Skip to main content

When You Reach Me

By

When You Reach Me
by Rebecca Stead
Random House, 2009. 197 pgs. Juvenile fiction.
Considerable Newbery talk is swirling around When You Reach Me, and rightly so as it combines the best aspects of two previous winners--Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, and Lynne Rae Perkins' Criss Cross--to create a splendid story in its own right. The narrative takes the form of a letter Miranda, the protagonist, writes to an unknown correspondent who seems to be sending her messages from the future, one of which asks her to write the letter. If that seems circular it is meant to be as the story spins on the question of time travel, but it is also firmly grounded in the delights and despairs of pre-teen life in 70s New York. As Miranda's mother frantically trains to make big bucks on the $20,000 Pyramid, Miranda is trying to figure out why her best friend Sal stopped talking to her after he got punched out for no apparent reason by Marcus, a kid neither of them knew, and how to navigate the perilous waters of being friends with Annemarie but not with Julie. When You Reach Me has everything: mystery, suspense, expansive scientific thinking, the perils and joys of familial and friendly relationships, and the question of how Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which got Meg and Charles Wallace back into the garden five minutes before they left without their being able to see themselves leaving. A real crackerjack of a book. I loved it.
Labels:

Comments

curlyq said…
This was an incredible book--it reels you in and doesn't let you go. However, it's an extremely readable book and I believe even less enthusiastic readers can enjoy it...if they can get past the rather dull and unappealing cover. Excellent, excellent story.
September 19, 2009 at 3:43 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Funny Farm by Mark Teague 2009

By Anonymous
There are things I liked about Mark Teague's newest book, Funny Farm , and things I didn't like. Where should I start? I'll do the "didn'ts" first. The illustrations show animals personified. Well, some of the animals are. The main characters, Edward, and his farm family relatives, all dogs, are humanized. They stand upright, do farm chores, eat at a table, wear clothes, knit (yes, with paws) and sleep in beds. Most everybody else on and around the farm, who are also animals, act like animals. They are outside, roll in mud, live in the barn, and require care from their owners. It struck me the most on the page spread where there are pigs playing in puddle in the rain and Edward, a black and white boxer, watches from inside the house. I thought "You're a dog! Go play with them!" But, alas, he can't, seeing as how he goes through his entire visit to the farm wearing a suit and red bow tie. Another picture that bothered me was the maple syrup pa...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester 2008

By Anonymous
J Fiction 328 pages I almost didn't finish this book. I got to Chapter 4, and was just about ready to quit (a kind of slow story about a girl, name of Piper McCloud, who discovers she can fly, parents freak out, she becomes a social outcast, yadda, yadda) but suddenly, right there in Chapter 4, the story takes a sharp turn and becomes really interesting . Piper finds herself in the company of others like her, but not "fliers", and under the care and authority of Dr. Hellion. I won't even tell you any more. Read this book. Forester does a great job of keeping you wondering who's the good guy and who's the bad? Piper is a likeable, strong, endearing character that girl readers will enjoy. But don't NOT give it to boys! The main male character is an extremely intelligent young man who is one of the ones you wonder about . . . good or bad? This is a good one, well worth your time.
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Super Boba Cafe

By
Super Boba Café By Nidhi Chanani New York: Amulet Books, 2023. Comics. 215 pages. 14-year-old Aria is excited to spend her summer in San Francisco getting quality time with her Nainai. She loves helping at her grandmother's Super Boba Café. But she can't help but notice that her grandmother is acting strange and secretive. She refuses to let Aria into the kitchen at all and she disappears at the same time each night without telling Aria where she goes. Meanwhile, Aria is eager to drum up more business for Super Boba Café. She gets a major windfall when the shop cat, Bao, surprises them by having kittens, and Aria realizes this is a major social media opportunity. She knows this will help Nainai's shop, but she is apprehensive to get back on social media after a terrible cyberbullying experience she had back home. As the shop starts to get busier, Nainai is more and more anxious about her secret project. This prompts Aria to investigate with help from her Nainai's neighb...
Post a Comment
Read more