Newbery Medal Winner: "When You Reach Me"

Stead, R. (2009). When You Reach Me. New York: Random House, Inc.

This book received the 2010 Newbery Medal. The story revolves around the main character, Miranda. She is a 6th grader and lives in New York City with her mother. Miranda's best friend is a boy named Sal, whom also plays a major role in the story. The mystery starts to unfold when a series of several events happen. Sal is punched in the stomach, Miranda's hidden door key turns up missing, and she finds a weird note that reads: 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. She keeps receiving these mysterious notes that make predictions and references for the future. Miranda receives 4 letters in all and tries her best to prevent what the letters are predicting!

The story captivated me from the first page until the last! The whole story is interesting, but not predictable. I had no clue what the meaning of the "homeless crazy guy" character was until the final chapters. I never imagined his character would have such as pivotal role and link with Sal's character. I have never read a book that contained so many discrete meanings, which you don't realize until you have finished the book and reflect back.

This book was written for ages 9-12, but I believe to fully understand the meaning of the story, one should be in middle or high school. As an adult, I even had a hard time fitting together the pieces and realizing what had occurred at the end. The author does incorporate some aspects of time travel in the story, which I found a little confusing but interesting. I loved how the book involved so many complexities, such as addressing life in the city, life in a single-parent home, friendship, and how we are all connected in some odd way.

I have heard that if you read A Wrinkle In Time by M. L'Engle, that it will help you understand Miranda a little better. She actually speaks of this title several times throughout the story as being her favorite book. I did a little research about A Wrinkle In Time and it makes references to past, present, and future occurring at once. This is very similar to how Stead's story unfolds. I have never read any other of Rebecca Stead's books, but after reading When You Reach Me, I would definitely like to look into more of her works.
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