarity is that Miranda is living in the real world but is experiencing a "secret" life that has fantastical elements to it. In other words, it is a fantasy book that takes place in the real world. These type of books always appeal to me because they make me think something similar might actually happen to me. (To this day, I cannot be in a museum without thinking of hiding in the bathrooms and living there like Claudia and Jamie in The Mixed-Up Files.) It also felt familiar because Miranda's favorite book is Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle In Time (which is referenced countless times and is part of the plot). A Wrinkle In Time was one of my favorite books too, and this shared loved of Meg and Charles Wallace and tesseracts helped me relate even more to Miranda.

Suggestion For Reading The Book: Find a smart 10- or 11-year-old kid who likes to read. Get both of you a copy of A Wrinkle In Time and When You Reach Me. Read the books together and discuss. Or, if this isn't possible, read the book yourself and enjoy being carried away by great children's literature. Whatever you do, just read this book!

This book is amazing. From just page 18, the reader gets a *strong* sense of the four main characters introduced to that point. It takes massive skill to be able to set up characters *that well* that early.

Middle grade is one of my very favorite genres to read because of how much can get packed into a book, and this book is a great example of that. Yes, this book has a mystery thread to it (that adults will likely figure out early), but it's about so much more. It's about friendship, about learning how to interact, about seeing situations/circumstances differently, about busting stereotypes, about caring and actually doing something rather than just observing it (or worse, ignoring it), about sacrifice, about moving forward, and more.

This book is very well-written and deserves a read (and then a discussion) with your middle grade readers and up. Awesome.

Miranda and her best friend Sal live in the same apartment building and spend most of their time together, exploring their neighborhood and walking to and from school together. When an older boy punches Sal for no discernible reason, Sal stops talking to Miranda and she feels lonelier than ever. As she slowly starts to make new friends, she begins receiving mysterious notes from a stranger that hint at tragedy awaiting Sal...and only Miranda has the power to prevent it.

Miranda's narration in When You Reach Me is magnetic and so engaging. Stead does a fantastic job at portraying New York City of 1979, populated with many colorful and diverse characters who all play their own part, big or small, in the mystery that unfolds. When Sal severs all contact with Miranda, Miranda is reluctant to reach out to new people, but as she slowly makes new friends and begins receiving her mysterious notes, she realizes the importance of contact and the effects of small acts of kindness. All of these lessons build up to a tense climax that gives Miranda a new perspective that allows her to see reality and piece together the clues to an impossible answer she has been pondering (and avoiding) for months. This fantastic book is indeed an homage to Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, and sure to be equally popular among adults and younger readers.

Cover Comments: This cover is wonderful in its simplicity. I love how many of the objects are important clues in the novel, and the way that they are laid out on a city grid is awesome.

It only takes about 5 pages to see why Rebecca Stead won the Newberry Award for this book. The story about a young girl, Miranda, who is growing up in New York City in the late 70's, deals with many of the things kids of middle school age deal with from creating new friendships to dealing with first time romantic feelings. The book has many characters that are quite interesting from the kids who make up Miranda's friends and enemies, to the adults that round out the cast of characters.

I truly found this book to be an absolute joy to read, and what pushed it to the 5th star for me was the fact that I found myself wanting to pick it up and continue to read after I sat the book down. I found Ms. Stead to be very clever in how she entitles her chapters to how she pays homage to another Newberry winning author, to the overall pace of the plot.

Stead is very good at keeping you guessing and I truly didn't know how it was going to end until I got to the end, which is something of a rarity in children's fiction. I liked the length of the book, in that it wasn't overly long. Sometimes when I finish a book I wish that I knew more, hoping that the author would have written another chapter or two, or maybe add a sequel, but in this great book, I found that at the end, it was the end, and I had everything I needed to walk away contently feeling like I just read a GREAT book.

This is a great book for anyone of any age, and is a great introduction to good literature for children.

There are no spoilers in this review.

Almost from the beginning, WHEN YOU REACH ME builds your suspense and anticipation one short chapter at a time. It is definitely a fun book to read. The suspenseful plot development builds almost like an Alfred Hitchcock thriller. It's still enjoyable along the way watching the characters change and grow. And it's quite refreshing to read a contemporary children's novel which takes place in the 1970s -- a rare thing these days. Most books in that genre are either taking place in today's technologically exhaustive world or in the Depression (an educating time to read about, but today's youth may be too far removed to appreciate).

WHEN YOU REACH ME may have a complicated plot to some, but the story unfolds at a fairly even pace. It does require a close eye and attention to detail. My primary problem with it is the conclusion of the very mysterious plot. I think it would have been good for the author to add on an extra fifty pages or so in order to better develop the conclusion and the character(s) which bring it about. I finished the book thinking, "That was it? That was pretty good, but I kinda wish there had been more!"

All in all, not too bad. 3.5 Stars.

I am not a reader and I don't enjoy reading but when I found "When You Reach Me" in the school library, I knew just by looking at the cover it was going to be a great book. "When You Reach Me" is about a girl named Miranda who lives in the Upper West Side of New York City in 1979. She receives anonymous letters, indicating her best friend Sal is in great danger. If you are interested in teen fiction, this is the perfect book for you because it has a little bit of everything including mystery, action and comedy. My favorite part of the book is when Miranda's mom get's a letter from their favorite television show, The $20,000 Pyramid and is invited to be on the show after trying for three years. Throughout the book the author describes how Miranda's mom along with family, friends and neighbors help her prepare for her appearance on the show. I don't want to give away what happens on the show, so I will let you read the book to find out that conclusion. I would recommend this book for ages 12 and up, because I am 12 and I felt that it was an appropriate book for me.

It's no surprise this book was an award winner. It was really a wonderfully written book with memorable characters and layers of story and mystery within what seems to be the mundane. I want reread it again to see what I missed the first time around. The setting and time period (78/79 NYC) were fantastic as well. The freedom and lifestyle the kids had was so wonderfully done and made me yearn for simpler times... but this is no simple story. There is much more than meets the eye on the surface. A fantastic book.

My 9 year old daughter recently read this book and from her descriptions as she was reading it I quickly became interested in reading it myself. She described it as mysterious, sometimes confusing, a book she couldn't put down. After reading it, I completely agree!

This is one of the best stories I've read in some time. The characters are well developed. The story is wonderfully told. And the premise is attention grabbing: mysterious letters arrive in strange places and include information that is impossible to know. Who is writing these? Why are they writing them? How do they know things that will happen in the future? Why is the writing shaky? Why is the author of these mysterious letters requesting the main character to write her complete story in a return letter? The answers to these questions slowly unfold through the engaging story.

From my recent experience with this book I can confidently state that kids and adults will enjoy it ... I guess that's why it won the Newbery prize a few years ago. Not only is it a great read but it's fun to read a story with or near the same time as your child so you can talk about it together. This one is sure to create some great conversation.

It's 1979, and Miranda received her last "proof" today: Her mom will be on The 20,000 Pyramid in April. Between practicing for the speed round and the Winner's Circle with the egg timer, Miranda walks to her 6th grade class through her New York City neighborhood with her best friend, Sal. They know where to get donuts, what deli is best, and how to avoid the scary homeless man on the corner. But when Sal gets punched by the corner bully for no apparent reason, it sets off a string of events that turn Miranda's world upside down. Sal refuses to see her, her hidden apartment key is stolen, and she receives a series of cryptic notes, from which she learns someone is coming, and a friend's life is in danger.

I'd heard some buzz about When You Reach Me before it won the Newbery Medal this year and have had it on my TBR list since. Although I don't read many books for junior readers, Miranda is a mature protagonist, and all her friends - adult and child alike - are so likable it's hard not to connect with them. They all had their flaws, strengths, and insecurities, and you're rooting for them. Hoping Miranda's mom will find a job she likes, that her mom's boyfriend Richard will get a house key, that Sal will talk to Miranda, that Annemarie and Julia will be friends again, that Jimmy will let them work at the deli, and that Marcus will learn to time travel someday. With the simplicity and beauty of the writing and the intriguing puzzle-centered plot, it turned out to be the perfect book to rescue me from my reading slump. I'm not sure how I missed that Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time features prominently in the book as Miranda's constant companion. Reading that classic for the first time in grade school will always be one of my most memorable reading experiences. I can still see the first image I constructed of the garden and Meg and her father as I read. A part of me expected more shocking twists or self-aware profound thoughts, but Rebecca Steed's metaphors are subtle and sparse. One of my favorite passages:

"But sometimes our veils are pushed away for a few moments, like there's a wind blowing it from our faces. And when the veil lifts, we can see the world as it really is, just for those few seconds before it settles down again. We see all the beauty, and cruelty, and sadness, and love.

...

I've thought a lot about these veils. I wonder if, every once in awhile, someone is born without one. Someone who sees the big stuff all the time. Like maybe you."

I devoured this book in a day. I was driven by a need to know which friend of Miranda's was in danger, and if she'd make friends, and who the note-writer was, and how the Fred Flintstone bank, the lost key, Richard's heeled shoe, and the crazy homeless man fit together. Overall a sweet, deeply meaningful coming-of-age story with a little bit of history, adventure, and layman science fiction, something I'd want my son to read when he grows up.

This book is juvenile fiction, so it is an easy read. If you're a fan of Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, you will quickly notice that Stead and her heroine are too, and allusions abound. L'Engle's book almost becomes a character in When You Reach Me, serving as a connection point between important characters. The main character, Miranda, is a "latch-key child" in 1978. She's 12 and awkward like you are at that age. Through the story, she deals with friendships falling apart, new ones being formed, old ones being restored and trying to figure out boys. Yep, sounds exactly like middle school.

Miranda starts receiving mysterious notes of a slightly creepy nature. Here's the first one: "M, This is hard. Harder than I expected, even with your help. But I have been practicing, and my preparations go well. I am coming to save your friend's life and my own. I ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter. Second, please remember to mention the location of your house key. The trip is a difficult one. I will not be myself when I reach you."

Intriguing! I found this book to be well written and interesting. Stead pulls you along with short chapters and a compelling storytelling.

To put it simply, When You Reach Me was by far one of the best middle grade books I have read.

I did find myself confused at first. I was worried at first, but once I got the "feel" for the story, I really started to enjoy it. New York in the 70's was a fun setting. Back in a time where middle schoolers could walk in the city without an adult and some kids were even "latch-key kids" like our protagonist, Miranda.

I'm not going to even try to explain the plot, because it's great and complicated and I wouldn't be able to do it justice. But the story is contained with phenomenal writing. There really isn't one genre that fits this story. You could say it was historical fiction because of the setting, Sci-fi with the time traveling, a mystery with the notes anonymously left for Miranda that might prevent a death, and a coming of age story with how much Miranda grows and deals with throughout.

The characters were fantastic. They really came to life in my mind as I was reading. I love Miranda. She wasn't the cliche girl you usually see in middle grade novels. Miranda loved the story A Wrinkle In Time, which you hear alot about in the story. This seemed to be what alot of people enjoyed about the story, but since I have never read A Wrinkle In Time and have no attachment to it, it didn't really have an effect on me either way. But I did enjoy learning about the famous tale.

For such a quick read, When You Reach Me holds alot of excitement. It was a refreshing read that was like nothing I have ever read. For me, this one lived up to all the hype. I think you just have to remember that it is a middle grade read when you go into it.

Every once in a while there comes along a book that is so unique, so awe-inspiring, that you have to immediately rave about it to everyone around who reads books. WHEN YOU REACH ME is such a book. Rebecca Stead's second novel is a middle-grade treasure that people will hopefully stumble upon and love all their lives.

My favorite part about this book was, of course, the sci-fi time-travel aspect, which was seamlessly woven into a coming-of-age story set in post-Vietnam War New York City. WHEN YOU REACH ME references Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time heavily, a joy for hardcore fans of Meg and Charles Wallace. It also means that it will appeal to about 95% of readers, though Stead's appeal is less fantasy and more about how seemingly impossible concepts can fit smoothly into our conceptions of our world. It's not often that you get to read a science-y book that blows away all your expectations and predictions.

Besides for the sci-fi aspect, WHEN YOU REACH ME is also a charming coming-of-age novel with memorable characters. Miranda deals wonderfully with her family and classmates: she's at that stage where she struggles to figure out who she thought she was in new situations. Perhaps the characters could've been developed slightly more, but readers come out of the experience very much impressed, and will have difficulty finding anything lacking.

In short, WHEN YOU REACH ME is 2009's not-to-be-missed middle-grade novel. Its lovely blend of reality and sci-fi makes it truly stand out, and Stead's impeccable writing draws us right into Miranda's world. Be sure to get your hands on a copy of this book in any way possible!

Arguably my favorite book that I read in 2017. This is a weird little sf story that starts off not feeling like science fiction so much as contemporary or mystery. But when the sf lands, holy cow. It's a great story about how confusing growing up can be, about friendship and regret and how assumptions can be wrong. No wonder so many people have this on their favorites list.

Miranda Sinclair was helping her Mom practice for the 20,000 Pyramid. It was 1979 and Dick Clark, who wasn't aging then and never would, was going to make her mother a winner (provided she didn't get paired up with some celebrity who was "dumb as a bag of hair"). Richard "Mr. Perfect," her mother's boyfriend, said she was a Schlüsselkinder (latchkey kid), but she wasn't stuck in the house all the time. She did have friends she hung out with and some she wouldn't give the time of day. She hated Julia (who didn't count) and Sal, her best ever friend, drifted out of her life after Marcus clobbered him. Heck, she, Annamarie and Colin even got themselves a job working at Jimmy's store during lunch. Not bad for a bunch of twelve year olds!

New York City wasn't a bad place and probably the only thing she had to worry about was that nutty "laughing guy" who always seemed to be hanging around. After Sal went out of her life things started to get a bit funky. The door was unlocked and the house key was missing. She started getting some really weird notes, one that read in part, "I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. I ask two favors. First, that you write me a letter. Second, that you remember to mention the location of your house key in the letter . . . " Whoa, the key was already gone when she got that one. Just what was going on here?

I wasn't sure where this book was headed or if I was even going to like it. The more I read the more confused I became. There were some of those real "giggle moments," especially when Colin convinced Alice Evans that "velour was a kind of animal fur" and she wouldn't wear it, but that wasn't enough. All of a sudden things started to click and come together quite rapidly and BOOM! I understood what was going on. The intricacies of the plot suddenly melded together in an instant and I understood the author's intent. No spoiler here, but you can bank on this one being a real winner!

When You Reach Me is an intricate, well-written mystery, with elements of sci-fi, time travel and nostalgia present throughout. It didn't grab me right from the beginning, but if I could find a way to bottle the last twenty pages and make everyone I know read them, I would. It has one of those perfect endings that feels like a light has been switched on in your head, and makes you immediately go back over all the little details that didn't register the first time.

Miranda, along with her family and friends, are exactly the kind of people I love reading about. They're by no means flawless, but they recognise those flaws and try to better themselves. They're nothing out of the ordinary, nothing special, yet they're all witness to an extraordinary series of events taking place right in front of their eyes.

As previously mentioned, the start of the story didn't grab me, and I was a good sixty or seventy pages in before I reached the point where I couldn't bear to put it down. It's a short book as it is, so I expected to be completely gripped quite quickly. Luckily, things got a lot better from then on, and I found myself enthralled by the Laughing Man, the crypic notes and all the talk of time travel.

As per usual, I had my own personal theories about what was going on, and none of them were right. I think I'm going to give up guessing, as it never works, and the authors are always cleverer than me when it comes to their imaginations. Rebecca Stead is no exception, and the end of When You Reach Me was absolutely brilliant. I can't wait to read the whole thing again, and pay more attention as I go along. Everything is relevant, and everything fits. I just have to piece it all together.

WHEN YOU REACH ME was a one-sitting read for me.

Miranda lives in New York City with her mother. She and her best friend, Sal, spend most of their time together, navigating the ins and outs of life, school, and their neighborhood. One day when walking home from school, Sal gets punched in the stomach by an older boy who hangs out down the street from their apartment building. Sal pulls away from Miranda after that and stops hanging out with her. Miranda feels completely lost without him.

Since Miranda isn't spending much time with Sal anymore, she has plenty of time to help her mother prepare for an appearance on The $20,000 Pyramid. Miranda and Richard, her mother's boyfriend, drill her every night on different questions that could appear on the show. Sal's mother even takes notes on the game show every day to help.

Losing Sal's friendship bothers Miranda a lot. Not having him to talk to is bad enough, but she really hates walking home alone. Not only does she have to walk by the group of older boys by herself, she also has to walk past the crazy old man by the mailbox. Then, the notes start arriving - notes telling her things about the future.

Can Miranda trust the notes? Can she really save the life of someone she knows by doing what they say? You'll love following along with the mystery to find out what Miranda does, who she saves, and what the old man has to do with it.

If you like WHEN YOU REACH ME, you need to find THE POWER OF UN by Nancy Etchemendy. It is fantastic and shares some of the same story elements.

Reviewed by: Karin Librarian

I read this book to my 8 and 9 year old boys. I found myself wondering when and if the story was ever going to take off. Sure the reminiscing about the 70's era was interesting for me, however my kids didn't seem either interested or put off by it. I found I needed to do quite a bit of discussing the story with them not only to make sure they were understanding it, but also for me to try to figure out what was important to story developement and what was just filler. Literally, it wasn't until I completed the book and discussed it with my children that I really understood what the story was about. I had a hard time following the events and trying to make sense out of them. One was clearly supposed to gain an understanding of the notes predicting future events that Miranda was receiving and how current lives would evolve to fruition of the cryptic notes she was recieving in present day. In the end I got the story, but not until I was finished reading the book. It was strange for me to have such lack of clarity re: the premise of a book which I was reading to my children. My almost ten year old seemed to not have the difficulty that I had because when I had finished the book he surmised it by saying that "the future is being determined from everything that is happening now and what has happened in the past, so, in reality the future, the present, and the past are all happening at the same time." There were some interesting twists to the story, but they are not realized until the book was over. There are many nuances within the story which are enlightening re: culture, livelihoods, economics, friendship development, and transitions of such. This is a story of meaning, but perhaps like me, you won't know it until you're done reading it.

I got this book for my kids when they were younger because I wanted a vast assortment of good books and different topics for them to learn from . I read a lot and I love kids book's that can teach something or have an impactful moral of the story. I would usually read the book before they did, in case they had questions and to make sure it's appropriate. Well from the beginning, as one other reviewer said, this was sort of weird. It never really developed into anything, kind of like "Waiting for Godot", lol. I kept on reading and hoping that something substantial would happen but in my opinion it did not and instead it was confusing and boring. I fell asleep trying to get to the ending but never did. My kids never did read this book, I couldn't put them through that.

I found this book surprisingly enchanting. I don't think you have to be a fan of A WRINKLE IN TIME to enjoy this book, but certainly understanding some of the references helps.

I really enjoyed watching the story unfold in front of me and seeing how all the pieces fit together. This is the first book in a while that I found myself going back and reading a few chapters again- sometimes as I was reading through, certainly after I finished, to see how it all came together right under Miranda's, and my nose.

Miranda goes through all the normal trials of 12-year old girlhood- losing friends, finding new ones, finding her footing in her neighborhood (this was the 70s when kids were more free to roam) and in her family and yet while big lessons are learned, none of it seems overly dramatic or preachy. Miranda is a wonderful participant and observer in her own story, which makes this one trip back through time I'd gladly make again.

This was a wonderful book, and not only because of its interesting plot, but because of all the small subtle things the author has in this book that make it truly wonderful. For instance, the subtle way in which the protagonist realizes she hasn't always been a nice person. Since she hadn't especially been a horrible person the reader doesn't necessarily pick up on this (or at least I didn't. Maybe I'm just a mean person) until she starts thinking about things and how she treats people. It was also wonderful to read how Miranda becomes aware of her financial situation and how it compares to the more wealthy kids she knows, and how that subtly influenced her opinions and the way she thinks about things. I enjoy Madelaine L'Engle and A Wrinkle in Time, and I thought this book certainly followed in the footsteps of Madelaine L'Engle. However, I also felt that this book also had more depth, meaning, and emotional value than A Wrinkle in Time.

Finally a Newberry book that has a wide appeal. When You Reach Me is a fabulous book that will suck readers in much like its muse, Wrinkle in Time.

Miranda is struggling with the loss of her best friend Sal, who began ignoring her after an odd incident while they were walking home. Her life is further complicated by her new friends, her mom's boyfriend who wants more involvement in the family and a mysterious crazy homeless man on the corner. Then s she begins receiving notes that ask her do to things and seemingly predict the future. What should she do with these notes? Why is she receiving them?

