When You Reach Me
Book - 2009
"Like A Wrinkle in Time (Miranda's favorite book), 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 Washington Post
This Newbery Medal winner that has been called "smart and mesmerizing," ( The New York Times ) and "superb" ( The Wall Street Journal ) will appeal to readers of all types, especially those who are looking for a thought-provoking mystery with a mind-blowing twist.
Shortly after a fall-out with her best friend, sixth grader Miranda starts receiving mysterious notes, and she doesn't know what to do. The notes tell her that she must write a letter--a true story, and that she can't share her mission with anyone.
It would be easy to ignore the strange messages, except that whoever is leaving them has an uncanny ability to predict the future. If that is the case, then Miranda has a big problem--because the notes tell her that someone is going to die, and she might be too late to stop it.
Winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction
A New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book
Five Starred Reviews
A Junior Library Guild Selection
"Absorbing." -- People
"Readers ... are likely to find themselves chewing over the details of this superb and intricate tale long afterward." -- The Wall Street Journal
"Lovely and almost impossibly clever." -- The Philadelphia Inquirer
"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." -- Publishers Weekly , Starred review
- Details
- Full Record
- Additional Info
Searching for more content…
Searching for more content…9780385906647
Opinion
From the critics
Community Activity
Age Suitability
Add Age Suitabilityblue_dolphin_3008 thinks this title is suitable for 11 years and over
blue_crow_71 thinks this title is suitable for between the ages of 8 and 12
Quotes
Add a Quote
ArapahoeStaff26
May 14, 2020
The dentist locked the door behind us. Then he looked at me. "Your mom is a lawyer?" "Sort of." Okay. We'll just sit tight until she gets here."... They knocked, and the dentist called out, "Sorry, I have my hands full here. It'll be a minute." I was wondering what we would do when a minute was up. The dentist just sat there reading his paper. Marcus looked at his palms. "I wish I'd brought my book," he said, turning to me accusingly.
karolinagorgolewski
Sep 05, 2019
"There are days when everything changes, and this was one of those days."
Comment
Add a CommentRecommended by my granddaughter Olivia
This is one of those books that is intriguing and mysterious, but also really relatable. It gets a little confusing with some of the concepts of time travel, but in the end, it's surprising how much sense it makes! Altogether amazing book! Recommended for ages 11+
It was a pretty good book but I mainly like to because of the small parts of suspense and mystery the middle was a bit hard to follow but by the end it all made sense and turned out to be a good book
This book has been on my shelf for a very long time; finally decided during COVID to start reading through my backlog. Took me three weeks to read this between two dozen other books that were far more compelling. I felt I HAD to keep reading it since it was a Newbery award-winning book and it had so many positive reviews, but ... meh. 2.5 stars. I did sort of like the ending, but perhaps I kept drifting to other books because I didn't really feel drawn in by any of the characters. I enjoy most time travel stories, however, so the last 30 pages were actually the best and I'm glad I at least persisted through the middle. The 20,000 Pyramid game hooked me (liked the uniqueness of the chapter titles as questions the game might ask) and then kind of got lost or buried in the middle, about where I lost interest. But the end pushed the rating up half a point. I preferred Stead's First Light and The List Of Things That Will Not Change much, much better.
Miranda is twelve years old and has just experienced a fall-out with her best friend, Sal.
Unsure how to handle that, she now finds herself sorting through a series of mysterious notes that have begun to arrive. This clever story has it all! Told through a cast of surprising and diverse characters with a game-show as a backdrop, this story explores time travel, friendships, and growing up. Once you have finished, this story will have you re-examining the beginning for clues you may have missed.
Reviewed by Miss Rachel
This science fiction story is equally strong on character and setting. The reader is sympathetic to the narrator but recognizes her flaws as she does. Lots of fun to read and lots of food for thought.
Absolutely adored it. It has that slow, whimsical feel of one of those books that they make you read in elementary or middle school together as a class, so I understand it can be a boring book for many different audiences.
But for me, I loved every bit of it. All the lovable characters and the quirky stories they have tie into a veeeeery unexpected ending.
Fun and, but best for middle schoolers
So many bits and pieces of wonderfulness in this book. The mother's boyfriend, the school secretary, the homeless man, etc - lots of delightful characters. Highly recommend to just about everyone.
I love reading this book over and over again! The way that the book is written makes me feel like twelve year old Miranda is really speaking in the book. The concept of time travel in this book and the plot twists made it that much more interesting to read. Rebecca Stead is an amazing author in my opinion, so if you enjoyed reading When you reach me, her other books won't dissapoint!