When You Reach Me: Summary and book reviews of When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, plus links to an excerpt from When You Reach Me and a biography of Rebecca Stead.
When You Reach Me
by Rebecca Stead
Hardcover: Jul 2009,
208 pages.
Paperback: Dec 2010,
208 pages.
Four mysterious letters change Miranda's world forever.
By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it's safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know whom to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner.
But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a new kid for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda's mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then Miranda finds a mysterious note scrawled on a tiny slip of paper:
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 slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows all about her, including things that have not even happened yet. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she's too late.
This is an intellectual mystery of just exactly the type I adore. It’s meaty, thought-provoking, warm, and wise. I love it. And it makes sense that I would, because it stands on the shoulders of A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, a book that Miranda devours just as I did as a child... I highly recommend this book to any child who loves to ask questions or any grownup who still believes in his heart of hearts that the real world is magic. (Reviewed by Pam Watts).
Wall Street Jounral
Readers ... are likely to find themselves chewing over the details of this superb and intricate tale long afterward.
The New York Times
Stead piles up clues on the way to a moment of intense drama, after which it is pretty much impossible to stop reading until the last page.
The Washington Post When You Reach Me far surpasses the usual whodunit or sci-fi adventure to become an incandescent exploration of "life, death, and the beauty of it all." ...the believable characters and unexpected ending invite readers to ponder the extraordinary that underlies the ordinary in this fictional world and in their own.
Booklist
Starred Review. [T]he mental gymnastics required of readers are invigorating; and the characters, children, and adults are honest bits of humanity no matter in what place or time their souls rest.
The Horn Book Magazine
Starred Review. Closing revelations are startling and satisfying but quietly made, their reverberations giving plenty of impetus for the reader to go back to the beginning and catch what was missed.
Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. 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. Ages 9–14.
School Library Journal
Starred Review. This unusual, thought-provoking mystery will appeal to several types of readers.
Kirkus Reviews
Starred Review. [W]hen all the sidewalk characters from Miranda's Manhattan world converge amid mind-blowing revelations and cunning details, teen readers will circle back to the beginning and say,'Wow ... cool".
Recent Reader Reviews
Rated of 5
by LA LA Book Report I have read this book for a book report and I thought it was amazing! :) It was a little bit confusing at first but after I read and re-read the book a couple of times, it definitely became one of my favorites!!
Rated of 5
by Brooke :D Clift Hanging Mystery Book! :D My Favorite! :) When you reach me by Rebecca Stead is a mystery that I recomend to everyone who loves a great mystery! You would LOVE it because at every chapter it keeps you hanging so you just want to keep reading... it hooks you and you cant put the book down!... Read More
Rated of 5
by lexi THE BEST BOOK EVER I loved this book. Out of all the books I have read, I would say this is my favorite. I read this book over and over, and it NEVER gets old.
Rated of 5
by CHEESECAKEboy25 This book was great! "When You Reach Me" is very unique and detailed. It's hard for me, at least, to find books like this anymore. I'm also in the 6th grade. My class luckily read this book in our LAL Honors Class and as far as I know, mostly everyone enjoyed... Read More
Rated of 5
by abbalou22 :-) The Best Book Ever! This book is amazing! I hope Rebecca keeps writing more! I love realistic fiction. :-)
Rated of 5
by Polkadottedbunny Amazing!!! I am in the 6th grade and did a book report on this book, and it took me about 2 hours to read it because I couldn't put it down. This was one of the best books I have ever read!
Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is, at its heart, about frames of reference. If I were in a dark, windowless train with no bumps that was going in one direction at a constant speed, then I would think I was standing still, but my sister on the train platform would see me speeding away from her. According to Einstein, if I then looked out the window, I would have every right to believe, in fact, that the world was speeding away behind me while I stood still. My sister, of course, would also be right that she was standing still. Hence, reality becomes relative to the frame of reference of the observer.
Time, as well, becomes relative to the observer’s frame of reference. This has been proven both mathematically and experimentally. One bizarre outcome of this "relativity" of time is known as "The Twin Paradox:" If I leave my sister behind on that platform while I travel far out through the universe going near the speed of light, I may age forty years in the trip out and back, but when I return, my sister will be long dead. Time will pass normally for my sister....
'An electrifyingly creepy tale likely to haunt young readers for many moons.... a real bedtime-buster'. Read an exclusive excerpt at BookBrowse today. Reading age approx. 9 yrs +.
Where do dreams come from? Two people face their own histories and discover what they can be to one another, renewed by the strength that comes from a tiny, caring creature they will never see.
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