The story is clearly inspired by Wrinkle in Time. In fact, it tells the entire story over the book as Miranda, Marcus, and Julia talk about it. Miranda loves the book and carries a threadbare copy with her like a teddy-bear. I haven't read Wrinkle in Time since I was 10; I really want to re-read it now.

The book is set in the late 70s in New York City. You can tell book is from a previous era by the lack of technology and references here and there. But for the most part, it's timeless. The book is really about the characters and the story. I love how Stead developed rich, 3-dimensional characters. We see their flaws and also understand why the flaws exist. The story unfolds wonderfully. I wasn't particularly surprised by the ending, but I was surprised by how Stead developed and explained the conclusion. All in all, it's a rich, satisfying story.

I'm so thrilled about the release of Rebecca Stead's new novel, When You Reach Me. This enchanting tale of 1970s New York City is nearly undescribable for fear of giving away too much delightful information. Here's what I can say: the story starts with a note from an unknown subject, which mostly terrifies Miranda and her mother. Recently shunned by her friend and neighbor Sal - the boy she's grown to know almost like a brother - Miranda is also dealing with the ramifications of being the poor kid at a school full of privileged students. It frequently references an unnamed classic of children's literature (I'd hate tell you which one and ruin the fun of figuring it out). It has so much to say about what we think we know about the people around us - and even more about the mysteries of the human experience. When You Reach Me is a wonderful, funny, and poignant story of love, friendship, family, and some other things I simply can't tell you about. It is, however, a book you won't be able to put down, even once you've finished.

This is a polished gem of a book. Beyond the compelling story hook, the novel touches on some profound issues: how too much common sense can interfere with your ability to see a whole picture, that sense of a veil being lifted when you are able to make deep connections among things that previously seemed unconnected, the potentially huge effect on the world of even tiny actions and decisions, the new perspective you get on your own prior behavior when you reach a hand out to help someone for the first time, and the fact that you shouldn't prejudge anyone's behavior or motivations, either positively or negatively, because you may be dead wrong. At the same time on a more prosaic level the author conveys the need for common sense in many situations, including walking the streets of Manhattan as a 12-year old, how stuck you can get when you are unable to make a decision, the sense of seeing the familiar in a different light when you start to see it through the eyes of a new observer, etc. etc. This is a the rare "can't put down" story that can be read on so many different levels, and in this respect the only book I can think of for middle readers that is comparable to it is "Tuck Everlasting." Congratulations, Newbery committee, on getting this one right.

If you're anything like me, you've already heard about a million great recommendations for Rebecca Stead's WHEN YOU REACH ME, and that can be a bit of a double-edged sword. The great reviews made me really, REALLY want to read the book, but they also set up what I worried might be unrealistic expectations. Could it really be THAT amazing?

It could. And it is.

These young characters, growing up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, are reminiscent of Judy Blume's families in TALES OF FOURTH GRADE NOTHING and the FUDGE series. They're authentic, multi-faceted, funny, and real. Their story of friendship and first crushes and first jobs would have been enough to win me over. But then the letter comes. When main character Miranda reads it, she she learns that a mysterious someone says he or she is coming to save her friend's life, and the story evolves from a coming of age tale into a mystery/science fiction, genre-bending marvel. At the heart of WHEN YOU REACH ME is a thread about time travel -- the possibilities, the what-if and the how-might-we, and the sheer wonder of believing. When I finished, I wanted to pick it up immediately and start reading all over again.

This is going to be the first book that I share with my middle school students as a read-aloud in the fall. I absolutely, positively can't wait.

I absolutely adored this book! I read it without really knowing much about it other than the fact that it won the Newberry Medal and seemed to have so many great reviews, and I'm so glad that I picked it up. I've been reading a lot of YA and Middle Grade books lately, rediscovering old favorites and finding new books that my kid self would have loved, and this one definitely falls into the latter category. I adored A Wrinkle in Time as a kid, and I love the way that When You Reach Me ties into L'Engle's story. I don't think you have to have read it to understand this book at all, but having read it will only make the experience more enjoyable.

Essentially, the story is a puzzle. Things start to go awry in Miranda's life and she can't quite figure out what's going on. Her best friend begins to avoid her, she starts to receive mysterious notes, the crazy homeless guy on the corner keeps catching her attention... and it's up to Miranda to figure out what's going on. It's a beautiful story that is realistic and straightforward, and yet still fantastical. The fantasy elements (like the time travel aspect) are done very well and were never over the top - they added just the right amount of whimsy to the story.

Such a great read; I would definitely recommend it.

Miranda and her friend Sal walk to and from school together, just as they always have. But everything changes when the big kid in the green army jacket steps out in front of them and punches Sal. After that, he doesn't seem to want to spend time with her anymore. But that's when the notes start showing up - anonymous notes telling Miranda to write down a story of everything that happens, with as much detail as possible. With any luck, the note writer says, lives will be saved.

While I was initially put off by the world-wise perspective of Miranda, which seems so typical of kids in books that take place in New York City, the mystery of who is sending the notes and why drew me in completely. I thought the darkly-tinged urban setting with a background of late-70s TV game shows and Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle In Time was very clever, and the characters are engaging if not always entirely likeable. It's the kind of mystery story that kids and their parents will enjoy, although parents may want to know that there are a number of scattered mild profanities throughout. I listened to the audio book read by Cynthia Holloway, who does a very good job, but I will be purchasing this book for my 11 year old daughter, whom I suspect won't be able to put it down.

In the beginning, Miranda's friend Sal starts to avoid her. Miranda and her mom's apartment gets broken into, but nothing is stolen. Soon after this, Miranda starts receiving mysterious, anonymous letters. In the middle of the story, Sal gets punched by a kid named Marcus. Miranda becomes friends with a girl named Annemarie and Miranda, Annemarie, and a boy in Miranda's class named Colin get a job making sandwiches at a place they call Jimmy's during their lunch time at school. At the end of the story, The Laughing Man saves Sal's life by putting his leg out in front of the truck that was about to run over Sal after he was "chased" by Marcus into the street.
` The setting of the book When You Reach Me is in New York City. The book was written by Rebecca Stead in 2010. Miranda and her mother live in a small apartment. Many of the events in the novel happen at Miranda's home or at her school.
The main conflict in the book is where Miranda has to figure out what all of the notes mean. She figures this out at the end of the book. Sal almost gets hit by a truck. Then she sees that The Laughing Man was the one giving her the notes. Miranda figures out that The Laughing Man is really Marcus in a different period of time.

First, I should say I'm 36, and barely remember middle school. That being said, I found this to be a very interesting, but weird read. The time travel thread was interesting and thought-provoking. However, I'm not sure I'd want my sixth grader to read this one, maybe a 9th grader. I also don't get why it was set in the late 70s - seems like a strange choice, especially since it could have easily worked in present day. I also found it weird that we didn't find out the date until the book was more than 50% complete.

Story about a girl growing up in New York, her relationship with her mom, her mom's boyfriend, friends, the challenges of growing up with less money when friends have more, working a first job, bullying, dealing with a homeless man who lives outside her apartment, time travel/sci-fi. The book has some good dialogue, but the stories/scenes jump around quite a bit. The author probably did that on purpose to mesh with the time travel aspect, but she tried to put too many concepts into one middle-grade book. Also, many chapters begin with "Things That..." and then others don't. It is inconsistent. If you're going to do that most of the time, do it all of the time. I did enjoy some of the descriptions in the book.

This is the reigning Newbery Award winner, I FINALLY read this book... in one day. It was awesome. I can totally see why it won the golden Newbery medal. Miranda's mother is practicing to be a contestant on The $20,000 Pyramid... you know, that show where a celebrity describes words and you have to guess them, and then vice versa, and in the end they go into the winners circle and the celeb has to list things in a category, and you need to correctly guess the six categories? So the chapter titles are mostly categories. Things That Are Hidden. Things In An Elevator. And in the end Miranda's mother actually gets to be on the show.

There are all the usual things - the seemingly minor characters that end up coming into the story in bigger ways, the mystery that becomes obvious, the main character's favorite book that ends up being important to the plot... and of course (kinda giving something away here but not too crucial to the plot), the girl Miranda thinks hates her for years, who it turns out thinks MIRANDA hated HER first! People are not always what they seem at first, and it's fun figuring it out. Plus, whose life is she supposed to help save? That part kept me guessing til it came to that moment.

So before I give away anything else, let me just say that this is a great book, and you should read it. Children's books are great, and even though parts of this were predictable, there was a lot more to it than that and it's worth a read.

A young girl and her brother are approached by three strange women. They are then taken on a journey through time and space to rescue a father they barely knew. It was a dangerous and thrilling journey, but it was also just a story. A story about family and adventure and time travel. Which is possible, according to Marcus, at least in theory.

Miranda's life was simple, she had her mother and she had Sal, her best friend. What more could she want? Then one day something happened to change all that. For no apparent reason Sal got hit, Sal stopped talking to her, and a letter arrived.

Other letters soon followed about things that had yet to happen, that had already happened. Could the lives of two people really lie in Miranda's hands; a twelve year old who had just lost her best friend and was all but alone in the world? But as we see there is more then one way to save a life...

When You Reach Me is a circular story that is deeply thoughtful, philosophical and also just about a girl. 'Tell me a story' the letters had said, and she did. Miranda's story is simply about life, about friendships, about growing up and making mistakes. And also about time-travel.

This is simply an amazing book, well deserving of the Newbery Prize. It's what I would call a coming-of-age story, but it is done in such a subtle, beautiful way. The first thing that grabbed me was the time travel theme because I love a story that has that element to it. And, that does make it mysterious and fun to think about. But, really it has so much more to offer. It's about Miranda maturing and coming to understand so many things--friendship, empathy, kindness--even a first kiss. I loved how human Miranda is--she's not perfect, but she recognizes when she's falling short. I love the mother-daughter relationship, full of love and trust. I love how Miranda thinks about things--working everything out in her head. And, I love the homage to A Wrinkle in Time, another great Newbery winner. Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous.

I'm not a kid, but I write kids' books, and I write about kids' books, so I have to do a lot of reading in this genre... or so I say. The truth is that reading teen fiction is my secret passion. This one's actually a little lower than teen, so it wouldn't have ordinarily come to my attention, except I like the retro feel of the cover. Shallow, huh?
But then the book grabbed me and I was helpless under its sway. It surprised me by being really, really good, by turns creepy and poignant. Kind of a Time Traveller's Wife for the younger set.
I won't pretend this is War and Peace. If you're older than twelve, it'll probably take you less than a few hours to read. But it will be an enjoyable few hours that will leave you thinking and perhaps even leave you satisfied.

This Newbery winner is the story of Miranda, a pre-teen living in late 1970's NYC. Over the course of several weeks her world is changed by new people and events which challenge her and make her look at the world and what is possible in different ways. I don't mean to be so vague, but giving any piece of the careful construction of this book away takes away from what a pleasure it is to read. Stead is right on the money with her protagonist and first-person writing style, this is really how a girl Miranda's age would think. There is also a very nice homage to A Wrinkle of Time throughout the book, along with a subtle but dense look at temporal physics that I was not expecting, but that added to the book's underlying themes of universality and connection. The mystery throughout the book is never belabored, and even if it does not come to an altogether satisfying conclusion it consistently keeps the story fresh and very fast-moving. This is a sophisticated, very well-written book for any reader, as it is simple enough for a young adult to enjoy but with deeper, more mature lessons about age and responsibility that would resonate with adults.

The back of this book describes it as "a remarkable novel (that) takes place in the real world, but holds a fantastic puzzle at its heart. When You Reach Me is original and a brilliant and profound delight."

Wow -- how can a book live up to that kind of hype?? I don't know, but this one did. It's a perfect description -- this is the real world. Twelve-year-old Miranda lives in NYC in the late 70's, and Stead's characterizations are spot on, with such observations as what the birthright of a latchkey kid is (watching TV and eating junk food). The difficulties of navigating friendships as one grows up is also a key theme.

It's real -- and yet not. When Miranda begins receiving strange notes that seem to come from the future, she is unsure what it means. Her favorite and oft-read book, A Wrinkle in Time, is frequently referenced as she tries to figure out what is happening. The mystery unravels slowly, but the puzzle is not complete until the end of the novel, making for a very satisfying conclusion.

If, like me, you grew up in this time, you will be as delighted as your own tween is at this novel (and my own sixth grader was indeed captivated).

I knew very little about this book when I started reading it, and I'm so glad I knew very little. The magic of the book comes from letting it unfold before your eyes. Miranda is a delightful, funny and realistically insightful sixth-grader who lives in New York City in 1979. Her mother works as a paralegal and receives word she has been selected to appear on the $20,000 Pyramid.

I loved this book. Miranda is a wonderful narrator, and the story in many ways is timeless. It's setting is 1979, but Stead does not beat it into readers' heads. The time setting is mentioned when it's relevant, and I found myself thinking of the setting as the year I was Miranda's age. Her situation is timeless. The story unfolds from a realistic fiction novel into a mystery and adventure tale. Miranda's favorite book is Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, and she looks at the world honestly and with hope. I enjoyed each page, and as the mystery unfolded, I came to love each more than the last. When I finished the book, it stayed with me; the story was still unfolding in my mind. I fully expect this book to get some Newbery buzz.

I hope the following review will help:

Good things about this book: I loved how "A Wrinkle in Time" sort of tied in with this book. Also, I loved the main character, Miranda. I thought that she was easy going and you just didn't want anything to not go her way. This book is on of those where you can't stop reading. It wasn't that it was all that action packed, its just that it was very detailed, and each chapter ended with a deep thought.

SPOILER ALERT!!! (Just for a few sentences after this)
Things I did not like about this book: The most insane thing about this book that I hated, was the relationship between Colin and the main character, Miranda. I thought that they were cute and all, but when Colin finally has the nerve to kiss her, and she kisses him back, his name is not even thought about or mentioned for the rest of the book. Also, I didn't like those few really confusing pages where Marcus and Julia were trying to explain time travel. It was too confusing.

I don't think a book review is complete without telling what age you should be to read it. I find it really annoying when the reviewer says that it is a good book and that you should read it, but you don't know if it is age appropriate. I think that this is one of those books that you can read at any age, but you might not understand the parts with time travel if you are 9 and under. This book does have some.... sort of violent parts, when someone has been punched, but it is very minor, and that is it. I would recommend reading the book A Wrinkle in Time before reading this book.

I missed When You Reach Me when it was first published and discovered it when it received the prestigious Newbery Award in 2010. When You Reach Me is the perfect example of a cross over novel. It doesn't fit any specific genre. Set in the late 70s it can be defined as an historical fiction novel but since the story brushes against the time traveling concept it also qualifies for science fiction. The main character is a girl yet boys will identify to the smart, sensitive and funny Miranda. Besides when the story starts her best friend is a boy. She's is twelve years old so typically the story would be better suited for readers younger than twelve. Yet Miranda is independant: she lives in New York City, has the key of her apartment, walks to and from school, has lunch outside of schoool and even got a small job. Readers will forget that she and her friends are still in middle school. Miranda's relationship with her mother who is single but has a German boyfriend is filled with humor, tenderness and loyalty.
References to A Wrinkle in Time from Madeleine L'Engle, another Newbery Award recipient, seem to be sprinkled through the story but they are like a thread to follow. When You Reach Me is a petit chef d'oeuvre like we say in France, my native country and it would not be fair to the book to be more specific. Revealing too much would spoil the discovery of a unique story that challenges readers of all ages. Even adults like me.

I gave this book as a gift to a 7th-grader whom I tutor in Washington, DC. I asked her to write a book review to help her practice her writing skills, but also to help other young readers decide whether they should read the book too. Her review appears below.

"My book is When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. The main characters are Miranda, Sal and Marcus. It took place in New York City. This book is about Miranda getting mysterious notes about saving her friends and the writer of the notes life. But when she gets the final note, she thinks she is too late. My favorite character is Miranda because she is trying to save lives.

I thought the book was fascinating. My favorite part of the book was when Miranda was discussing about the book A Wrinkle in Time. I have two least favorite parts of the book. First is when Sal got punched in the face by Marcus. Second is when Miranda thought she was too late to save whoever's life. If I could change something in the book it would be the part where Sal stopped being friends with Miranda.

I would recommend this book to pre-teens and teens, because the book involves kids around that particular age."

When you reach me
By Angelina, a 4th Grader

If you like fantasy and science fiction and mystery books, When You Reach Me is the perfect book for you. In the book, a girl named Miranda starts receiving mysterious notes. Will she ever find out who is writing the notes? The notes tell her that she can’t tell anyone about the notes, not even her best friend Sal. But lately Sal has been ignoring Miranda. Miranda thinks Sal is ignoring her because of what happened one day. But that does not seem to be the case. Will they become friends again? Will Miranda be alone or will she find a friend or some friends. My favorite chapter is ‘’Things that blow away’’ because something in this chapter happens that you would not expect. This book deserves five stars because in the book a lot of unexpected things happen. The theme is don’t judge people before you know them really well. I know that because in the book because in the book Miranda judges people and when Miranda gets to know them better they turned out the opposite of what she thought. I would recommend this book to my cousin because she loves mysterious things that happen in a book and this book would be perfect for her.

Fabulous short middle-grade novel that holds the interest of adult readers, too.

This novel really knocked my socks off. Key story: I got it out of the library (for a course I'm taking), read it, and said, "I can't believe this didn't win the Newbery! It's so good! I HAVE to read the book that beat it." So I checked online and ... yep, it DID win the Newbery. My library copy was put out before it won so it didn't have the medallion on the cover. That's how good this book is; I couldn't believe it didn't win the Newbery.

I could rave about all the things it does well, but I'll just highlight one that other reviewers might not comment on. The number of characters vividly brought to life in this short novel is amazing. There are about a dozen people that I will remember for a long time.

Wow. Keep up the good work, Rebecca Stead!

Actually, I surprised myself by thoroughly enjoying this book. This is why: 1) I rarely like any books whose target audience is middle-schoolers; 2) "When You Reach Me" is a sort of homage to Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle In Time," a novel which I couldn't get myself to finish.

It's a little hard to give a synopsis of the story. 12-year old Miranda's best friend Sal suddenly stops talking to her. The apartment key that Miranda's mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then Miranda starts finding mysterious notes that plead her to write down all details of the events leading to Sal's estrangement and those that happen immediately after. The writer of the notes is adamant that these details will help to save someone's life...

What follows is a very peculiar mix of mystery, adventure, and time-travel, a story about friendship, family, and growing-up. I am not sure what exactly I liked about the book, I just know that I couldn't put it down. I think it rightfully deserves the Newberry Medal it was awarded.

I am not much of a reader but this book kept me reading. The ending really got me and I wasn't expecting the ending that it was. The book got a little long in the middle but by the time you got toward the end, it came full circle. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars because it was a really good book, but it wasn't my favorite. When You Reach Me is a realistic fiction story about a girl named Miranda, who starts finding these notes. She doesn't know where these notes are coming from. One note strikes her. "I am coming to save your friend's life and mine." "What could this mean?" she thought. Read this story to follow along Miranda and her friends as she tries to figure out what these notes mean and who they come from.

A crazy man on the street corner repeatedly chants "Bookbag, pocketshoe, bookbag, pocketshoe." Miranda, the twelve-year-old narrator of When You Reach Me, the winner of the 2010 Newbery Medal, walks past this man every day. He is the laughing man. He's a fixture in her neighborhood. While he certainly weirds her out, she doesn't really have a problem with him. "It's crazy the things a person can pretend not to notice," Miranda observes.

Miranda notices a lot, often making wry observations about everyday occurrences in her seemingly mundane world. She frets about what her and her mom's apartment must look the first night she brings a new friend over. Who hasn't brought someone over to their place-a new friend, a date-and thought, "Holy crap! They can't see my place like this!" and immediately zeroed in on all the microscopic flaws of their house or apartment. Even though any good friend or good date isn't going to notice or care.

Miranda takes a lot in stride. She has a cool head on her shoulders. Even when strange, supernatural things start to happen, like receiving letters from the future, she accepts them. They're normal to her in a world where her mother, a single parent, wears orange sweaters, denim skirts, and purple-and-black striped tights to work and steals pens and paper from the office. They're normal in a world where one kid punches another for seemingly no reason. They're normal in the late-seventies world where Miranda, at twelve, has a part-time job making sandwiches in a local deli. Her salary: a sandwich and a soda. What is normal after all?

