When You Reach Me (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: When You Reach Me Deborah Stevenson Stead, Rebecca . When You Reach Me. Lamb, 2009 [208p.] Library ed. ISBN 978-0-385-90664-7$18.99 Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-385-73742-5$15.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 4-7 It's a puzzling time for sixth-grader Miranda: her former best friend, Sal, has turned his back on her; a strange kid in school, Marcus, violently punched Sal in the stomach [End Page 41] and now wants to talk to Miranda about time travel; and mysterious notes, which know secrets about Miranda's life and accurately predict other things, are turning up. Sophie deals with the first crisis by becoming friends with Annemarie, who is the rejected sidekick of the imperious Julia; she also finds herself frequently in the company of cute and funny Colin. She's still puzzled and disturbed by the notes, though, and she begins to realize their meaning after a tragedy nearly takes Sal's life. Though the book seems initially like a low-key and solid school and family story, Stead gives it her own original spin with the ongoing thread of mystery that blossoms into a science-fiction revelation. That element never takes over the story, though, which is firmly rooted in Miranda's daily-life travails, especially her complex negotiation with peers (she's envious of Annemarie's doting dad and obvious wealth, and both jealous and resentful of Julia) and family (her single mother ekes out a living as a paralegal and yearns to make a fortune by appearing on the $20,000 Pyramid). The prose is streamlined and easygoing, while Miranda's New York life is richly peopled and authentically urban; touches of quirky humor add energy to a subtly constructed story of individual growth. Offer this to kids who appreciate daily-life stories that reveal the unexpected. Copyright © 2009 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois