When You Reach Me

Bibliography

Stead, Rebecca. 2009. When You Reach Me. US: Random House Children's Books. ISBN: 0-385-73742-4.


Summary

Miranda's life seemed uncomplicated: school was the usual and her and her best friend, Sal, were inseparable. But then strange events start to occur such as the spare key to her apartment disappears, Sal quits talking to her, and random letters start to appear. Other events start to occur but eventually all play a part in the story that starts to unfold. Then she realizes that all of the clues connect and she realized a life is dependent on her solving the clues.


Critical Analysis

The main character of Miranda is a sixth grader who encounters strange events while trying to figure out why her best friend, Sal, no longer talks to her. Letters keep appearing, Miranda becomes friends with Marcus who punched Sal in the stomach for no apparent reason, and the laughing man starts to exhibit strange behaviors. As the letters keep coming, Miranda is not sure what to do. She is afraid of the unknown but slowly starts to piece the pieces together and realizes that someone she cares about may be in trouble. The suspense that Stead builds keeps the reader guessing what the big mystery of the book is. I did not want to put the book down; I needed to know how all of the events and mysterious activities came together at the end. And as things started to make sense, I wanted to re-read certain parts to make the connections clearer.

There were a few themes that reoccurred throughout the book: having independence, friendships and second chances, and time travel. Having the independence of walking home alone are challenged with the laughing man hanging out in front of Miranda's apartment are tested. Now, she is forced to make new friends. This can be a difficult process that readers roughly around the same age can relate to when having to start over with new friends. Some of the dialogue created between Miranda and Marcus leave the reader wanting more, to find out what happens to Miranda and the other characters as well as finding out the role of the notes.

Review Excerpts

Newbery Medal Award Winner 2010
Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books Award Winner 2009
Book Sense Book of the Year Award Winner 2010
IRA Children's Book Awards Award Winner 2010
Wyoming Indian Paintbrush Book Award Nominee 2010
Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards Winner 2010
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award Nominee 2010
Volunteer State Book Award Nominee 2011

School Library Journal- "The climax is full of drama and suspense. This story about the intricacies of friendship will be a hit with students."

Publisher's Weekly- "Eventually and improbably, these strands converge to form a thought-provoking whole. Stead (First Light) accomplishes this by making every detail count, including Miranda's name, her hobby of knot tying and her favorite book, Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. It's easy to imagine readers studying Miranda's story as many times as she's read L'Engle's, and spending hours pondering the provocative questions it raises."
Connections

• Tie the connections between this book as well as other books containing the same sujects. Compare and contrast the books; create a booktalk or open discussion.