The book is structured around the $20,000 Pyramid, iconic late-seventies early-eighties game show hosted by Dick Clark. Appropriate, given that the Egyptian pyramids are often rumored to be linked to time-travel in some sort of way. Soon after her mother gets a postcard saying she'll be on the Pyramid, Miranda receives a mysterious note from the future. The mystery unfolds at a brisk pace. The notes Miranda receives are eerie and unsettling, but they never seem to phase her. She's a latchkey kid-a Schusselkinder in German, her mom's boyfriend tells her; she's used to thinking for herself.

When You Reach Me captured my imagination in ways that most adult books do not. I was excited to tuck my tessellated-bird Escher bookmark between its pages, and almost sad when the book ended. Miranda's journey is both small and personal, and large enough to span forwards and backwards through time. I recommend this book for all ages, especially fans of time travel, or Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, Miranda's favorite book.

Wow! Reading this book has filled me with wonder! Oh, the possibilities that Rebecca Stead explores and the characters feel so real and flawed and loving and scared and vulnerable and...human.

You know when they say a good book makes you feel like you've found family in those pages. That's how I feel. I've found family and as with any family, I found pieces of myself in every character.

While the plotting is very tight, I was pulled more by the characters and the eloquence of the writing. Rebecca Stead's skill with words is light and heavy, playful and thoughtful, joyous and blue. Isn't that life?

By the end, I bought every last detail coming together so nicely. That's difficult to pull off because most of the time, such endings feel contrived...forced. Because there is such a roller coaster of emotions, the ending also feels like ecstasy. I say that because while things are tied neatly, one has to then grapple with the larger themes of this wonderful children's novel, themes of loss, love, making mistakes, finding family, finding redemption, etc.

I could go on and on but I won't because part of the joy in reading this book is allowing yourself to discover the mysteries of life.

I know I certainly did!

In the novel, When You Reach Me, author Rebecca Stead creates a story of mystery and compelling friendship battles. As a 10 year-old reader, it is hard to find a decent good read that doesn't have sappy romance or girls finding out that they are princesses. I found myself wanting to turn pages as fast as I could.

At the beginning, the main character Miranda is an ordinary girl living in New York with her mom and her mom's boyfriend. The year is 1972. Miranda's lifelong friend Sal gets punched by a kid and then suddenly stops spending time with Miranda. After a break-in at her apartment where everything appears undisturbed, Miranda finds an anonymous note in her library book. The note says that the anonymous writer is going to save one of Miranda's friends.

This is what I personally crave in writing, loss and mystery. Usually in a story, if there is a mystery, you can figure it out right away. I thought I knew the answer to the mystery here, but I guessed completely wrong. Stead created a seemingly guessable mystery, and changed the outcome and made it unpredictable.

As the story continued, Miranda faced many friendship and family challenges which kept me guessing the whole time. More anonymous notes come her way and she starts taking the notes more seriously.

Another element in this story is the character of a crazy old man who remains nameless until the end of the book. Miranda has to walk by him to get home every day from school. Without giving away the ending, Miranda finally figures out the anonymous notes and the strange things the old man says to her.

I would rate this book 5 stars. Even though I was a little confused at times, Stead answered all my questions by the end of the story.
Near the end of the book, Stead gives hints of the supernatural and maybe even time travel. This was such an enjoyable book that kids will love because of the twists and turns.

When You Reach Me is a very clever, intriguing, and realistic book. It captures many things at once: life in the 1970's, growing up, New York City, the age of "latchkey" kids, time travel and mystery.

This book is not long, but well-written. The story told is creative and very unique, and a great retelling of a different era. The writing is simple enough for a young child to read and enjoy it, but complex enough for an older reader to enjoy it as well, at a different level.

The story follows Miranda, a young girl living in New York City in 1978 and 1979. The story follows her as she meets and loses friends, helps her mom prepare for a game show she's entering, works at a sandwich shop, and deals with being relatively poor. Along with these (mostly) normal occurrences, there is a mystery as well. Miranda's friend, Sal gets punched by a stranger for no reason whatsoever, and she begins to receive strange notes. The story holds a nice balance between normal things and the imaginative (time travel).

However, I found that the story centered a little bit too much around one particular book that the main character read, making it, at times, a little difficult to understand if you had not read that book (A Wrinkle in Time) first. Also, depending on your reading style and preferences, you may find the story too simply told, but this a matter of opinion.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed When You Reach Me, and did not put it down until I'd finished it.

Time travel, especially literary time travel, is the kind of thing that can make your head hurt if you start thinking about it too much. If the time travel in A WRINKLE IN TIME or HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN has you scratching or shaking your head in puzzlement, Rebecca Stead's new novel just might help you figure things out.

Stead gained a reputation for incorporating scientific ideas into entertaining narratives with her debut novel, rebecca LIGHT, about a previously undiscovered society living below the ice in Greenland. She continues exploring mathematical and scientific concepts in her newest work, doing so in clever and often surprising ways.

Miranda knows that she and her mom aren't rich, but they manage to get by in their rundown apartment in their slightly sketchy New York City neighborhood. Miranda's mom, a paralegal who's balking at the thought of moving in with her boyfriend, dreams of fame and fortune on the popular "$20,000 Pyramid" television show (the year, by the way, is 1979). As for Miranda, she's more worried about just making it through the day without getting harassed by the bullies who haunt the sidewalks between school and home or being accosted by the elderly homeless "laughing man" who lives on their corner. He chants weird sayings, and he sometimes seems oddly insightful --- or sometimes just plain crazy.

Lately, Miranda has had to navigate this tricky territory --- not to mention the pitfall-laden halls of school itself --- on her own, since her best friend Sal has suddenly decided to act like she doesn't even exist. Why is Sal so distant? Why does the big boy who beat Sal up actually seem gentle, even wise? Can Miranda find happiness with other friends, even if they come from fancier apartment buildings and have more money than she does?

Questions abound, but the biggest mystery of all is who is sending Miranda scarily prophetic notes. These letters mention specific times and places of things that haven't yet happened when Miranda receives them but that, eerily, come to pass exactly as the anonymous writer says they will. Could the answer be hidden in the pages of Miranda's favorite book, which she reads over and over again: A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'Engle?

With its explanations and explorations of time travel, WHEN YOU REACH ME does share a great deal with L'Engle's novel. With its focus on a girl learning to independently navigate her Manhattan neighborhood, it also will remind some readers of other classics like HARRIET THE SPY and FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER. And, just as Miranda does with her own favorite novel, the mind-bending conclusion of this one will prompt many readers to flip back to page one and read it all over again, picking up on clues they missed (or didn't understand) the first time around.

With a well-paced plot, engaging characters, strong family portrayals, and a compelling mystery to solve, WHEN YOU REACH ME is a great novel for adults and kids to read together, sharing ideas on what might be happening in Miranda's world and jointly exploring their own theories to explain it all.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

Richie's Picks: WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead, Random House/Wendy Lamb Books, July 2009, 208p., ISBN: 978-0-385-73742-5; Libr. ISBN: 978-0-385-90664-7

"All good things in all good time." -- Hunter/Garcia

"I check the box under my bed, which is where I've kept your notes these past few months. There it is, in your tiny handwriting: April 27th; Studio TV-15, the words all jerky-looking, like you wrote them on the subway. Your last 'proof.'
"I still think about the letter you asked me to write. It nags at me, even though you're gone and there's no one to give it to anymore. Sometimes I work on it in my head, trying to map out the story you asked me to tell, about everything that happened this past fall and winter. It's all still there, like a movie I can watch when I want to. Which is never."

As I've written at other points in time, I just love finding a book that I enjoy so much that I want to immediately read it a second time. What, for me, is even rarer is finding a book like WHEN YOU REACH ME that I enjoy even more the second time through. The reason for this is that there is a lot of foreshadowing to this story and, the second time through I know what is going to happen and I can watch for all of the little clues that I missed the first time.

Reading through the second time, coming upon what I had missed, I found myself thinking about what life would be like if it could be lived like a book so that you could read it through the first time, find out what happens, and then go back and live it through a second time being able to watch for all those clues necessary for avoiding the dangers and mistakes.

"He showed up around the beginning of the school year, when Sal and I still walked home from school together. A few kids called him Quack, short for Quackers, or they called him Kicker because he used to do these sudden kicks into the street, like he was trying to punt one of the cars speeding up Amsterdam Avenue. Sometimes he shook his fist at the sky and yelled crazy stuff like 'What's the burn scale? Where's the dome?' and then he threw his head back and laughed these loud, crazy laughs, so everyone could see that he had about thirty fillings in his teeth. And he was always on our corner, sometimes sleeping with his head under the mailbox."

Miranda, the twelve-year-old narrator of WHEN YOU REACH ME, lives with her mom in an apartment house in New York City in the late 1970s. Miranda has a healthy obsession with the book A WRINKLE IN TIME. Her mother's obsession is with becoming a contestant on The $20,000 Pyramid, the television game show hosted by Dick Clark. There are three puzzles that quickly develop in WHEN YOU REACH ME: First, there are little snippets of Miranda referring to mysterious notes she finds in unexpected places that contain unknowable stuff, and some unexplained letter that she has been asked to write to some unrevealed person. I didn't figure out what these were all about until almost the end. There is the mystery of that crazy guy on the corner, just down from Miranda's apartment building. From where did he suddenly appear? And then there are all the questions surrounding Marcus, the kid at school who also knows all about A WRINKLE IN TIME and who, for no apparent reason, punches out Miranda's lifelong friend and downstairs neighbor -- Sal -- who then quickly becomes her former lifelong friend.

WHEN YOU REACH ME is fit together so perfectly that -- the second read through -- I was shaking my head and laughing at least as loud as the crazy guy on the corner each time I came upon one of the many pieces that author Rebecca Stead leaves sitting right out there in the open, just begging to be discovered. It is a book that gives me funny feelings in my stomach and makes me want to look up and shake my fist at the sky; a book that made me weep; a book that I will be thinking about for a long, long time.

"'None of it makes sense!' my brain yelled.
"'But all of it is true,' I answered."

I don't want to say anymore, for fear of giving away too much. But I can predict with confidence -- as if I've been to the future and back again -- that no matter what comes down the pike in the next few months, WHEN YOU REACH ME will be recognized and remembered as one of the truly great children's books of 2009.

Actually, I surprised myself by thoroughly enjoying this book. This is why: 1) I rarely like any books whose target audience is middle-schoolers; 2) "When You Reach Me" is a sort of homage to Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle In Time," a novel which I couldn't get myself to finish.

It's a little hard to give a synopsis of the story. 12-year old Miranda's best friend Sal suddenly stops talking to her. The apartment key that Miranda's mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then Miranda starts finding mysterious notes that plead her to write down all details of the events leading to Sal's estrangement and those that happen immediately after. The writer of the notes is adamant that these details will help to save someone's life...

What follows is a very peculiar mix of mystery, adventure, and time-travel, a story about friendship, family, and growing-up. I am not sure what exactly I liked about the book, I just know that I couldn't put it down. I think it rightfully deserves the Newberry Medal it was awarded.

I am not much of a reader but this book kept me reading. The ending really got me and I wasn't expecting the ending that it was. The book got a little long in the middle but by the time you got toward the end, it came full circle. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars because it was a really good book, but it wasn't my favorite. When You Reach Me is a realistic fiction story about a girl named Miranda, who starts finding these notes. She doesn't know where these notes are coming from. One note strikes her. "I am coming to save your friend's life and mine." "What could this mean?" she thought. Read this story to follow along Miranda and her friends as she tries to figure out what these notes mean and who they come from.

A crazy man on the street corner repeatedly chants "Bookbag, pocketshoe, bookbag, pocketshoe." Miranda, the twelve-year-old narrator of When You Reach Me, the winner of the 2010 Newbery Medal, walks past this man every day. He is the laughing man. He's a fixture in her neighborhood. While he certainly weirds her out, she doesn't really have a problem with him. "It's crazy the things a person can pretend not to notice," Miranda observes.

Miranda notices a lot, often making wry observations about everyday occurrences in her seemingly mundane world. She frets about what her and her mom's apartment must look the first night she brings a new friend over. Who hasn't brought someone over to their place-a new friend, a date-and thought, "Holy crap! They can't see my place like this!" and immediately zeroed in on all the microscopic flaws of their house or apartment. Even though any good friend or good date isn't going to notice or care.

Miranda takes a lot in stride. She has a cool head on her shoulders. Even when strange, supernatural things start to happen, like receiving letters from the future, she accepts them. They're normal to her in a world where her mother, a single parent, wears orange sweaters, denim skirts, and purple-and-black striped tights to work and steals pens and paper from the office. They're normal in a world where one kid punches another for seemingly no reason. They're normal in the late-seventies world where Miranda, at twelve, has a part-time job making sandwiches in a local deli. Her salary: a sandwich and a soda. What is normal after all?

The book is structured around the $20,000 Pyramid, iconic late-seventies early-eighties game show hosted by Dick Clark. Appropriate, given that the Egyptian pyramids are often rumored to be linked to time-travel in some sort of way. Soon after her mother gets a postcard saying she'll be on the Pyramid, Miranda receives a mysterious note from the future. The mystery unfolds at a brisk pace. The notes Miranda receives are eerie and unsettling, but they never seem to phase her. She's a latchkey kid-a Schusselkinder in German, her mom's boyfriend tells her; she's used to thinking for herself.

When You Reach Me captured my imagination in ways that most adult books do not. I was excited to tuck my tessellated-bird Escher bookmark between its pages, and almost sad when the book ended. Miranda's journey is both small and personal, and large enough to span forwards and backwards through time. I recommend this book for all ages, especially fans of time travel, or Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, Miranda's favorite book.

Wow! Reading this book has filled me with wonder! Oh, the possibilities that Rebecca Stead explores and the characters feel so real and flawed and loving and scared and vulnerable and...human.

You know when they say a good book makes you feel like you've found family in those pages. That's how I feel. I've found family and as with any family, I found pieces of myself in every character.

While the plotting is very tight, I was pulled more by the characters and the eloquence of the writing. Rebecca Stead's skill with words is light and heavy, playful and thoughtful, joyous and blue. Isn't that life?

By the end, I bought every last detail coming together so nicely. That's difficult to pull off because most of the time, such endings feel contrived...forced. Because there is such a roller coaster of emotions, the ending also feels like ecstasy. I say that because while things are tied neatly, one has to then grapple with the larger themes of this wonderful children's novel, themes of loss, love, making mistakes, finding family, finding redemption, etc.

I could go on and on but I won't because part of the joy in reading this book is allowing yourself to discover the mysteries of life.

I know I certainly did!

In the novel, When You Reach Me, author Rebecca Stead creates a story of mystery and compelling friendship battles. As a 10 year-old reader, it is hard to find a decent good read that doesn't have sappy romance or girls finding out that they are princesses. I found myself wanting to turn pages as fast as I could.

At the beginning, the main character Miranda is an ordinary girl living in New York with her mom and her mom's boyfriend. The year is 1972. Miranda's lifelong friend Sal gets punched by a kid and then suddenly stops spending time with Miranda. After a break-in at her apartment where everything appears undisturbed, Miranda finds an anonymous note in her library book. The note says that the anonymous writer is going to save one of Miranda's friends.

This is what I personally crave in writing, loss and mystery. Usually in a story, if there is a mystery, you can figure it out right away. I thought I knew the answer to the mystery here, but I guessed completely wrong. Stead created a seemingly guessable mystery, and changed the outcome and made it unpredictable.

As the story continued, Miranda faced many friendship and family challenges which kept me guessing the whole time. More anonymous notes come her way and she starts taking the notes more seriously.

Another element in this story is the character of a crazy old man who remains nameless until the end of the book. Miranda has to walk by him to get home every day from school. Without giving away the ending, Miranda finally figures out the anonymous notes and the strange things the old man says to her.

I would rate this book 5 stars. Even though I was a little confused at times, Stead answered all my questions by the end of the story.
Near the end of the book, Stead gives hints of the supernatural and maybe even time travel. This was such an enjoyable book that kids will love because of the twists and turns.

When You Reach Me is a very clever, intriguing, and realistic book. It captures many things at once: life in the 1970's, growing up, New York City, the age of "latchkey" kids, time travel and mystery.

This book is not long, but well-written. The story told is creative and very unique, and a great retelling of a different era. The writing is simple enough for a young child to read and enjoy it, but complex enough for an older reader to enjoy it as well, at a different level.

The story follows Miranda, a young girl living in New York City in 1978 and 1979. The story follows her as she meets and loses friends, helps her mom prepare for a game show she's entering, works at a sandwich shop, and deals with being relatively poor. Along with these (mostly) normal occurrences, there is a mystery as well. Miranda's friend, Sal gets punched by a stranger for no reason whatsoever, and she begins to receive strange notes. The story holds a nice balance between normal things and the imaginative (time travel).

However, I found that the story centered a little bit too much around one particular book that the main character read, making it, at times, a little difficult to understand if you had not read that book (A Wrinkle in Time) first. Also, depending on your reading style and preferences, you may find the story too simply told, but this a matter of opinion.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed When You Reach Me, and did not put it down until I'd finished it.

Time travel, especially literary time travel, is the kind of thing that can make your head hurt if you start thinking about it too much. If the time travel in A WRINKLE IN TIME or HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN has you scratching or shaking your head in puzzlement, Rebecca Stead's new novel just might help you figure things out.

Stead gained a reputation for incorporating scientific ideas into entertaining narratives with her debut novel, rebecca LIGHT, about a previously undiscovered society living below the ice in Greenland. She continues exploring mathematical and scientific concepts in her newest work, doing so in clever and often surprising ways.

Miranda knows that she and her mom aren't rich, but they manage to get by in their rundown apartment in their slightly sketchy New York City neighborhood. Miranda's mom, a paralegal who's balking at the thought of moving in with her boyfriend, dreams of fame and fortune on the popular "$20,000 Pyramid" television show (the year, by the way, is 1979). As for Miranda, she's more worried about just making it through the day without getting harassed by the bullies who haunt the sidewalks between school and home or being accosted by the elderly homeless "laughing man" who lives on their corner. He chants weird sayings, and he sometimes seems oddly insightful --- or sometimes just plain crazy.

Lately, Miranda has had to navigate this tricky territory --- not to mention the pitfall-laden halls of school itself --- on her own, since her best friend Sal has suddenly decided to act like she doesn't even exist. Why is Sal so distant? Why does the big boy who beat Sal up actually seem gentle, even wise? Can Miranda find happiness with other friends, even if they come from fancier apartment buildings and have more money than she does?

Questions abound, but the biggest mystery of all is who is sending Miranda scarily prophetic notes. These letters mention specific times and places of things that haven't yet happened when Miranda receives them but that, eerily, come to pass exactly as the anonymous writer says they will. Could the answer be hidden in the pages of Miranda's favorite book, which she reads over and over again: A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L'Engle?

With its explanations and explorations of time travel, WHEN YOU REACH ME does share a great deal with L'Engle's novel. With its focus on a girl learning to independently navigate her Manhattan neighborhood, it also will remind some readers of other classics like HARRIET THE SPY and FROM THE MIXED-UP FILES OF MRS. BASIL E. FRANKWEILER. And, just as Miranda does with her own favorite novel, the mind-bending conclusion of this one will prompt many readers to flip back to page one and read it all over again, picking up on clues they missed (or didn't understand) the first time around.

With a well-paced plot, engaging characters, strong family portrayals, and a compelling mystery to solve, WHEN YOU REACH ME is a great novel for adults and kids to read together, sharing ideas on what might be happening in Miranda's world and jointly exploring their own theories to explain it all.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

Richie's Picks: WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead, Random House/Wendy Lamb Books, July 2009, 208p., ISBN: 978-0-385-73742-5; Libr. ISBN: 978-0-385-90664-7

"All good things in all good time." -- Hunter/Garcia

"I check the box under my bed, which is where I've kept your notes these past few months. There it is, in your tiny handwriting: April 27th; Studio TV-15, the words all jerky-looking, like you wrote them on the subway. Your last 'proof.'
"I still think about the letter you asked me to write. It nags at me, even though you're gone and there's no one to give it to anymore. Sometimes I work on it in my head, trying to map out the story you asked me to tell, about everything that happened this past fall and winter. It's all still there, like a movie I can watch when I want to. Which is never."

As I've written at other points in time, I just love finding a book that I enjoy so much that I want to immediately read it a second time. What, for me, is even rarer is finding a book like WHEN YOU REACH ME that I enjoy even more the second time through. The reason for this is that there is a lot of foreshadowing to this story and, the second time through I know what is going to happen and I can watch for all of the little clues that I missed the first time.

Reading through the second time, coming upon what I had missed, I found myself thinking about what life would be like if it could be lived like a book so that you could read it through the first time, find out what happens, and then go back and live it through a second time being able to watch for all those clues necessary for avoiding the dangers and mistakes.

"He showed up around the beginning of the school year, when Sal and I still walked home from school together. A few kids called him Quack, short for Quackers, or they called him Kicker because he used to do these sudden kicks into the street, like he was trying to punt one of the cars speeding up Amsterdam Avenue. Sometimes he shook his fist at the sky and yelled crazy stuff like 'What's the burn scale? Where's the dome?' and then he threw his head back and laughed these loud, crazy laughs, so everyone could see that he had about thirty fillings in his teeth. And he was always on our corner, sometimes sleeping with his head under the mailbox."

Miranda, the twelve-year-old narrator of WHEN YOU REACH ME, lives with her mom in an apartment house in New York City in the late 1970s. Miranda has a healthy obsession with the book A WRINKLE IN TIME. Her mother's obsession is with becoming a contestant on The $20,000 Pyramid, the television game show hosted by Dick Clark. There are three puzzles that quickly develop in WHEN YOU REACH ME: First, there are little snippets of Miranda referring to mysterious notes she finds in unexpected places that contain unknowable stuff, and some unexplained letter that she has been asked to write to some unrevealed person. I didn't figure out what these were all about until almost the end. There is the mystery of that crazy guy on the corner, just down from Miranda's apartment building. From where did he suddenly appear? And then there are all the questions surrounding Marcus, the kid at school who also knows all about A WRINKLE IN TIME and who, for no apparent reason, punches out Miranda's lifelong friend and downstairs neighbor -- Sal -- who then quickly becomes her former lifelong friend.

WHEN YOU REACH ME is fit together so perfectly that -- the second read through -- I was shaking my head and laughing at least as loud as the crazy guy on the corner each time I came upon one of the many pieces that author Rebecca Stead leaves sitting right out there in the open, just begging to be discovered. It is a book that gives me funny feelings in my stomach and makes me want to look up and shake my fist at the sky; a book that made me weep; a book that I will be thinking about for a long, long time.

"'None of it makes sense!' my brain yelled.
"'But all of it is true,' I answered."

I don't want to say anymore, for fear of giving away too much. But I can predict with confidence -- as if I've been to the future and back again -- that no matter what comes down the pike in the next few months, WHEN YOU REACH ME will be recognized and remembered as one of the truly great children's books of 2009.

Frankly, I hadn't ever heard about "When You Reach Me" until one day I opened the New York Times and read about this book winning the Newbery Award for children's literature. The article introduced the book, and the author, Rebecca Stead, to me, and piqued my curiosity. A week later, and I have fallen in love with this magical, mystical and poignant look at young adulthood, in the 1970's in New York.

Miranda is a slightly precocious, interesting child who is enchanted by "A Wrinkle in Time" and the concept of time travel. Living alone with her mother, she resides above her best friend Sal, a smaller boy with motivations of his own. They go to school, read, and live as much as kids did at that time. Miranda's mother has been selected as a contestant on the popular game show $20,000, which frames much of this novel.

After school one day, a neighborhood bully, Marcus, walks up to Sal and Miranda walking home, and punches him, without rhyme or reason. Thus starts this tale, which eventually plays around with the concept of how much seemingly little events such as this have a hugh impact on our lives.

Miranda starts receiving mysterious notes, hidden in things that only she can find. These notes seem to suggest that someone knows her, that someone is following her, and more importantly, someone knows what's going to happen in the future. She wrestles with the reality of the notes until things in the notes start to come true.

What could have been a sci-fi-ish tale turns out to be a very human tale of redemption and caring. By the time you reach the end of the book, all mysteries will be explained fully, and you simply want to start reading this tale from the beginning once again.

As a teacher, I would love to read share this book with my fourth graders and up. There are a few items of budding romantic interest that would stir some giggles in the room, but overall, the story will inspire some in-depth thinking, especially from some students who like to look beyond the text. Stead's novel is a quick, enjoyable read; and one that I shouldn't quickly forget.

Recently, it seems that the Newbery Award has been criticized by people, fairly I believe, saying that the books they have been selecting as the best in children's literature aren't ones that teachers would actually use in their classroom (two recent picks come to mind). It seems that the Newbery has course corrected themselves, and selected a beautiful novel this time around, and I couldn't be more pleased!

This novel discusses the experiences of the main character Miranda. She is twelve years old and lives in Manhattan in 1979. This was a time when children could freely roam the streets. Even though I never experienced that the text in When You Reach Me made me feel as though I was actually in the 70s. I love the suspense that was created, and how everything connected at the end.

Throughout the book Miranda gains and loses friends, and deals with many of the same types of issues most sixth grade girls do. Her experiences in the book allow Miranda to see things from different perspectives, and grow as a person. This is relatable to many young readers because it shows the main characters struggles to go from child to young adult, which many readers may currently be experiencing.

The suspenseful "note-leaver" who believes they can see what is going to happen in the future, and gives this book the essence of time-travel and sci-fi. This book covers a wide range of genres and would be interesting to most.
Not only is this book extremely relatable and entertaining, will teach readers great lessons as well. When You Reach Me not only teaches how to treat people, it showed how to get along with others through growing and evolving relationships without sounding preachy.

I put off reading this for quite awhile because quite frankly, Newberry award winners don't usually blow me away. I have to say that this is the best award winner I have read in a good number of years. Yeah! A book I can confidently recommend to 5th graders on up! This is a book everyone should read - it's a beautifully constructed story about friendship that incorporates mystery, science fiction and even brings in some social issues of the 70's. I read this in one sitting because I became too engrossed in it to put it down. I could go on and on about the wonderful characters, or the intricate plot, but since this has already been addressed in many other reviews, lets just say that here's a book for middle readers that doesn't talk down to them, isn't teaching a preachy lesson but is just providing a good story they can relate to. I look forward to Ms. Stead's next effort!

We meet Miranda who is trying to figure things out: what's going on between her and Sal? What's going on between Richard and Mom? Does she need to get new friends? Where did this note come from and how did they know? That's the main thing Miranda wants to unravel - who sent the note and how did they know these things would happen? She doesn't want to think about the implications though and, of course, the more you don't want to think about something, the more you do!

Miranda is trying to help her mom get on The $20,000 Pyramid game show. Her mom is a para-legal for a small office and she dreams of being a lawyer. She holds monthly tenant meeting and writes letters to the proper people about all the problems "But nothing ever changes." (13)
She pushes away her veil when she's trying to focus and "can see the world as it really is, just for those few seconds before it settles down again...see all the beauty, and cruelty and sadness, and love." (71)

Sal and Miranda are best friends, until one day they aren't. And Miranda thinks she knows why but she doesn't understand it.

"Do you even want to be friends at all?...he glared at his feet and said no..." (33)

Marcus is an enigma. Is he smarter than "genius kids like Jay Stringer..." (48) or is he a bully? Can he be both? Why does he notice Miranda sometimes but act like he doesn't at other times? Common sense says stay away from him but Marcus quotes "common sense is just habit of thought. It's how we're used to thinking about things..." (51)

When Sal left Miranda, she found Annemarie, who was left by Julia. Miranda likes hanging with Annemarie but Miranda might like someone who might like Annemarie and that makes Miranda a little mad. "...sitting...in that puddle of meanness....Maybe I couldn't stand for her to have so many people, and to be able to draw and to cut bread on top of that." (112)

And through all this meeting and breaking apart the notes keep coming. Little tiny bits of paper. Little tiny writing. How did they know? How could they know? And how did it all fit together?

The writing in this book was quietly beautiful. Little things that made me pause and think.
"...it's simple to love someone...it's hard to know when you need to say it out loud." (149)
I have so many pages turned down. So many sentences surrounded by little dots (that's how I mark quotes).

The ending comes at just the right moment. Not too slow with you thinking it should already be over...not too fast and you wondering what you missed. I especially loved the last chapter: Parting Gifts. It makes you go back and look and speculate and wonder and go hmm.

I enjoyed this book. It was awesome. It's a realistic sci-fi type book. Stead (pronounced like dead, fed) wove elements from A Wrinkle in Time into the book so while you are reading and thinking about Miranda, other parts of your brain are trying to tie the pieces of that book into this book. Course, her sentences don't run-on like mine! I enjoyed getting to know the characters and understanding why they acted the way they did - except for Louisa, Sal's mom, still don't know her. But all in all, this is definitely 4 copies good. Book club good even. It's a must read. And read again!

Reviews
The Reading Zone - When You Reach Me
Literate Lives - When You Reach Me
A Year Of Reading - When You Reach Me

Rebecca Stead at Random House - Author Spotlight - great first line!

It took me a while to write this review. Not because I didn't like it, far from that. It just took me a bit to fully take the book in and fully appreciate all it has to offer.

Set in both the past and present, When You Reach Me follows the story of Miranda, a sixth grader, in 1979. It opens with her assisting her mother, who is preparing for an appearance on The $20,000 Pyramid. She diligently tests her mom, hoping they'll win the grand prize. While doing this, Miranda is haunted by the fact that notes she keeps receiving have, somehow, predicted the future - most notably, that her mother would be on the TV show. As she tries to figure them out, and who they're from, she reflects back to the first note's appearance.

It was earlier that year. Miranda had been disheartened by the fact that her best friend, Sal, decided to stop talking to her after she witnessed him get punched by an older kid. Because she no longer has him to walk with her to and from school, she has to pass the older boys who sometime taunt her and the crazy homeless man on the corner, nicknamed the Laughing Man, on her own. The Laughing Man continuously repeats to himself "bookbag pocketshoe" and Miranda, a truth New Yorker, has learned to ignore him and his puzzling antics.

With Sal no longer in the picture, Miranda makes new friends, including Marcus, the boy who punched Sal. Marcus, like Miranda, enjoys the book A Wrinkle in Time, and they debate time travel frequently, with him attempting to make points about its validity, and her getting confused. She also befriends Annamaria and Colin, two classmates with stories of their own. During their lunchtime, they get jobs helping out at a sandwich shop, and are paid in food. It's then that she starts receiving the notes. Each one mentions an event that will (and does) happen in the future, and each asks for her to record the events of her life from then on.

The story continues to bounce back and forth between the present tale of the game show preparation and the back story of Miranda, leading up to an ultimate climax that ties everything together, from the Laughing Man's strange behavior to the mysterious notes, aging Miranda in the process. It's easy to note her change through subtle realizations; although very timid, it's notable at the end.

The book was brilliantly done, and incorporates aspects of science fiction, mystery and coming of age genres. Yes, it does incorporate time travel (with strong references to A Wrinkle in Time), but it does it extremely well. It's hard to write an original time traveling story, but Rebecca Stead finds a way to do it. I think mostly because the book isn't ABOUT time travel, the action is just a connecting factor. The true story lies in Miranda's maturation process, childhood friendships, and the family bond. The time travel doesn't feel forced, it feels natural, practical.

Stead is an incredibly talented writer, who's words flow easily. She gives a strong voice to Miranda, characterizing her perfectly. My only complaint would be that I felt she made the kids act too mature for their age. Some, like Colin, were perfect - less mature, and overall goofy. Miranda, and definitely Marcus (who was, admittedly, older), were extremely knowledgeable for their age and grasped harder concepts easily. That said, I still loved both characters.

I really adored how everything wrapped up - and I mean everything. From subtle mentions to large plot points, everything comes together in the end, and it's absolutely brilliant. It shows that Stead did not waste one single word while writing - everything had a point, a message. And while I did wonder if the ending was too complex for young children (heck, it took me a few minutes to understand it all!), I applaud Stead for giving children the challenge. She doesn't dumb down her books, not at all; she guides readers through the adventures and challenges them each step of the way.

The book was brilliantly done and I envy all those who get to read it for the first time.

Loved it. While previewing this book for my daughter, I found a very engaging story with vivid characters and setting. I felt like I was reading a jigsaw puzzle, and couldn't wait to see how the pieces fit together, and they did! The story was a lighter read than _A Wrinkle in Time_ and less intricate as _Holes_, but I enjoyed it more. Highly recommend for pre-teens and up. I think that the most important concept in this book is that people (like books) shouldn't be judged by their first appearance. Most of the characters turn out quite different than the main character Miranda's initial impression. Miranda, like most pre-teens, is just struggling to sort out who to value in her growing world. And she learns that people can surprise you in many different ways.

Rebecca's Stead's charming little book, When You Reach Me, is the story of a sort-of-geeky preteen girl named Miranda (who happens to be obsessed with Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time) , her former best friend Sal, her new friends, her game-show contestant mother and a crazy, laughing homeless man. Oh yeah, and it's about time travel. One day, on their walk home from school, Miranda's best friend Sal gets punched in the face by a kid named Marcus and then decides that he doesn't want to be friends with Miranda anymore and starts to ignore her. She is forced to expand her social circle and this (traditional narrative) part of the book accurately captures what seems to happen to tomboys as they grow into teenagers. Miranda is experiencing the intricacies of female friendship and her first inklings of crush. At the same time, she finds herself caught up in a strange mystery when she finds notes alluding to aspects of her life that would be impossible for the writer of the notes to know about. Did I mention there is time travel in the book? And there are echoes of Daniel Pinkwater (for me at least). Overall, I found the book entertaining and whimsical, not the best I've read this year, but certainly a lovely Sunday afternoon read.

The epigraph to WHEN YOU REACH ME, a quote by Albert Einstein, is prophetic: "The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious" -- because on the very next page, the novel opens with a Wow! that plunges readers into an intriguing story, the mysteriousness of which is indeed a terrific experience.

It's the story of Miranda's year in sixth grade -- of being suddenly on the outs with Sal (a boy who's been her best friend since birth); of navigating new friendships, new social classes, a homeless guy on the corner, and possibly a new step-father; of helping her mother prepare to be a game-show contestant.

Into this mix comes a series of mysterious notes that intrigue Miranda, and freak her out a little bit -- not only because they come to her out of nowhere and from who-knows-whom, but also because they seem to predict the future. Also in the mix are references to science and science fiction -- both of which add layers to the mystery of the notes.

The world Stead creates in this novel -- a reflective tween's point of view, her friendships and rivalries, her family life and the retro (late `70s) Manhattan setting -- are reminiscent of Louise Fitzhugh's beloved classic, HARRIET THE SPY. There is less emotion in this novel than that one, but the mystery aspect is quite well done, and positively begs a re-read to examine exactly how Stead stitched it.

A great read and has an amazing twist at the end that I was not expecting at all. I love how the author gets into the mind of a girl at the start of her teen years. Lots of parts of the story seem to be random, but as the book progresses, they all fall into place. I assume the book was written for girls aged 12 and up, but I'm in my 'mature' years and still found it compelling. It's not a long book, so I managed to read it all in a single day.

(This was written by my 10 year old daughter)

WHEN YOU REACH ME-By Rebecca Stead

As soon as I finished reading this book, I knew it was my new all-time favorite book ever! It keeps you wanting to keep reading page after page no matter what! I read the whole book a day and a half non-stop!I'd say a good age range would really depend on the person. If you like 200 page (packed in every detail)kind of book then you'll love this! It is adventurous, mysterious,and a little teeny bit romantic in a way. In the end you get surprised and something happens that you'd never expect to happen! I absolutely LOVED this book and I hope you do to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Fun story. I liked the characters, each with their own strengths and flaws. I liked the description of her mom's idea about the veil and the thread. I liked the description of time as a series of diamond chips or a bunch of pictures of moments. I wondered what it would be like to be in the same place as your younger self when you are older. Interesting idea. I also wondered if there was a pre-story somewhere...a first version where Sal didn't survive. I loved it that Julia's picture as an old woman was under the mailbox. Beautiful touch.

As a mother who screens everything her 12-going-13-year-old daughter reads, one of my greatest frustrations is when I am given a book titled that everyone thinks is a great read - but not me. "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine D'Engle is one such book. So when we were recommended "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead, a homage of sorts to D'Engle, I found myself filling up with a kind of dread ... Happily, said daughter is much more insightful than I am, and, not having read "A Wrinkle in Time" herself yet, was able to appreciate "When You Reach Me" in her own way. I found both books to be similarly plodding, predictable and overly-ambitious, and I feel the same way about "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, so the five-star rating is said daughter's. Her review of "When You Reach Me" follows:

"The book `When You Reach Me' by Rebecca Stead was a really interesting read.

"By sixth grade, Miranda and her best, (and only) friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it's safe to go and whom to avoid. But then things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by the New Kid and shuts her out of his life, Miranda's new friend thinks she stole Jimmy's money because she's poor, and Miranda's new friend's ex-friend turns out, contrary to expectations, to be nice. And then she finds a mysterious note: 'I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. I must ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter.' The notes keep coming, and Miranda realizes that the writer knows all about her...

"My favorite part of the book was when Miranda's mum won $10,000, and Miranda and her mum's boyfriend, Richard, surprise her by giving her applications to get a law degree, even though Miranda's mum had wanted to spend it on a trip to China for Miranda. It was really sweet of Richard and Miranda to give up the trip to China so that her mum could fulfill her dream.

"My favorite character was Julia, Annemarie's ex-friend. She was really nice and so sweet, though at first she didn't look like it. I also like how in the ending we find out more about her.

"I would give the book five stars: one star for the cover, two stars for the plot and two stars for the characters." :-)

This is another great book that I really should have read by now. It also won the Newbery Award. But I just never got around to it, until now. And I was not disappointed. In fact, I really liked this book. It's part realistic fiction, part science fiction. I know, right? They're not supposed to mix. Yet they do in this book. Sixth grader Miranda begins receiving strange notes about the future, as if someone has traveled to the future and seen what has happened to her later. Meanwhile, her friend Sal is growing ever more distant from her, shutting her out of his life. The first note says: I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. I ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter. The notes keep coming, and Miranda begins to believe that only she can prevent a very tragic death.

The whole book was super suspenseful; I read it in basically one sitting (admittedly it was only 197 pages.) I really wanted to find out who the notes were from. With such a lofty mystery, one might think that the ending would fall short, but it didn't. I loved the ending just as much as the rest of the book. It felt so right. No spoilers, though, so you have to read the book if you haven't already read it.

*You can read all of my reviews on my blog, [...]*

At first I thought this was just another fill in the blank coming of age story. Then I kept reading. Wow! What an intriguing storyline. Not only did I enjoy this book tremendously, but I know have a better appreciation for A Wrinkle in Time.

I can't fully explain how or why, but this book blew my mind. Mind blowing is a rare occasion in my life, so I am so happy I picked this book up at the library after looking it over on several visits.

A little gem of a book - a unique storyline that is wonderfully crafted and executed. Miranda's character is this encapsulation of what it is to be 12 years old - going back and forth between this world of childhood and adulthood. I wouldn't really characterize this as a coming-of-age story though... more like a day-in-the-life with a twinge of mystery and sci-fi thrown into the mix. I really liked the setting in 1979... it was a lot like my childhood, so there was a nostalgic element there... Loved the little bits of fantasy woven throughout, as well as the musings and the references to late 1970s/early 1980s pop culture - the whole bit with the $20,000 Pyramid was pretty great!

Very enjoyable book ~ highly recommended.

I finished this book yesterday but my brain is still buzzing with the enjoyment I got from it. For me, it was nostalgic; I grew up during that same time period. There were no cell phones or gaming consoles. There was no internet. We relied on TV shows, books and our friends, family and selves for entertainment. I enjoyed being reminded of what that had been like.
What really struck me about this book, though, was its simplicity and its depth. Stead refers to A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle often, as it is main-character-Miranda's favorite book. While that's a wonderful book, well-loved by many, it's complex and sometimes hard to navigate. When You Reach Me employs the same sense of wonder and adventure but on a more believable and perhaps real level - Meg's story was special and probably wouldn't happen to just anyone (we don't all grow up in a scientific household allowing us amazing scientific insight), but Miranda's story seems like it could really happen to any kid. Thus, the story is more simple but its simplicity allows for further depth of characterization and for believably experiencing a short period in Miranda's life.
The relationships between Miranda and all her acquaintances feel real. Miranda is a middle-of-the-road twelve-year-old. There's nothing incredibly special about her so it's easy to identify with her and impose aspects of your own personality upon her. Plus, she's quick and funny, which makes her lovable. For the most part, the adults in her life are nurturing, supportive and insightful or are, at least, normal people - a nice change of pace from the dysfunctional adults often featured in teen fiction. Her friendships are geniune and reflect her understanding of her environment rather than the possible truths of her various relationships. That small detail makes her misunderstandings and reconciliations feel right, not contrived.
Readers of mystery and science fiction will soon figure out the plot, but Stead doesn't try to shroud the circumstances; everything is laid out to see as long as you're willing to believe in the possiblity of time travel. It's wonderful to watch Miranda unravel the mystery and change her own way of thinking about what's possible.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead is one of my all-time favorites. I loved reading it a second time just as much as I did reading it for the first time! This book had so many layers, ad a time-travel mystery anchors the plot. The author does an amazing job of weaving all of the subplots into the book while still handling the important topics of friendship, kindness towards strangers and coming of age. I definitely recommend this book for all ages!

This moving and intelligent book for older children is set in the 1970's and can be enjoyed by adults as well. It has so many interesting elements, all bound together in a way that is satisfying and logical.

I especially enjoyed the tie-in with Madeleine L'Engle's classic A Wrinkle In Time, one of my all-time favorites (even if this book does point out an error in the time travel aspect of it.) It is a major thread that runs consistently throughout the story.

There's also a mysterious, crazy, homeless old man; the baffling end of a lifelong friendship; the plight of latchkey children; bullying, snobbishness, and cliques among schoolkids; living with a disability; a mystery; a mom's appearance on the $20,000 Pyramid game show; dealing with the possibility of a new stepfather; and more. Along the way, the main character learns some important life lessons, especially not to judge other people because things may not always be the way they appear.

The chapters are named as if they were categories in the $20,000 Pyramid: Things That Fall Apart, Things That Are Small, etc. - delightfully clever!

When You Reach Me deserves the Newbery Award Medal that it won this year (2010) for Best Children's Book.

(199 pages)

The injection of the 20,000 pyramid games show at the beginning of the book ,peaked my interest because I could see the the contestants playing the game. In other words, I use to watch the game when I was young. So, I couldn't wait to see if the Miranda's mother won the money. However, as the book ended its first act I thought the setting and description became vapid, almost lost in a vacuum. The story seem to lose focus, diverging away from the family preparation for the game show. Finally, the author came back to the motif of the book in the last few chapters, but it seems more as an afterthought.

This book has won a ton of awards and it's easy to see why, with a concept so similar to the Madeleine L'Engle titles. If your middle schooler is interested in tales of urban living or time travel, give them this to read. A review is difficult to write without spoilers, but Miranda is chosen by a time traveler to assist him in saving "a life." She doesn't really do it, but when the book ends she intends to because now she understands what he wanted. The plot does meander and the chapters are short and episodic so it did take me a while to get through it, yet I am a fan of this style of writing. Really liked it, didn't love it. Would have loved it if Miranda was a little deeper and I was allowed to know Marcus a little more--don't understand why, considering the role he plays.

I'm not a very fast reader. The time I have to devote to reading for pleasure, is very limited. In between checking papers for school and planning lessons, working on various projects around the house, and planning for the arrival of our first baby, I'm lucky if I can squeeze in 20 minutes of reading a night. Or every other night! Suffice it to say, the phrases "page turner" and "couldn't put it down" when describing books, don't really apply to me, because whether I like it or not, I have to eventually put books down. It takes a rare, special book, to steal my attention and force me to set aside certain responsibilities in order to return to it frequently. I could tell from the opening pages of WHEN YOU REACH ME, that it was one special book.

The setting is New York City. The time is 1979. Miranda, our narrator, is helping her mother prepare to be a contestant on the game show The $20,000 Pyramid. One day while walking home from school, Miranda's best friend Sal is punched by a stranger, once in the stomach and then once across the face, for no apparent reason. Sal hurries home without uttering a word to Miranda and their friendship, as she knows it, is suddenly over. Shortly after the incident, Miranda begins receiving mysterious notes from someone who seems to know more about Miranda's life than they ought to. Who is sending the notes? How do they know these things? And why Miranda?

It's been a long time since I've read anything quite as enthralling as this book. I simply couldn't put it down. And I can't afford to use that phrase lightly. I would read a few pages or so, put it down to check papers, or plan lessons, or do some household chores, only to return to it minutes later to continue reading. Before I knew it, the day was getting shorter and I was past the point of no return. I finished the book that same day. From the opening page when Miranda's first person narrative breaks away to cryptically state "Just like you said", I was hooked. This was not just a story for us readers, this was a story being told to a certain someone. And the mystery of who that someone is sucks you in and pulls you along through the book.

The story she's telling wouldn't be worth a thing to the reader if Miranda wasn't such a richly drawn character. She's endearing (there's times you want to let her cry on your shoulder) and she's imperfect (there's times you want to slap her across the face and shake some sense into her). She misses her best friend Sal and is trying her hardest to make new friends and fill the void. She befriends Annemarie and Colin, but is jealous of the budding romance between the two of them. She hates Julia but is forced to tolerate her because she's Annemarie's best friend. And she wants to hate Marcus because he's the boy who punched Sal for no apparent reason, but she can't help falling into conversations with him. All these conflicting dynamics add a certain level of authenticity to these characters and this setting, which only further strengthens the plot. These characters are all very real, and adults and kids alike will be able to connect with them.

In order to keep up on my ever growing To-Read list, I don't often have the liberty of re-reading a text. Unless of course, it's something I find suitable for my 5th grade class at school, in which case, I use it as a classroom read aloud. WHEN YOU REACH ME is a book that just begs for multiple readings, so while my motives may have been a tad selfish, I just had to read it to my students. And I have to say, the book only gets better with a second reading! Having read it once and knowing what I now know, things stand out that went completely unnoticed the first time. Clever pieces of the puzzle are scattered throughout the text and I'm sure a third reading would reveal even more! Not a single sentence is wasted by author Rebecca Stead.

This is a genre-busting book that defies classification. Is it realistic fiction? Is it historical fiction? Is it fantasy? Is it science fiction? It may be all of the above . . . with a little jealousy and romance and humor sprinkled in between. It's heartwarming, it's maddening, it's suspenseful, and it's a brilliant contribution to the world of children's literature. Hopefully, a book that will be loved and talked about for many years to come.

Enjoyable book about changing friendships with an interesting sci-fi twist. I found the mystery a bit too easy to figure out and the non-chronological order of scenes a bit confusing at first. But overall, I felt the relationships between the characters were well-done and I enjoyed their story.

I really enjoyed the characters in this novel, and the narration of the main character's feelings and interactions with her mother were a highlight of this book. The plot was also very creative, though I found the telling of the story to be both slightly simplistic and slightly confusing. That being said, I'm an adult reader who isn't particularly in love with science fiction stories. My guess is that many young readers are likely to find this book utterly mind blowing!

It's hard to classify this book into a particular genre. Ultimately, this is a book about a girl during the late 70's learning to navigate friendship, life in the 6th grade, and the quirks of living in NYC. Plus, there is a bit of mystery and a lot of references to time travel a`la A Wrinkle in Time. As I enjoyed that series when I was younger, the allusions to the book were fun.

Although this book was geared toward a younger audience, I have to say I really enjoyed it. The voice was authentic for a twelve year old, and the pace was perfect. I also like the general description of Miranda's life, the semi-autonomy that she had for a kid growing up in the 70's that is different from the way most children grow up today. It just rang true for me. I loved her mom's rules for life in the city and Miranda's own tactics she employs. Although I did guess the mystery long before the end, it didn't bother me in the least. The book was charming, clever, and satisfying.

Remember Jon Lovitz's Master Thespian from Saturday Night Live? He was ACTING!
Well, I thought of that for this note because Rebecca Stead is WRITING! There are lots of fine middle grade and YA books that work because of interesting characters or creative world building or engaging plots. or whatever. But there really aren't that many YA books that feature fine literate writing. There are beautiful phrases, wonderful insights, startlingly sharp lines in this book. Actual, "hey, honey, let me read this to you" paragraphs.

So, putting aside the characters, the intricate plot, the scene setting - this could be your young reader's introduction to fine, polished, restrained, compelling WRITING!.

I've been struggling over how to begin this review. I want to get it exactly right. I want to convey to you precisely what it is that I mean to say. If you've read any of my reviews before then you know that I like lots of stuff. There is, quite frankly, a lot of stuff out there to like. So what I have to do here is convey to you just how this book is, pretty much, one of the best children's books I have ever read. Here's an idea. Have you not heard of When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead? Well now you have. Go read it. Have you already read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead? Excellent. Glad to hear it. Now go read it again. Have you already read and reread When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead? That is fine and dandy news. Have a seat. You and I can now talk about it, and we'll wait for the rest of the world to catch up. Which they will. Because it is one of the best children's books I have ever read and books of this sort do not drop out of the sky every day. They don't even drop out of the sky every year.

Now the conundrum. The book is sort of a mystery. It's sort of a lot of things and if I go too deeply into what those things are, I'm going to give away elements of the plot. This is not something I wish to do for you because the true pleasure of this book lies, at least partly, in figuring out what the heck it is. Is it realistic or fantastical? Science fiction or religious? So I just won't talk about the end, or go too far into the premise. Therein lies the problem with reviewing a book of this sort. I can't talk about it without potentially destroying the experience for somebody out there. You can't imagine the pressure. And I think I can summarize the plot without giving too much away, though. Here goes . . .

It's the late 70s and the unthinkable has occurred. While walking home, Miranda's best friend Sal is punched in the stomach for no good reason. After that, he refuses to hang out with Miranda anymore. Forced to make other friends, Miranda befriends the class yukster and a girl who has also recently broken up with her best friend too. But strange things are afoot in the midst of all this. Miranda has started receiving tiny notes with mysterious messages. They say things like "I am coming to save your friend's life and my own" and "You will want proof. 3 p.m. today: Colin's knapsack." Miranda doesn't know who is writing these things or where they are coming from but it is infinitely clear that the notes know things that no one could know. Small personal things that seem to know what she's thinking. Now Miranda's helping her mom study for the $20,000 Pyramid show all the while being driven closer and closer to the moment when it all comes together. When you eliminate the possible all that remains, no matter how extraordinary, is the impossible.

You know how sometimes in literature or writing classes a teacher will assign a first page of a novel as an example of a "good" first page? The kind that grips the reader by the throat and gives `em a good hard shake? Yeah. This book has that first page. You are gripped from the start. Then the plot begins its slow backing and forthing in time. We're in April of 1979 . . . and then we're in August or September of the previous year. The jump back and forth isn't jarring, it just requires that the brain be a little more awake during the reading. In fact, there are a lot of moments in this book that would come off as confusing or impossible to understand were it not for the fact that Stead is keeping a close and steady eye on the whole proceedings. What could be a muddle or a mess is instead a gripping mystery with moments of touching realizations and truths cropping up left and right.

Another sign of a good book: the whole show-don't-tell rule of storytelling comes into play time and time again. Miranda casually mentions facts about the people around her that define them and bring them into sharp focus. The fact that she was named after the Miranda's Rights or that her mom won't let her eat grapes because of how the grape pickers are treated in California. The same can be said for Miranda herself. She's defined best by sentences like, " `Nice tights,' I snorted. Or I tried to snort, anyway. I'm not exactly sure how, though people in books are always doing it." The book is an amazing mix of humor and depth. On the funny side are mentions of things like the SSO's, which stand for the strawberries at the corner sore that fail to fulfill their promise and thus are deemed "strawberry shaped objects". On the other hand, the implications at the end of this book can be sad. Sad and interesting and fascinating all at the same time. Kids may find themselves contemplating free will by the story's end. There are worse fates in this world.

The crazy thing is that it's also the kind of book that kids will really really like AND the kind that award-giving librarians will really really like. We aren't usually so lucky. There's a kind of broccoli and peas mentality to great works of children's literature sometimes. This idea that if something is well-written that it can't possibly be interesting as well. And even crazier than that is the fact that this isn't going to appeal to just one kind of kid. It's going to be adored by both boys and girls. By kids who are into science fiction and kids that refuse to touch anything but truly realistic stories. Heck, you could even label this book historical fiction since it takes place in 1978-79. And not the fake 1979 that you sometimes seek invoked in bad television shows and movies either. This is an accurate portrayal of a time period when a person really could spend their days helping their mom prepare for a stint on the $20,000 Pyramid. A time when a girl could be handed books with pictures of spunky-looking girls on the covers... and subsequently reject them because they are not A Wrinkle in Time.

Stead also foreshadows subtly, which is a near impossible thing to do. I've been reading a lot of children's books lately where you'll get near the end of the chapter and there will be this big sentence in black and white reading, "Years later she would look back on that moment and wonder what would have happened if she only hadn't blah blah blah." Or "It would haunt her dreams for years afterwards." Or "Had she known then what she . . . ", you get the picture. Stead does allude to the future, but subtly. There's a moment when Miranda mentions that she hadn't been in a particular store since December, then flashes back to November or so. If you're paying attention, you're left wondering what's going to happen, but not in a way that intrudes on your reading experience. It's a subtle move on Stead's part. Foreshadowing with stealth.

I've been calling it Lost the book, referencing the television show that leaves you with as many questions as this novel initially does. But unlike LOST, the answers are forthcoming. And the crazy thing is, it all fits together. Every little piece of the puzzle. You end up rereading the whole thing just to watch the puzzle pieces fall into place before your eyes. The kind of rereading that Miranda does to A Wrinkle in Time. I have a theory about that book, by the way. I believe that author Rebecca Stead may have read and reread that book just like Miranda does when she was a kid herself. I mean, who else is going to spot the time travel flaw in that book? How many times would a person have to read it before they caught on to what was going on?

In the end, there's a darkness to When You Reach Me. A darkness and a depth that pulls you in, but somehow doesn't depress you. I guess some kids will get depressed. The kids that only read light, happy stories where everything turns out sunshine and roses, sure. But for the reader that really gets into it, When You Reach Me is fun, challenging, and able to reach a whole swath of different kinds of readers. Without a doubt, it's one of the most fascinating children's novels I've ever read. You won't find anything else quite like it on the market today.

Good read. If you've read "A Wrinkle In Time" you will get this book. If not, you may want to read it before reading this. Engaging and interesting. Great character development! New friends made, old enemies forgotten.

BOOK REVIEW: WHEN YOU REACH ME

I'll never forget the day I learned the wonders of the Mobiüs strip...mathematics wasn't my thing - I am a word nerd. So I was caught off guard when I was handed a thin blue strip of paper. "Now put a small twist in it like this," he explained. "Next, bring the ends together and tape them, like so." Then, I took my pencil, as instructed, and drew a thin carbon line, starting on the outside. I was stunned when I eventually connected it back and had one continuous strand, looping around on itself. I hung up that paper in my room and would stare at it, trying to figure out how it all worked. Not really understanding the physics behind it all, but loving the impossible rightness of it all.

That's the way I felt about WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead. It is just SO perfect, so impossible, so right...so perfectly impossibly right. I was stunned when I finished it, too. I propped it on the arm of the chair and just stared at the cover. "What in the world are you doing?" my husband asked. I was taking it in...turning the story over in my mind...reflecting on the perfect circle I had traveled. I could only say, "Wow." This book is an original, showing me logical ideas that seemed almost enchanted. Oh. My.

Here's the official summary: "As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1970's television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space."

What the official summary for WHEN YOU REACH ME does not tell you is that this mid-grade novel will make you laugh...and then cry. It doesn't say this book is like a birthday present scavenger hunt, where you relish the chase of the clues to discover your gift. It doesn't warn you that you may never look at others the same again. Or explain that maybe what passes for commonsense is just you not opening your mind. That anything is possible.

Stead brings us back to the 1970's with ease - the fads, fashions, and life's everyday imagery is woven in seamlessly. I recognized it all, but never felt she was waving nostalgia in my face, shouting, "Look here, I did my research!" It was comfortable and right, just like it was penned in the year of the setting.

Her characters are just the right amount of flawed, not too perfect and not too odd - normal sixth graders, who are beginning to experience that innocent teenage angst. And then there is that mystery! We see it in the first chapter and spend the rest of the novel puzzling over it. I am not going to give you any hints or spoilers, because that would ruin the fun of discovery. Let's just say the students in my classroom are going to love the premise of those freaky letters mentioned in the official summary and they are going to sit with their mouths hanging open when they figure out who wrote them. Oh. My.

WHEN YOU REACH ME, Stead's second novel (after FIRST LIGHT) is amazing. I'm actually going to read it again right now. I want to watch closely how she did it...the way I want to catch the magician conjuring a rabbit...the way I used to trace that thin line around the Mobiüs strip. It seems like it just isn't possible, but she did it: The circle that flips and turns in on itself, forever spiraling.

WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead was released July 2009 by Wendy Lamb Books/Random House and is perfect for mid-grade readers, girls or boys (and the adults in the house, too).

Have you been searching for books that you can't put down and have to read until the end? You no longer have to keep on playing hide and go seek because When You Reach Me is the perfect book for you. Though you have been warned that people you make first impressions with can turn out to be someone else in the end.

When You Reach Me is a novel written by Rebecca Stead. The novel started out in the late 1970s in New York City, explaining a point of view from a sixth grader Miranda. When she starts receiving notes from someone unknown person, she's stuck and confused. Having her mother entered in the $20,000 pyramid after 3 years of trying, problems with Sal and her friends and most important receiving notes from the mysterious person for sure she had her hands full. The start of the book introduced Miranda's mom getting accepted into a game show where she can win money, and Miranda was going to be determined and help her mom win the money. Then there was one day where Miranda and Sal were coming home from school when "...he made a fist that came up like a wave and hit Sal right in the stomach...and then the kid whacked him across the face"(22). After that day Sal stopped doing anything with Miranda, shutting her out of his life. Along with her first and second note she receives, Miranda starts to piece things together but when her last note arrived she was too late. "...Suddenly the laughing man was in the street, his leg flying out in a mighty kick...the laughing man's foot hit Sal's body...the truck hit the laughing man."(160) What she witnessed with her eyes she knew that it was always going to reply in her mind. As I said people who you make first impressions with can turn out to be someone else in the end.

I remember when my teacher handed out the book When You Reach Me that we were going to read. From the title and the cover I wasn't interested in reading it, but like they say "don't judge a book by its cover." After reading the first few chapters I realized that they were really short and this is what I love about books. The way short chapters are set up to me is that you read the title and the writing in that chapter can answer your questions. Though when the story started including all the notes it gave the story a good twist and I was surely ready to finish the book and find out the truth. Family and friendship to me was the strength to this book. It made the reading more interesting because anything could happen with friend's family anyone.

In my opinion, I think that towards the end when the author starts to explain the time travel part, I sort of got side tracked. I felt as if to much information was being given out all at once and maybe the author could have stated it differently. The transformation between Miranda's favorite book A Wrinkle In Time, and its connection to Miranda was hard to keep up with. Other than that the book was well written and you can be easily amused.

This book could be read by any ages. You can read this book in your free time or just something quick and easy. Though I feel as if this book is too easy for middle school because, they should be able to read and understand heavier vocabulary and structure. It would be a good book for 4th or 5th graders because they would have a better understanding and they can keep up with the book. It would also be a good book for them according to what they learn about in school. I am not saying that this book is not good for anyone older than 4th or 5th grade, however adults can read this too because this story has a circular pattern that connects from the start to the end.

Throughout the story Rebecca Stead includes personality phrases or words to tell us what each character is like. For example, when the author describes Miranda as a "latchkey child" and "...name for a kid with keys who hangs out alone after-school until a grown-up gets home to make dinner."(3) This explains that Miranda has her key to her house and that she's usually home alone until her mom comes home, showing that she is independent. Also, when the story starts off with her mom receives a postcard from the $20,000 pyramid "...after three years if trying, she actually made it."(1) Reminds me of the time when my cousin got tickets for a Justin Bieber concert ticket, she waited 2 years for another one of his tours to come to America. I connected to Miranda when she says "...I love to stand in the warm cloud of dry-cleaner and take deep breathes." I don't know if that is weird but when I go by a dry cleaner I just love the smell and makes me all cool and chill like Miranda feels. To sum up, these phrases describe the characters in their unique way.

