When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Reviewed by: Dawn Dickey, Library Volunteer
Genre: Science Fiction
Suggested Age: Tweens, Teens, Adults
What is the book about?: Miranda lives in New York City and is the only child of a single parent. When we first meet her, Miranda’s mother has received a postcard inviting her to be a contestant on a game show called The $20,000 Pyramid. Miranda has been receiving cryptic notes from a mysterious stranger, one of which has predicted the very date that Mom will appear on the show. In between helping her Mom prepare for the game show, Miranda has a falling out with her best friend, makes friends with a couple of other kids from school, works with her new friends at a sandwich shop during their lunch period, tries to avoid the crazy guy who haunts her street corner, and puzzles over the notes she’s been receiving from the mysterious stranger.
My Review: Rebecca Stead’s highly acclaimed When You Reach Me won the Newbery Medal in 2010, and with good reason! I listened to this book using the Libby app available from Fondulac Library, and although I’m not usually keen on listening to audio books, When You Reach Me was exciting enough to hold my attention throughout. Stead created interesting, mysterious but plausible and likeable characters. The time period was creative genius and allowed Stead to stitch the chapters together with titles from categories that could have been on The $20,000 Pyramid game show (such as, Things That Go Missing, Things You Wish For, Things That Turn Upside Down, etc.). The solution to the mysterious notes is hinted at but – in the end – unexpected, dramatic, and very satisfying. Highly recommended – try it in print or audio!
Three Words That Describe This Book: Time, Friendships, Future
Give This a Try if You Like… A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (book or film), Terry Pratchett’s The Wee Free Men or Rewind by Ian Page; also the Back to the Future film series or the animated film Mr. Peabody & Sherman.
Rating: 5/5
About FDL Reads
FDL Reads is a series of weekly book reviews from Fondulac District Library.