When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

"I am coming to save your friends life, and my own. I ask two favors. First you must write me a letter..."

"Sometimes you never feel meaner than the moment you stop being mean. it's like how turning on a light makes you realize how dark the room had gotten."

This is a great coming of age book for young readers! Filled with life's lessons and a twist of intrigue. The author references "A Wrinkle in Time" as a clue for her readers. Perfect read for 5th grade and above.

From NPR Nancy Pearl:

"In 1979, 12-year-old Miranda and her best friend Sal are savvy New York kids. They know what's safe to do, what places to avoid, and how to deal with the strange and bothersome homeless man on the corner of their street. But when Sal gets attacked — for no discernible reason — by one of their classmates, it kicks off a series of disturbing events: Miranda's apartment key — carefully hidden — disappears, and she gets the first of a series of disturbing and mysterious notes, all of which have something to do with future events. Even as Miranda tries to figure out what's going on, she has to deal with the realities of life: her crush on her classmate, Colin; her new friendship with Annemarie; and her dislike of Annemarie's former best friend, Julie. And that's leaving out the plot line about helping her mother practice to be a contestant on the television show The $20,000 Pyramid. Still, all these diverse strands come together in a most satisfactory way. Best of all, in addition to its thought-provoking plot and its realistic depiction of preteen experiences, When You Reach Me is a wonderful homage to Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, Miranda's favorite book." http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121243815