I could really connect to the character, Miranda and to the setting in New York City. Miranda is like me; we both enjoy helping others and making others go first before us. In personal, I had a friend in 5th grade that just stopped talking to me in the middle of the year. She wasn't hurt by anyone like Sal; she would just become real quiet around me. I didn't want to talk to her after calling her and trying to be partners for group work in school for so long. Though towards the end of the year when I she came up to me and said that she just wanted to be away from me and take a break. After I felt so much better like Miranda felt when Sal confused why he wasn't talking to her. I could really connect to the setting New York City because I have been there many times so I could visualize the book in my mind. When the author explained the home of the laughing man I remember that when I walk around in the street of New York City I see people on street corners just like him. Also when the laughing man saved Sal from the truck, I could really picture in my mind, a busy city street and Sal who was about to cross and was saved by the laughing man. To me I could really picture the story in my mind because of all the detail Rebecca Stead included.

I can surely understand that from reading this book, Rebecca Stead has showed me her skills. She did a great job of telling the audience of flashbacks and to present day times. Also, the way she included the notes that are spread out through the book, it's an amazing addition. Furthermore, I would give this book a four out of five because it exceeded my expectations.

This book is the most sensitive book I have read in a long time. The writing is graceful, even poetic at times.

This book deals gently with some difficult topics - class and race differences, safety in a city, a single parent in a relationship - without being an "issue" book. These many things swirl around main character Miranda's life just as they swirl around the lives of children.

The book also deals with the loss of someone's friendship with a true depth of knowing. When reading this book, I was reminded of the profound sense of loss one feels as a young person coexisting in school with someone who used to be a friend.

Yet with all its sensitivity, this book is an action packed, fantasy page turner. Even after I finished, I couldn't put it down - I had to go back and begin all over again.

First of all, I read this on a kindle. It was really nice. Second of all, I love how Rebecca Stead used all these different elements of A Wrinkle in Time (another one of my favorite books). She used them give hints about her story.

She uses some of the characters that end up being you, to not be good or intriguing in the beginning. I also love how it is from Miranda's point of view and that she talks to you and incorporates you in the story.

One more thing, the book explains everything (such as time travel or the laughing man or why Sal wouldn't walk with Miranda) in I away that really makes you think about it and process it in your brain a lot longer then most books do.

So overall, this book is wonderful and I recommend that everyone read it. It is great, but you should read A Wrinkle in Time first because it is very like that book and it tells some of what happens.

It's hard to classify this book into a particular genre. Ultimately, this is a book about a girl during the late 70's learning to navigate friendship, life in the 6th grade, and the quirks of living in NYC. Plus, there is a bit of mystery and a lot of references to time travel a`la A Wrinkle in Time. As I enjoyed that series when I was younger, the allusions to the book were fun.

Although this book was geared toward a younger audience, I have to say I really enjoyed it. The voice was authentic for a twelve year old, and the pace was perfect. I also like the general description of Miranda's life, the semi-autonomy that she had for a kid growing up in the 70's that is different from the way most children grow up today. It just rang true for me. I loved her mom's rules for life in the city and Miranda's own tactics she employs. Although I did guess the mystery long before the end, it didn't bother me in the least. The book was charming, clever, and satisfying.

Remember Jon Lovitz's Master Thespian from Saturday Night Live? He was ACTING!
Well, I thought of that for this note because Rebecca Stead is WRITING! There are lots of fine middle grade and YA books that work because of interesting characters or creative world building or engaging plots. or whatever. But there really aren't that many YA books that feature fine literate writing. There are beautiful phrases, wonderful insights, startlingly sharp lines in this book. Actual, "hey, honey, let me read this to you" paragraphs.

So, putting aside the characters, the intricate plot, the scene setting - this could be your young reader's introduction to fine, polished, restrained, compelling WRITING!.

I've been struggling over how to begin this review. I want to get it exactly right. I want to convey to you precisely what it is that I mean to say. If you've read any of my reviews before then you know that I like lots of stuff. There is, quite frankly, a lot of stuff out there to like. So what I have to do here is convey to you just how this book is, pretty much, one of the best children's books I have ever read. Here's an idea. Have you not heard of When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead? Well now you have. Go read it. Have you already read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead? Excellent. Glad to hear it. Now go read it again. Have you already read and reread When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead? That is fine and dandy news. Have a seat. You and I can now talk about it, and we'll wait for the rest of the world to catch up. Which they will. Because it is one of the best children's books I have ever read and books of this sort do not drop out of the sky every day. They don't even drop out of the sky every year.

Now the conundrum. The book is sort of a mystery. It's sort of a lot of things and if I go too deeply into what those things are, I'm going to give away elements of the plot. This is not something I wish to do for you because the true pleasure of this book lies, at least partly, in figuring out what the heck it is. Is it realistic or fantastical? Science fiction or religious? So I just won't talk about the end, or go too far into the premise. Therein lies the problem with reviewing a book of this sort. I can't talk about it without potentially destroying the experience for somebody out there. You can't imagine the pressure. And I think I can summarize the plot without giving too much away, though. Here goes . . .

It's the late 70s and the unthinkable has occurred. While walking home, Miranda's best friend Sal is punched in the stomach for no good reason. After that, he refuses to hang out with Miranda anymore. Forced to make other friends, Miranda befriends the class yukster and a girl who has also recently broken up with her best friend too. But strange things are afoot in the midst of all this. Miranda has started receiving tiny notes with mysterious messages. They say things like "I am coming to save your friend's life and my own" and "You will want proof. 3 p.m. today: Colin's knapsack." Miranda doesn't know who is writing these things or where they are coming from but it is infinitely clear that the notes know things that no one could know. Small personal things that seem to know what she's thinking. Now Miranda's helping her mom study for the $20,000 Pyramid show all the while being driven closer and closer to the moment when it all comes together. When you eliminate the possible all that remains, no matter how extraordinary, is the impossible.

You know how sometimes in literature or writing classes a teacher will assign a first page of a novel as an example of a "good" first page? The kind that grips the reader by the throat and gives `em a good hard shake? Yeah. This book has that first page. You are gripped from the start. Then the plot begins its slow backing and forthing in time. We're in April of 1979 . . . and then we're in August or September of the previous year. The jump back and forth isn't jarring, it just requires that the brain be a little more awake during the reading. In fact, there are a lot of moments in this book that would come off as confusing or impossible to understand were it not for the fact that Stead is keeping a close and steady eye on the whole proceedings. What could be a muddle or a mess is instead a gripping mystery with moments of touching realizations and truths cropping up left and right.

Another sign of a good book: the whole show-don't-tell rule of storytelling comes into play time and time again. Miranda casually mentions facts about the people around her that define them and bring them into sharp focus. The fact that she was named after the Miranda's Rights or that her mom won't let her eat grapes because of how the grape pickers are treated in California. The same can be said for Miranda herself. She's defined best by sentences like, " `Nice tights,' I snorted. Or I tried to snort, anyway. I'm not exactly sure how, though people in books are always doing it." The book is an amazing mix of humor and depth. On the funny side are mentions of things like the SSO's, which stand for the strawberries at the corner sore that fail to fulfill their promise and thus are deemed "strawberry shaped objects". On the other hand, the implications at the end of this book can be sad. Sad and interesting and fascinating all at the same time. Kids may find themselves contemplating free will by the story's end. There are worse fates in this world.

The crazy thing is that it's also the kind of book that kids will really really like AND the kind that award-giving librarians will really really like. We aren't usually so lucky. There's a kind of broccoli and peas mentality to great works of children's literature sometimes. This idea that if something is well-written that it can't possibly be interesting as well. And even crazier than that is the fact that this isn't going to appeal to just one kind of kid. It's going to be adored by both boys and girls. By kids who are into science fiction and kids that refuse to touch anything but truly realistic stories. Heck, you could even label this book historical fiction since it takes place in 1978-79. And not the fake 1979 that you sometimes seek invoked in bad television shows and movies either. This is an accurate portrayal of a time period when a person really could spend their days helping their mom prepare for a stint on the $20,000 Pyramid. A time when a girl could be handed books with pictures of spunky-looking girls on the covers... and subsequently reject them because they are not A Wrinkle in Time.

Stead also foreshadows subtly, which is a near impossible thing to do. I've been reading a lot of children's books lately where you'll get near the end of the chapter and there will be this big sentence in black and white reading, "Years later she would look back on that moment and wonder what would have happened if she only hadn't blah blah blah." Or "It would haunt her dreams for years afterwards." Or "Had she known then what she . . . ", you get the picture. Stead does allude to the future, but subtly. There's a moment when Miranda mentions that she hadn't been in a particular store since December, then flashes back to November or so. If you're paying attention, you're left wondering what's going to happen, but not in a way that intrudes on your reading experience. It's a subtle move on Stead's part. Foreshadowing with stealth.

I've been calling it Lost the book, referencing the television show that leaves you with as many questions as this novel initially does. But unlike LOST, the answers are forthcoming. And the crazy thing is, it all fits together. Every little piece of the puzzle. You end up rereading the whole thing just to watch the puzzle pieces fall into place before your eyes. The kind of rereading that Miranda does to A Wrinkle in Time. I have a theory about that book, by the way. I believe that author Rebecca Stead may have read and reread that book just like Miranda does when she was a kid herself. I mean, who else is going to spot the time travel flaw in that book? How many times would a person have to read it before they caught on to what was going on?

In the end, there's a darkness to When You Reach Me. A darkness and a depth that pulls you in, but somehow doesn't depress you. I guess some kids will get depressed. The kids that only read light, happy stories where everything turns out sunshine and roses, sure. But for the reader that really gets into it, When You Reach Me is fun, challenging, and able to reach a whole swath of different kinds of readers. Without a doubt, it's one of the most fascinating children's novels I've ever read. You won't find anything else quite like it on the market today.

Good read. If you've read "A Wrinkle In Time" you will get this book. If not, you may want to read it before reading this. Engaging and interesting. Great character development! New friends made, old enemies forgotten.

BOOK REVIEW: WHEN YOU REACH ME

I'll never forget the day I learned the wonders of the Mobiüs strip...mathematics wasn't my thing - I am a word nerd. So I was caught off guard when I was handed a thin blue strip of paper. "Now put a small twist in it like this," he explained. "Next, bring the ends together and tape them, like so." Then, I took my pencil, as instructed, and drew a thin carbon line, starting on the outside. I was stunned when I eventually connected it back and had one continuous strand, looping around on itself. I hung up that paper in my room and would stare at it, trying to figure out how it all worked. Not really understanding the physics behind it all, but loving the impossible rightness of it all.

That's the way I felt about WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead. It is just SO perfect, so impossible, so right...so perfectly impossibly right. I was stunned when I finished it, too. I propped it on the arm of the chair and just stared at the cover. "What in the world are you doing?" my husband asked. I was taking it in...turning the story over in my mind...reflecting on the perfect circle I had traveled. I could only say, "Wow." This book is an original, showing me logical ideas that seemed almost enchanted. Oh. My.

Here's the official summary: "As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1970's television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space."

What the official summary for WHEN YOU REACH ME does not tell you is that this mid-grade novel will make you laugh...and then cry. It doesn't say this book is like a birthday present scavenger hunt, where you relish the chase of the clues to discover your gift. It doesn't warn you that you may never look at others the same again. Or explain that maybe what passes for commonsense is just you not opening your mind. That anything is possible.

Stead brings us back to the 1970's with ease - the fads, fashions, and life's everyday imagery is woven in seamlessly. I recognized it all, but never felt she was waving nostalgia in my face, shouting, "Look here, I did my research!" It was comfortable and right, just like it was penned in the year of the setting.

Her characters are just the right amount of flawed, not too perfect and not too odd - normal sixth graders, who are beginning to experience that innocent teenage angst. And then there is that mystery! We see it in the first chapter and spend the rest of the novel puzzling over it. I am not going to give you any hints or spoilers, because that would ruin the fun of discovery. Let's just say the students in my classroom are going to love the premise of those freaky letters mentioned in the official summary and they are going to sit with their mouths hanging open when they figure out who wrote them. Oh. My.

WHEN YOU REACH ME, Stead's second novel (after FIRST LIGHT) is amazing. I'm actually going to read it again right now. I want to watch closely how she did it...the way I want to catch the magician conjuring a rabbit...the way I used to trace that thin line around the Mobiüs strip. It seems like it just isn't possible, but she did it: The circle that flips and turns in on itself, forever spiraling.

WHEN YOU REACH ME by Rebecca Stead was released July 2009 by Wendy Lamb Books/Random House and is perfect for mid-grade readers, girls or boys (and the adults in the house, too).

Have you been searching for books that you can't put down and have to read until the end? You no longer have to keep on playing hide and go seek because When You Reach Me is the perfect book for you. Though you have been warned that people you make first impressions with can turn out to be someone else in the end.

When You Reach Me is a novel written by Rebecca Stead. The novel started out in the late 1970s in New York City, explaining a point of view from a sixth grader Miranda. When she starts receiving notes from someone unknown person, she's stuck and confused. Having her mother entered in the $20,000 pyramid after 3 years of trying, problems with Sal and her friends and most important receiving notes from the mysterious person for sure she had her hands full. The start of the book introduced Miranda's mom getting accepted into a game show where she can win money, and Miranda was going to be determined and help her mom win the money. Then there was one day where Miranda and Sal were coming home from school when "...he made a fist that came up like a wave and hit Sal right in the stomach...and then the kid whacked him across the face"(22). After that day Sal stopped doing anything with Miranda, shutting her out of his life. Along with her first and second note she receives, Miranda starts to piece things together but when her last note arrived she was too late. "...Suddenly the laughing man was in the street, his leg flying out in a mighty kick...the laughing man's foot hit Sal's body...the truck hit the laughing man."(160) What she witnessed with her eyes she knew that it was always going to reply in her mind. As I said people who you make first impressions with can turn out to be someone else in the end.

I remember when my teacher handed out the book When You Reach Me that we were going to read. From the title and the cover I wasn't interested in reading it, but like they say "don't judge a book by its cover." After reading the first few chapters I realized that they were really short and this is what I love about books. The way short chapters are set up to me is that you read the title and the writing in that chapter can answer your questions. Though when the story started including all the notes it gave the story a good twist and I was surely ready to finish the book and find out the truth. Family and friendship to me was the strength to this book. It made the reading more interesting because anything could happen with friend's family anyone.

In my opinion, I think that towards the end when the author starts to explain the time travel part, I sort of got side tracked. I felt as if to much information was being given out all at once and maybe the author could have stated it differently. The transformation between Miranda's favorite book A Wrinkle In Time, and its connection to Miranda was hard to keep up with. Other than that the book was well written and you can be easily amused.

This book could be read by any ages. You can read this book in your free time or just something quick and easy. Though I feel as if this book is too easy for middle school because, they should be able to read and understand heavier vocabulary and structure. It would be a good book for 4th or 5th graders because they would have a better understanding and they can keep up with the book. It would also be a good book for them according to what they learn about in school. I am not saying that this book is not good for anyone older than 4th or 5th grade, however adults can read this too because this story has a circular pattern that connects from the start to the end.

Throughout the story Rebecca Stead includes personality phrases or words to tell us what each character is like. For example, when the author describes Miranda as a "latchkey child" and "...name for a kid with keys who hangs out alone after-school until a grown-up gets home to make dinner."(3) This explains that Miranda has her key to her house and that she's usually home alone until her mom comes home, showing that she is independent. Also, when the story starts off with her mom receives a postcard from the $20,000 pyramid "...after three years if trying, she actually made it."(1) Reminds me of the time when my cousin got tickets for a Justin Bieber concert ticket, she waited 2 years for another one of his tours to come to America. I connected to Miranda when she says "...I love to stand in the warm cloud of dry-cleaner and take deep breathes." I don't know if that is weird but when I go by a dry cleaner I just love the smell and makes me all cool and chill like Miranda feels. To sum up, these phrases describe the characters in their unique way.

I could really connect to the character, Miranda and to the setting in New York City. Miranda is like me; we both enjoy helping others and making others go first before us. In personal, I had a friend in 5th grade that just stopped talking to me in the middle of the year. She wasn't hurt by anyone like Sal; she would just become real quiet around me. I didn't want to talk to her after calling her and trying to be partners for group work in school for so long. Though towards the end of the year when I she came up to me and said that she just wanted to be away from me and take a break. After I felt so much better like Miranda felt when Sal confused why he wasn't talking to her. I could really connect to the setting New York City because I have been there many times so I could visualize the book in my mind. When the author explained the home of the laughing man I remember that when I walk around in the street of New York City I see people on street corners just like him. Also when the laughing man saved Sal from the truck, I could really picture in my mind, a busy city street and Sal who was about to cross and was saved by the laughing man. To me I could really picture the story in my mind because of all the detail Rebecca Stead included.

I can surely understand that from reading this book, Rebecca Stead has showed me her skills. She did a great job of telling the audience of flashbacks and to present day times. Also, the way she included the notes that are spread out through the book, it's an amazing addition. Furthermore, I would give this book a four out of five because it exceeded my expectations.

This book is the most sensitive book I have read in a long time. The writing is graceful, even poetic at times.

This book deals gently with some difficult topics - class and race differences, safety in a city, a single parent in a relationship - without being an "issue" book. These many things swirl around main character Miranda's life just as they swirl around the lives of children.

The book also deals with the loss of someone's friendship with a true depth of knowing. When reading this book, I was reminded of the profound sense of loss one feels as a young person coexisting in school with someone who used to be a friend.

Yet with all its sensitivity, this book is an action packed, fantasy page turner. Even after I finished, I couldn't put it down - I had to go back and begin all over again.

First of all, I read this on a kindle. It was really nice. Second of all, I love how Rebecca Stead used all these different elements of A Wrinkle in Time (another one of my favorite books). She used them give hints about her story.

She uses some of the characters that end up being you, to not be good or intriguing in the beginning. I also love how it is from Miranda's point of view and that she talks to you and incorporates you in the story.

One more thing, the book explains everything (such as time travel or the laughing man or why Sal wouldn't walk with Miranda) in I away that really makes you think about it and process it in your brain a lot longer then most books do.

So overall, this book is wonderful and I recommend that everyone read it. It is great, but you should read A Wrinkle in Time first because it is very like that book and it tells some of what happens.

This is an excellent little novel. Miranda is a 12 year old girl growing up with her single mom in 1978 New York City. She is going through the normal issues most 12 year old girls go through; insecurities, doubts, etc. Her mom is going to be a contestant on the iconic Dick Clark game show, the[..]Pyramid, and they spend a lot of time practicing for her appearance. On top of this, Miranda has recently become estranged for reasons unknown to her, from her life long friend and neighbor, Sal.

Miranda starts to receive mysterious tiny notes. Their content is mysterious and somewhat disturbing, but they promise to lead up to some important future event. Miranda loves the new Madleine L'Engle novel, A Wrinkle in Time, and even discusses it with her new found friend Marcus and rival, Julia.

What a wonderful book. The setting is so appealing to me, since I was about the same age as a Miranda in 1978 and grew up on Long Island, right outside of NYC. The characters were so well drawn and perfectly believable--their pain is palpable, and their joy made me joyful too. I loved this novel and of course, my 12 year old daughter is reading it next! One of the best books I've read this year. Clever, funny, engaging and so touching.

WHEN YOU REACH ME is an interesting hybrid, being science fiction in contemporary realistic fiction's clothing. For the most part, it's the charming tale of a 6th-grade girl, Miranda, her mom (who's angling for a spot on the show, THE 20,0000 PYRAMID, and her mom's boyfriend. Then there's her friend who's not her friend, Sal, a mysterious boy named Marcus who punches Sal for no reason, and her love interest Colin (contemporary enough, yet?). Finally, we have her best friend Annemarie (rich), her rival Julie (rich), and the Laughing Man (the homeless crazy that seems to appear in every New York City-set novel).

The book works for two reasons: it's not only a rich characterization novel, it's also a compelling plot book. That is, author Rebecca Stead plays the mystery card by having these odd notes showing up where Miranda can find them. These notes not only predict the future about events intimate to Miranda, they do so accurately. Who's writing them? And what do some of these strange statements even mean?

The big clue lies in Miranda's favorite book, A WRINKLE IN TIME. In fact, I believe that Stead herself may have been influenced by the adult bestseller, THE TIME-TRAVELLER'S WIFE, when writing this. See if you don't catch a few scenes that are reminiscent of that book. All in all, though, despite a somewhat rushed ending and the usual paradoxical headscratchers presented by any time travel text, this is a fast-moving and interesting read. The characters will be good company and you'll genuinely be interested in the resolution. You may not understand it, but you'll be interested in it. Recommended, this YA book can be enjoyed not only by girls but by boys as well.

This is the author's second novel, according to the blurb inside the book, and judging by this, she has a brilliant career ahead of her in children's fiction. This is a smart, fun read that takes its audience seriously and never talks down to them. The main character, a 6th grade girl named Miranda, is a charming and sympathetic figure. The reader will be rooting for her and her friends throughout the book. The intelligent reader will solve the mystery just before Miranda does, but the conclusion is satisfying, nonetheless.

Other reviewers have done a good job of describing the plot, so I won't rehash that here. This book will probably be marketed primarily to junior high aged girls. However, as an adult male who thoroughly enjoyed it, I predict it will become a classic with boys and girls of all ages.

I decided to read this because I liked the book: Liar and Spy which was written by the same author (Rebecca Stead) I noticed similar things in each. When I first read it I thought that this was realistic fiction but then learned that it's sci-fi because time travel explains a lot at the end.

With global warming in the news,Stead's debut novel is a welcome addition...It is an intriguing look at how global warming is affecting the arctic regions, deftly woven into a coming of age story
-Chanmi Soh

When You Reach Me
By Rebecca Stead

Book Review:

"Wow, cool" is a likely response when all of the sidewalk characters in Miranda's
Manhatton converge. There is a compulsiveness about an author who has the ability to write tightly and Stead used this technique very well.

A lot of things go on in Miranda's home and to add to these her Mom is about to be a contestant in a TV game show. Mystery and tension emerges as they find a range of new things begin to happen in their lives. These are strange things - and unusual behaviours from those she knows - its all very different. And then she finds a mysterious note on a tiny piece of paper. She finds other notes left in strange places and she realizes that whoever is leaving them knows all about her, including things that hadn't even happened yet. Sal who is Miranda's boyfriend doesn't escape either,. He seems to have an integral role but this is unknown to the others.

Our author has devised a plot which is revealed slowly and only in small pieces. There are changes which affect individuals and these are developed by the careful mixing of the ingredients in the plot. These changes are very well handled and brought to our attention by the great skill of the writer, the cleverness of the plot and the interesting characters built into the story. Of course there has to be a happy ending and like an old Western movie, the story concludes with Sal and Miranda walking off into the sunset to their homes. Sal gives Miranda his normal salute and she gives the evening sky a raised clenched fist. Good stuff indeed!

Missing shoes, missing keys and the excitement of the game produce a strong tale and this ends happily for all

My rating for the story is 4 out of 5 but there will be some who will rate it better than that.

Reviewed by Tom Hampstead author of the soon to be published "The Kingdom of the
Two Great Houses">

I read this book to my 12 year old daughter and we both absolutely loved it. She recommended it to all her friends and they loved it too. This book has a very real feel to it, yet somehow the notion of time travel is beautifully woven into the story. That is the part that really hooked my daughter.
As I mom I loved that the main character experiences her first kiss in such a matter of fact way. Her world did not revolve around having a boyfriend or being kissed. It was just a part of her very full life. A great model for young girls.

It took about half the book before I got sucked in but once I was, wow, this is a great book.
If you haven't read A Wrinkle in Time yet, be sure you do before reading this book and all the little references will make more sense. Or if you haven't read it since you were a kid, go back and reread Wrinkle in Time so all the references are fresh in your mind.
The reviews and the awards are all right: this is a great book and is worth picking up a copy.

"When You Reach Me" is a smart, thoughtful book about smart 6th graders written for a young audience. The central theme is time travel, but it is ultimately a novel about friendship and tolerance. It tackles casual prejudices, including race and class. Miranda, the central figure, lives with her single mother in a small, semi-shabby New York apartment. Some of her friends have two parents, some only one. Some have money and some are in families who struggle to make ends meet. Ultimately, their circumstances are far less important than their own good character, and when their friendships are tested they manage to work it out.

Beautifully written, the conversations ring true and Stead's descriptions of Miranda's feelings often reminded me of myself in 6th grade. My fifth-grade granddaughters love the story, and I suspect they will each revisit it from time to time. An exciting adventure/mystery with no villains, this is a great book for girls age 10 and up.

I listened to this with my 10yo daughter. The book is good, but I don't care for the audio version. The affect Cynthia Holloway puts on when she reads the dialogue of the adult women characters makes them sound ridiculous like figures. She gives them vocal fry, which people didn't use back in the seventies when the book takes place. The effect is so severe that it changes the characters.

"When You Reach Me" is a rare gem of young adult fiction: an involving story whose subtle writing and characterization pull you in as much as the mystery that binds the story together. I liked the slice of life of 1979 New York as twelve-year old Miranda and her friends explore their neighborhood, giving us a bit of a Free-Range Kids perspective on days gone by.

Miranda gains and loses friends, and grapples with normal sixth-grade angst, but her worries take on a new twist when she discovers mysterious notes from someone who tries to convince her that he or she can see things that have not happened yet, adding fantasy and sci-fi into this realistic setting where you'd least expect it. Once the mystery has been solved, many readers will want to go back and read the story a second time to see how the pieces fit together in a new light.

In a thematic parallel, Miranda's experiences reflect her own shifting ability to see situations through other people's eyes. She also learns that giving or withholding small acts of kindness or meanness can have big consequences. What I love though is that the story is told in a way that does not feel at all preachy.

This is a great book for anyone ages 10 and up. It would be okay for younger kids, but those readers have so many choices that I would save "When You Reach Me" for age 10, because in my experience it's harder to find good books for that age. Also, the point of view of the story is a bit tricky (skillful, but unconventional), as Miranda writes to her mystery correspondent, which could be confusing for younger readers but an interesting challenge for older kids.

As an adult reader and I thoroughly enjoyed "When You Reach Me." (I am actually Miranda's "age," 11 in 1979, and I loved the part about her Mom's obsession with the $20,000 Pyramid. Brought back memories.) In the story Miranda talks a lot about her favorite book, one that has captivated readers from the 1960's to today, A Wrinkle in Time, and I would recommend reading that first!

this is by far one of my favorite books ifc you read tov the end that is. I loved the plot that really connected me with the book,
I would say ages 9-24 if you give this book a chance and read it to the end you'll thank me. My 10 year old son read it and loved it

This book was incredible, it was engaging and thoughtful. I wondered about many of the concepts long after I was finished with the book. Some of the things that made it wonderful were the things, that you notice, but don't want to think about, like the old friend you wished you still had, the enemy who you share a similarity with and the crazed laughing man on the corner, all these things add a touch of beauty.

This is one of my favorite books. I love the combination of mystery, time travel, unlikely friendships, and the emotion that goes on in the book. I would definitely recommend this book, especially if mystery is your style and you can grasp the concept of time traveling. The book explains itself but some of the previous skills that I listed are especially helpful.

I loved this book. This is my idea of an ideal book for preteens. It is full of wonderful detail, bringing the city to life. The characters are realistic and likeable. The book has subtle life lessons, a mystery, family situations, friendship issues--all handled very well by the author.

I completely enjoyed this book (granted, I am an adult--I think) and I hope the author continues writing books with this quality of prose and plot.

I highly recommend this book for kids--of all ages--even those of us well past childhood.

I read When You Reach Me as a Read Aloud for my 5th grade mystery unit. The students are weaker academically and were able to understand the book. Since it takes place in the 1970's there are many aspects of the book that make it historical fiction. For example - the main character's mother is competing on $20,000 pyramid with Dick Clark.

The characters were realistic in the sense the main character has a single mom and lives in a simple apt in Manhattan. She envies her classmates who have active fathers and fancy bedrooms.

My students particularly enjoyed the narrator (the main character's) humor in how she sometimes acted at school and at home. In addition to teaching the elements of a mystery book (there are suspects, red herrings, alibi's,etc.) it is a great book for talking about how friendships form, break, repair and change.

I am unsure if I will read this book to future students because how the mystery is "solved" is a little unrealistic and leans more towards Science Fiction. While it was a nice story, I definitely felt let down by the ending.

There is some difficult vocabulary, but the plot line is simple enough that it could easily be read in 4th grade as well.

This book was recommended to me by a co-worker about a week before it was awarded the Newbery. She knew of my love for L'Engle's Time Quartet and thought that I would identify with the protagonist.

And how!

I was blown away. This book is full of engaging characters and breadcrumbs are left on every page, including the cover. By the time the end is resolved and all secrets have been spoken you will ask yourself how on Earth you didn't figure it out sooner. And if you were one of the clever ones who guessed correctly the ending, you will appreciate the majesty of everything lining up just so.

Read A Wrinkle in Time, then read this book, but above all else, Tesser Well.

Miranda and Sal have been best friends practically since birth. They did everything together--from daycare naptime to walking to school--until sixth grade when Sal is suddenly punched by the new kid. Sal shuts Miranda out of his life, and that's when Miranda's life starts to spin out of control. The spare key to Miranda's apartment is stolen, the crazy guy on the corner's behavior becomes even stranger, and Miranda starts receiving mysterious notes from an undisclosed person. These notes are what freak her out the most because they reveal things no one should know, things that haven't even happened yet. But even though Miranda would like to forget all the crazy new things in her life, especially the notes, she can't, because as unbelievable as the messages seem, the impending tragic death they warn of doesn't feel like a lie. And Miranda might be the only one who can prevent it, if she can only truly understand the notes before it's too late.

When You Reach Me is a truly delightful and remarkably unique story that incorporates themes as simple as friendship and love to concepts as complex as the scientific possibility of time travel. Readers will be drawn into Miranda's story from the first page with the exciting air of mystery Stead creates. The mystery of the notes is probably the most thrilling aspect of this novel, with their seemingly unexplainable appearances and threat of real danger, but all the other sections of the story are also similarly well developed. Stead does a fantastic job of making When You Reach Me believable, even with farfetched theories such as time travel. Miranda, somewhat precocious, and the rest of the cast are three-dimensional characters easy to understand. Stead also portrays the tween years well, when peers' opinions start to make an impact and guy-girl interaction is more about tentative crushes. It's a rare gem when you find a novel that successfully and wonderfully combines a realistic version of everyday life with complicated scientific mystery as much as Stead has in When You Reach Me. In fact, Stead's storytelling skills are so advanced, I'm surprised this novel is classified as middle grade; the only things middle grade about it are Miranda and her friends' ages and the air of innocence to the story. I think the middle grade audience may even have some difficulty understanding the discussion of time travel; I know I did at times. But as well as that slight confusion, this novel also provokes deep thought of the complexities of modern science, and faith and hope in the future.

When You Reach Me will be enjoyed by readers of all ages, from middle grade up. This novel, one of the sweetest and most genius I've ever read, will be enjoyed by those who liked A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle, a novel much referenced in this story.

Miranda's mother is going to be a contestant on the $20,000 Pyramid. Miranda is hoping this will make a richer lifestyle possible for her. She is upset that her oldest friend, Sal, is not speaking to her anymore. Miranda is learning about life the hard way--through old and new friendships, her relationship with her mother and loss. This book was well-written and I enjoyed it. The characters were extremely well-developed. I read this book on my Kindle.

[...]

What a little treat! Such a joy to read. Says so much abt love and friendship and ppl surprising us and magic and kindness. Beautiful, big things. Such a special little book. Cozy and sweet and everything I love abt middle grade/YA fiction and everything I want in a book that my ten-year-old daughter reads and rereads b/c she loves it so much.

A great story with wonderful characters and many mysterious twists and turns.

Our family read it aloud with our ten-year-old son and it generated great discussions about time travel, the multi-dimensional world, and the possible reasons people and situations may come into our lives.

We had read "A Wrinkle in Time" shortly before and this added to our enjoyment and understanding of the book.

Maniac Magee is my all-time favorite book. Now...this new book by Rebecca Stead will likely surpass Jerry Spinelli's masterpiece - for me. I have never read a book that manages to unfold every scene, every chapter, every paragraph, every sentence, every word in a way that connects to the plot. It is perfect storytelling. A strong female character with an unforgettable voice (Miranda!). A bunch of supporting characters who add to the story and all that happens to Miranda! While adults may love this book more than 4th to 6th grader readers - more skilled younger readers (Grades 4 - 9) will love it too. Perfection! I just hope that whoever buys the rights to the movie will not butcher it like they did to Maniac Magee. Reading the book was an outstanding experience! So so great!

"When You Reach Me" makes for a quick afternoon read, just a lovely and fun book. Juvenile fiction sometimes grabs me, especially when it relates to one of my favorite books of all, "A Wrinkle in Time." This book from Rebecca Stead is definitely worth picking up. The ending more or less telegraphs itself to the older reader by the midway point, but it's a great book for a child or grandchild. I would have loved this book as a kid.

My daughter recommended this book and it wasn't until I was about a third of the way through it that I really started to appreciate it. The first half of the book sets up the story and there are a lot of little details that seem strange or unimportant until the end. The second half of the book is much more interesting, creative, and actually had me stopping to think about the physics of time travel and the idea that everything is happening simultaneously.

As Miranda and her friends navigated the Upper West Side, I kept expecting them to run into characters from Judy Blume's "Fudge" series. The landscape -- New York in the 1970s -- is the same, and Miranda's issues with friends and family are much like those you'd encounter in a Judy Blume book. What's different is that Miranda starts getting mysterious notes -- notes that predict her future in a way that should be impossible. Cue the "Twilight Zone" music here.

This is a great read -- I sat down with it the afternoon it arrived and pretty much didn't get up until I finished it. Rebecca Stead is, IMO, a much more graceful writer than Judy Blume. In addition to friends and family issues, "When You Reach Me" addresses class and race in a thoughtful, subtle way. Plus, messages that might be from the future. As my spouse sometimes says, what could be bad? I really loved this book.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was a short, easy read but I found myself continually wanting to know more about the characters and the letters. I enjoy books that leave you thinking in the end to sort out all the details you've read and this book does that. I would recommend this book.

Even though this book is kind of young for what I usually read, it kept me interested from beginning to end. I literally stayed up until 2am to finish this book. I loved the way the story unfolded, the way the main character had faults I could understand, and the way things played "off screen" but still painted so much of the story. Also, time travel!

This book held almost no appeal for me. I kept reading, waiting to become invested in some way, but I never did. The characters seemed a bit flat and I think the only reason this book won the Newbery Award is that it deals with time travel. It's not particularly well paced or clear. Sorry, but this was a flop for me.

I just finished reading "When You Reach Me" with my 10 year old daughter. I am so glad that we read this book together. I don't want to say a word about the plot - the less you know about this book, the better. Just. Read. It. I cannot believe how profoundly I was moved by this book, how deeply it touched me. I cannot stop thinking about it.

I feel like there's a lot more I could say, but others who precede me in reviewing this book have said a good deal that echoes my own feelings about it. Like many others, I am an adult reader and I also grew up around the same time as protagonist Miranda. I was blown away by the depth of the plot, the intense individuality of the characters portrayed, and the concise manner in which the author conveyed a great deal without an overbearing amount of detail. The pace of the novel never wavered. Interestingly, despite the "fantastic" (as in "fantasy") nature of the story, the author managed to make the tale ring true. I can't recommend this book highly enough -- but might have a tough time figuring out to whom I ought to recommend it. Sophisticated beyond my seven year old daughter, and a possible tough sell for my ten year old boy (a girl as the central character, and no sports action, etc.), I would guess that a 10-15 year old girl would be the most likely recipient of this as a gift from me. Don't know too many of those right now, but I may have to wait; I might feel a bit strange giving a copy of juvenile fiction to my own peers. Despite this, however, I would recommend it to *all* age groups and genders. For those of us no longer "juvenile," it is a fun, quick read without being on any level vapid or shallow.

This is one of the best young adult books I have read yet this year, and I would place it in my top ten. The plot hooked me from the beginning with its subtle reference to a Wrinkle in Time, and the story compelled me to finish me in one setting. The ending was also complete, but still left you wondering in a good way without feeling lost. I would recommend this to anyone and everyone and it might convince current kids and tens to pick up A Wrinkle in Time and read an older book!

"When You Reach Me" is an interesting, entertaining, and fun story that anyone can enjoy! As a fifth grade student, I think Sal and Miranda have similar personalities. The Laughing Man at the end of the book gains a more understandable personality.
This book is one of a kind. People who loved "A Wrinkle in Time" will love" When You Reach Me" because Miranda has read A Wrinkle in Time. Parts of the book and much of the main idea of the book have to do with some of the parts in "A Wrinkle in Time." This
book overall is a page-turner!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with the reader who said it deserves more than 5 stars. Such a great read! I just loved tis book. I especially enjoy the way Stead gives her readers credit for their intelligence. There are abstract, sophistocated themes and events here that are not in any way dumbed down. I consider myself to be a pretty sophistocated reader, and I found it enjoyable on an adult level. Strongly recommended for those who have enjoyed "A Wrinkle in Time."

I was not expecting this book to be like this. I recommend it to kids 9 or 10 plus.

NOTE: this review is from an eight year old.

I am now 10 and 're-reading this book. I understand it a lot better at this age! I can make some connections I couldn't have done when I was eight. This is a brilliant book!!!

Please note: This review was written by a 10 year old.

I gave this to my daughter to read (who loved it) and read it myself. It is a story about a girl who receives these little slips of paper with cryptic messages. She needs to figure them out as they indicate someone is in danger.

Part of me dislikes the issue where the notes tell her not to "tell a grown up" (and the protagonist obeys.) This could be a potentially bad message to send to young readers. But, it also brings to light good area of discussion about such things with your kids! The rest of the story is great. The mystery kept me interested throughout and the characters seemed very believable. I don't want to give too much away about the plot, but felt that there were different things of value to learn from reading the book, mostly about how your judgments about other people and of things may not be correct.

I love this book so much!! I read it back in 8th grade, and I definetely recommend it to middle schoolers. You will absolutely love this book and you won't regret reading it. It's the most mysterious book I have ever read. It has so many things in it, friendship, love, family, everything.. I encourage parents to show this book to their children, it's very enjoyable. :D

I'm often wary of books that have won awards. They are so filled with tropes and, in my opinion, undeserving of the prestigious awards and attention they receive. This book honestly wasn't terribly different, other than one major plot twist near the end. Same old flowery descriptions, story that drags on, "ordinary" young female narrator with missing daddy issues narrating her way through her "ordinary" life. The twist at the end literally had me jumping out of my chair, screaming "WHAT??" in public repeatedly, but besides that, an ordinary, boring read. I recommend you read A Wrinkle in Time instead.

For old and young readers this book is a must read. Intermixed with the highly relatable story of a 12 year old growing up with a single mom in NYC in the late 1970's is a twisty, make you think time travel story. There are some great cultural references (Dick Clark really never aged) too, making the book a joy to read.

I finished this book yesterday and I've been trying ever since to come up with the best way to review Rebecca Stead's When You Reach Me. By now, everybody's most likely heard that it won the Newberry Medal this year and it well deserved. It's a wonderfully beautifully written story. I'm going to try but there's no way I can do this story justice.

Miranda is in sixth grade. At first she thinks she's got life figured out but things start to fall apart. Her best friend, Sal, no longer wants to be friends with her after being punched by a stranger on their way home from school for no reason. So Miranda is stuck making new friends and learning how to handle being a latchkey kid after school without Sal to keep her company. Then, one day, mysterious notes began appearing. The first one says, "I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. I ask two favors. First you must write me a letter." As the story goes on, Miranda realizes that this person knows things about her that there's no way he should know. Who exactly is he? And what does he want from her?

The characters in When You Reach Me are so real and ordinary that I had no problem putting myself in Miranda's shoes. Miranda goes to school, hangs out with friends, helps her mom prepare for The $20,000 Pyramid, refuses to read any book but A Wrinkle in Time (when I finished this book, I was wishing my copy of A Wrinkle in Time was handy so that I could go back and reread it). Stead so deftly weaves in a sci-fi/fantasy element to this story that as a reader, you hardly notice it's showing up until it hits you in the face.

I borrowed this book from the library but I know without a doubt that I will be buying a copy for my library. It's a definite keeper and rereader.

This one had me glued to the page so much I even read it during commercial breaks in the World Series--and I am an ardent Phillies fan! :-) Naturally, anyone who loves Madeleine L'Engle will love this book. Like L'Engle's works, though, I think we will find that this book's appeal will be mainly for girls, though if a boy would try it, he would enjoy the whole time-travel theme. It seems like, if the protagonist is female, the readership will be, also. This is a shame, in the case of this book, because it is a fascinating story of L'Engle's "tessering" neatly inserted into "reality."

'When you reach me' is a story of twelve year old Miranda who lives in New York City with her single mother. It starts with a postcard congratulating her mom's acceptance as a contestant on The 20,000 Pyramid, a game show, Miranda receiving a strange note and losing her best friend and ends with a satisfying twist. I loved this book. Throughout it, we know that unnatural is happening, but it is so much on the fringes you are not sure what it is. A good twist of mystery making you want more. Once I got to the last fifty pages I couldn't put it down despite the fact it was one o'clock in the morning and I had class that day.
It had good character development and dealt with a lot of emotions without being in your face about them. It is not a single mom, fatherless daughter struggle story, but it touches that idea enough to make it real. The writing style is fun and detail oriented, but straight forward, very easy to read. I only wish there were better references to when things were happening. All in all I thought this was a great book.

When "You Reach Me" is the type of book you have to tear yourself away from in order to get anything done! It is the story of Miranda, a sixth grade girl growing up in New York city in the 1970s. When Miranda starts receiving mysterious notes her life begins to change and the reader gets hooked!
This book is great read for even the most reluctant readers. The plot will keep readers wanting to know more and wondering what strange thing will happen to her next!

Change is part of growing up, but for Miranda, change is hard to get used to. Especially when her best friend Sal suddenly decides to quit being her friend, when the crazy guy on the corner starts acting weirder than usual, and when mysterious notes beginning appearing among her things.

--Slipped between the pages of her favorite book.

--Tucked inside her friend's book bag.

--Buried beneath a pocket-full of old Kleenexes in last year's winter coat.

--Folded inside Mr. Perfect's shoe.

Sal's absence Miranda can deal with, though she misses him terribly. And the crazy guy--Kicker, "because he does these sudden kicks into the street, like he is trying to punt one of the cars speeding up Amsterdam Avenue,"--she's used to, though he still gives her the willies. But the notes are frightening.

The first one arrives, scrawled on a tiny slip of paper:

I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own. First, you must write me a letter.

The notes continue to arrive, and before long, Miranda realizes that whoever is leaving them, knows far too much about her--more than anyone. Each one forces her to admit that only she can prevent a tragic death, until the final note makes her think she's too late.

WHEN YOU REACH ME, Rebecca Stead's middle-grade Newbery Winner, is woven through with mystery, suspense, and the ageless belief that anything is possible. A timeless story, suitable for readers of any age, this book not only deals with issues of bullying and racism, but also the value of friendship, honesty, the importance of family, and an unfailing belief in others no matter how "crazy" they may seem.

Laced with humor and wit, honesty, and the gloriously-flawed perfection of a well-written character, Stead masterfully gives voice to our longing as we try to understand how and why things happen the way they do. A fantastic read.

I was looking for a book for a fifth grader, and this book was suggested to me by my local bookstore owner. I read the book first, myself. Wonderful, and bittersweet with a touch of mystery. If you are looking for a good book for a 4th-6th grader, look no further. I am going to buy several more copies for gifts (and am keeping one for myself).

This was a great story about perception and how it constantly shifts. The characters are compelling and Miranda's journey to understand the shifting relationships of adolescents was eloquently laid out. Definitely five stars

I took a chance and picked this one up for summer reading for my 11 year old daughter. This was a good move.

Here are her comments:

"This is the strangest book I've ever read. It was really good, maybe even as good as The White Giraffe. It's one of those stories where you don't understand what's happening all the time. Ideally liked it."

She finished reading it in two nights, so I guess she really did like it. Five stars from daughter and Dad.

I loved everything about this book--the characters, the storyline, the mystery, and finally the resolution. I found the book very engaging from the first chapter to the last and I loved the chapter titles. I also loved the "slice of life" aspect of 1979 New York with all its wonderful color and detail. All in all, a great book!
Highly Recommended!

at first it was a little slow and i didnt see how all the events Miranda was talking about connected but in the last few chapters it all became clear. At first i thought it was an okay book but as i read more towards the end of it i realised that it was a great book with interesting characters and plot. Overall i would recommend this book to anyone who loves realistic fiction and mystery. It is a great book for anyone from about age 10 and up. I even know adults who have read and loved this book.

As an adult, I love this book. I found the story interesting, the writing clean and evocative, and the characters believable. I would love to give this to my 6th grade son, but I am not sure he would like it. This is a quiet book about ideas and relationships, not primarily an adventure, though it is the mystery that pulls the story forward, the book is not about the mystery. I love that, he probably wouldn't.

I love this book. I've read it several times over-all of it, in chronological order, which isn't what I usually do. This book flows. The writing is amazing and i love the plot. It's a relatable story with a touch of fantasy. I also love the tie-in of A Wrinkle in Time, which i happen to love. My younger brother who was 10 at the time needed a mystery book for school, so I gave this to him. He loved it. When You Reach Me is awesome for all ages and genders.

this book is unlike any other. it is the saddest book i have ever read. however one concern is that some parts were quite vague. i felt like miranda was hiding something. if you could elucidate those, rebecca stead, i would proudly shove a heavenly five stars. great book overall!!!

Really suspenseful, with bits of laugh out loud humor. I was surprised by the different characters in the story and how they all tied together. I love the lessons of life and the mystery that is continuously present that makes it so difficult to stop reading it.

i recently finished when you reach me, i personally loved it! it was an easy read but i feel that it is for anyonewho liks science fictiony things that seem like they really might be able to happen. miranda's story was captivating! it kept me guessing the whole time! the ending which i will not spoil was so abstract and unexpected! i also really loved the ongoing references to Madeline L' Engle's A Wrinkle in Time... the pieces to the puzzle fit perfectly! i am currently in middle school, but i have recommended this book to my mom and i recommend it to anyone else!

The premise for this book sounded wonderful. 'A Wrinkle in Time" is one of my most favorite books ever and I think the concept of time travel is really interesting. I was looking forward to seeing how the earlier book was incorporated into this one. I was disappointed to find the only "incorporation" that I could see was that Miranda was reading the book and mentioned a plot point from time to time, and there was the argument with Marcus over the semantics in Wrinkle.

I really liked Miranda, and as a "slice of life" in the late 1970's, this was a good book. It was well written from a young girl's point of view, and illustrated how hard growing up is, and trying to figure oneself out as well as everyone around you. I could feel her pain as Sal dropped her as a close friend for no reason, which made no sense..why didn't he just talk to her, and her envy of Anne Marie's home, and her fear that Anne Marie won't think Miranda's home, and by extension, Miranda, is good enough. We don't know where Miranda's father is, and the plot point about her mother being on the game show didn't have anything to do with anything,in my opinion. I can see how Miranda felt kind of neglected and abandoned at times. I wasn't sure why Alice had to go to the bathroom all the time or why she was unable to say that she had to go. She was 12 years old, not four.. I really liked how Miranda and Julia got past their differences, in another maturing step. I wondered about the three 12 year olds working in Jimmy's shop, without so much as parental knowledge or permission. Maybe the child labor and health department laws were waaay different in 1978!

The science fiction components lost me altogether, and by the end, I didn't know what the author was talking about. In what universe would a 12 year old getting anonymous notes that say things like " I am coming, tell me where your house key is, and don't tell anyone about these notes ever," be a good thing? Especially after Miranda knows her house was robbed? How can a kid who decides to beat up a smaller boy for no reason be a "good kid through and through" and then also be surprised when the smaller boy runs from him, into traffic? Someone else mentioned the fact that Miranda's mother feels free to steal from her office, frequently, which is hardly a positive example for her child, or the reader. Miranda states that "the worse Miranda's mother feels about her job, the more she steals." Nobody seemed to have any problem with it. Miranda's mother was kind of interesting in several ways, especially her viewpoints on wrong and right. The ending was completely confusing.

There were definitely some positive messages in the book and some that are less so. I am not sure how it won a Newbery. That award has always been a barometer for excellence and I hope the standard continues.

My inner child loved this book...I believe this is the type of story that I wanted more books to be when I was a child reader. Perfect pre-teen reading for the precocious bibliophile who enjoyed A Wrinkle In Time.

I just finished "When You Reach Me" and was blown away by the depth of this small novel. What excited me the most how the themes of "Growing Up" and "Science Fiction" blended so well together. But unlike "Ender's Game", where the science fiction tends to be just as large of a theme (if not larger) than the "Growing Up", this book focuses on Miranda's childhood and then throws in some science fiction to spice it up.

I don't want to say too much because I fear giving away the plot! All I'll say is this - I couldn't stop reading it, all the while rooting for Miranda's life. This was an excellent story which I will recommend to many people, for many years to come!

Never thought I'd find myself reading a book aimed at teenage girls (I'm 44). Certainly never thought I'd find myself enjoying one. This is a bright and imaginative little story, neatly observed and crisply written.

Not in a long time have I finished a book and a immediately wanted to go back to the beginning and start reading it all over again! Perhaps it is because I was about the narrator's age in 1979 or perhaps it is my love for a good mystery, but this book just spoke to me. And its got the perfect blend of scifi as well in that it brings in enough of A WRINKLE IN TIME to take it out of the ordinary mystery genre and sprinkle it with mind blowing magic. Run! Do not walk to grab this book!

My librarian recommend this book to me and I didn't think I would like it but man did I!! This is a story about a girl who gets this mysterious notes saying "I am coming to save your friends life, and my own. This is a story about friendship and how we need not look at the world with our veil closed.(you will get it when you read the book.) I would recommend this book to everyone.

This was a really good pace. Personally, I liked the fact that the chapters were on the shorter side. This book was written by Rebecca Stead and I think she did a wonderful job. Her main character Miranda, was so well developed I felt like she was a real person that I knew in real life. I didn't love the way it ended- it felt a little rushed and I was a little confused. Overall, I really enjoyed this and would definately reccomend it to my friends.

My daughter (8 yo) and I read this book together and we are equally smitten and forever changed by it. The characters are alive and real and affecting. The plot send shivers of thrills up our spine and the clever (wish I had a better word to capture it!) ending made our brains throb and our hearts sing. We are forever fans of Rebecca Stead. Thank you, Mrs. Stead, for having the talent, vision and heart for spinning such a beautiful story.

I loved this book! I am eight years old, and my 4th grade teacher recommended the book to me, mostly because of my love for science fiction novels. I love how the book has such short chapters, because I, for one, enjoy counting the amount I read by chapters. Such short chapters make it feel as if I am reading a lot, but I am really not. That is what I like most.

As i ran into the house to show my mom the schoolastic book order sheet i thought about how i new she was gonna say no... a TEN DOLLAR BOOK. and of course she did. she sad a forth grader does not need a ten dollar book?that summer i got a library card andcheck out the ten dollar book for free. the book was oneof those you couldnt put down. i pulled an all nighter and finished in oneday ! i am now a 6 th grader at metro charter academy and i still love that book. te books name being When YOu REach me by rebecca stead.

This book is absolutely amazing! I was so interested. I was super suprised be the ending and I couldn't have thought of a better one. I really love this book and I will definitely readthis book again. I would highly recommend this book to people who love mystery ciriousity and fun. I really love this book.

Everyone told me this was a growing up, coming of age story with a twist at the end, which it is. The characters are very well drawn and the "twist" is well developed throughout the story. I figured it out way ahead of time, though, so I think that prevented me from loving the book as much as other people did.

My daughter brought this book home from school and upon reading the synopsis I was intrigued to the point of checking it out myself. I don't get opportunities to read like I have in the past, but I could not put this down and upon reaching the end I was truly glad at my decision to pursue this further. A mesmerizing story that draws you deeper through its progression for a reveal that leaves you deeply satisfied.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I picked up the book. Certainly - as I had heard the buzz - a good read. What I wasn't expecting was the need to leave work immediately in order to finish the book in peace. It was engaging and enchanting. go pick it up.

I loved this book! I am eight years old, and my 4th grade teacher recommended the book to me, mostly because of my love for science fiction novels. I love how the book has such short chapters, because I, for one, enjoy counting the amount I read by chapters. Such short chapters make it feel as if I am reading a lot, but I am really not. That is what I like most.

As i ran into the house to show my mom the schoolastic book order sheet i thought about how i new she was gonna say no... a TEN DOLLAR BOOK. and of course she did. she sad a forth grader does not need a ten dollar book?that summer i got a library card andcheck out the ten dollar book for free. the book was oneof those you couldnt put down. i pulled an all nighter and finished in oneday ! i am now a 6 th grader at metro charter academy and i still love that book. te books name being When YOu REach me by rebecca stead.

This book is absolutely amazing! I was so interested. I was super suprised be the ending and I couldn't have thought of a better one. I really love this book and I will definitely readthis book again. I would highly recommend this book to people who love mystery ciriousity and fun. I really love this book.

Everyone told me this was a growing up, coming of age story with a twist at the end, which it is. The characters are very well drawn and the "twist" is well developed throughout the story. I figured it out way ahead of time, though, so I think that prevented me from loving the book as much as other people did.

My daughter brought this book home from school and upon reading the synopsis I was intrigued to the point of checking it out myself. I don't get opportunities to read like I have in the past, but I could not put this down and upon reaching the end I was truly glad at my decision to pursue this further. A mesmerizing story that draws you deeper through its progression for a reveal that leaves you deeply satisfied.

I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I picked up the book. Certainly - as I had heard the buzz - a good read. What I wasn't expecting was the need to leave work immediately in order to finish the book in peace. It was engaging and enchanting. go pick it up.

When You Reach Me is a wonderful book. Written with sensitivity about the friendships, jealousies, pettiness, and kindness in the relationships among sixth grade girls and boys, it is also a fascinating and suspenseful sci-fi tale. I was so surprised by the twists and turns of the plot, I had to read it again immediately after I finished it, and it has withstood a couple more readings since. I read it aloud to my 11-year-old son, who loved it as much as I did.

This book locks you in from the beginning. I sat down and read it in an hour and a half just to understand the crazy man and how to "land in the broccoli". The plot stretches your mind and fills you with thoughts that wander as you turn each page. I would read this book again and again just to catch every detail I didn't understand or find hidden pieces that make you smile.

This book is fabulous, the best book I've read in years. This is bound to be a classic, to stand the test of time. It was thoughtful and original, with sympathetic characters and a fast, smart plot. I would recommend this to all ages. I'm going to be giving this book to both my son and daughter, and I can't wait to read it again myself. I loved it from beginning to end. A masterpiece.

This book starts out fairly slow, but I am so glad I stuck with it. I could not put this book down, I had to know what was going to happen. The chapter names enchanted me. The story kept me guessing. I felt like I knew the characters. I would recommend this book to any child or adult. However I have never read A Wrinkle in Time and many of the readers who seemed to be disappointed by this book had that in common. So that could be a factor is whether or not you like this book.

"When You Reach Me" is quite simply a beautifully written young adult novel. The plot focuses on the trials and tribulations of growing up, while keeping a realistic middle-school aged voice throughout. So often characters in kids books sound too adult, but this novel is written in a believably youthful voice. It's a quick read for anyone over the age of 14, but still entertaining even for adults (I'm in my mid-twenties and thoroughly enjoyed it).

Im Haylee Fain a sixth grader in NC and my teacher is making us read this we were all like uuggghhh and then we started to read it indepently and discovered we love this book . I give it a four star rate because all though we love it and can connect with the story some how ....... Its a little dull and then interesting . Like a movie . I am a indepent twelve year old that poves to read books . Thank you and God Bless !!!

I would suggest this book to other middle schoolers because it teaches emotion and feelings.
It shows the importance of true friends, and how to stick together. I loved this book because of the true friendship between Sal and Miranda. When Sal almost gets hit by a truck, the laughing man saves him. And up until this event, Sal and Miranda were always trying to avoid him.

5 stars

This book. Wow. Just wow. AMAZING! At first, i thought this book would be just another book, another waste of time. But it's not. It's so much more than that, and I recommend it for anyone who has .

This book is amazing one of the best I would suggest it to kid from 3 to 6 grade children you would have to understand the book to get the extent of the end so don't listen to the people who say not to read it even adults can read it it's an easy read amazing book read it

I fully expected to love this children's book; I had heard great things about it from several trustworthy people, and it had just won the Newbery Medal, and it had been heavily influenced by A Wrinkle in Time and included elements of time travel. What could go wrong?

Unfortunately, I think I may have suffered from too-high expectations going into this book, because it ultimately left me feeling flat. First, the interactions between the characters didn't seem real to me; relationships tended to be based on sudden, grand revelations rather than gradual and natural developments. Then, when the main character did carry on real conversations with others, I found that I didn't particularly like her; for someone who had read A Wrinkle in Time a hundred times, she showed remarkably little curiosity about the puzzles posed by time travel and preferred to scornfully dismiss the topic as "too weird" than to have fun imagining the possible implications. And when time travel did make an appearance in the story itself, the revelations felt almost anti-climactic after the elaborate build-up. There just wasn't enough complexity there. I was especially disappointed when the promised explanation for one character's strange behaviour turned out to have nothing to do with the main mystery at all, but instead was an exaggerated reaction to one of those "grand revelations" that apparently determined the course of all relationships.

Overall, this wasn't a bad book, but I don't think I'd recommend it.

My 11 year old son read this book for school. He thought it was so interesting that I should read it,so i did!
Very different with a lot of thought-provoking events...keeps you wondering and guessing.
He and I had a great discussion about it afterward.
Also loved that an adult and a child could both really enjoy this book. Recommended!

I loved this book! The ending is slightly confusing, and sad, so I would not recommend it to [very] young readers or beginners. It would be good for fluent readers ages 9-12, but it is also nice for adults. I could not put it down and this is the kind of book you will want to read over and over!!!

This story kept me wondering and guessing right up to the end. I liked the suspense of the mysterious notes and events as well as the building excitement of Mom's appearance on the $20,000 Pyramid. Plus, it made me want to read A Wrinkle in Time all over again!

5 stars

This book. Wow. Just wow. AMAZING! At first, i thought this book would be just another book, another waste of time. But it's not. It's so much more than that, and I recommend it for anyone who has .

This book is amazing one of the best I would suggest it to kid from 3 to 6 grade children you would have to understand the book to get the extent of the end so don't listen to the people who say not to read it even adults can read it it's an easy read amazing book read it

I fully expected to love this children's book; I had heard great things about it from several trustworthy people, and it had just won the Newbery Medal, and it had been heavily influenced by A Wrinkle in Time and included elements of time travel. What could go wrong?

Unfortunately, I think I may have suffered from too-high expectations going into this book, because it ultimately left me feeling flat. First, the interactions between the characters didn't seem real to me; relationships tended to be based on sudden, grand revelations rather than gradual and natural developments. Then, when the main character did carry on real conversations with others, I found that I didn't particularly like her; for someone who had read A Wrinkle in Time a hundred times, she showed remarkably little curiosity about the puzzles posed by time travel and preferred to scornfully dismiss the topic as "too weird" than to have fun imagining the possible implications. And when time travel did make an appearance in the story itself, the revelations felt almost anti-climactic after the elaborate build-up. There just wasn't enough complexity there. I was especially disappointed when the promised explanation for one character's strange behaviour turned out to have nothing to do with the main mystery at all, but instead was an exaggerated reaction to one of those "grand revelations" that apparently determined the course of all relationships.

Overall, this wasn't a bad book, but I don't think I'd recommend it.

My 11 year old son read this book for school. He thought it was so interesting that I should read it,so i did!
Very different with a lot of thought-provoking events...keeps you wondering and guessing.
He and I had a great discussion about it afterward.
Also loved that an adult and a child could both really enjoy this book. Recommended!

I loved this book! The ending is slightly confusing, and sad, so I would not recommend it to [very] young readers or beginners. It would be good for fluent readers ages 9-12, but it is also nice for adults. I could not put it down and this is the kind of book you will want to read over and over!!!

This story kept me wondering and guessing right up to the end. I liked the suspense of the mysterious notes and events as well as the building excitement of Mom's appearance on the $20,000 Pyramid. Plus, it made me want to read A Wrinkle in Time all over again!

Fabulous and compelling narrator. Page turner and thought provoking at the same time. Great story.

Be aware that the narrator's mother is not married and never has been. Sometimes the mother's boyfriend stays overnight.

Foul Language - None, that I remember.
Sex - None.
Violence - An accident that is dealt with appropriately. (Trying not to spoil anything. Let me know if you want more detail.)

here i sit taking in the story i have just finished. going over every detail in my head trying to figure out what just happened. definitly something great has come to and end. but one thing from the book stays with me. the ending. i am stll trying to comprehend what just took place. definitly one for the thinking type. oh simply the ones who enjoy a good brain strech. it makes you think twice about what we call common sense. i now relize it is only a state of thinking that we are used to. keep that mind at all times. you asume something is one way but ho do you knwo for sure. it is only the state in which your mind tends to be in.