Book Talk: *When You Reach Me*, by Rebecca Stead

When You Reach Me
Rebecca Stead
Wendy Lamb Books (2009), Hardcover (ISBN 0385737424 / 9780385737425)
Fiction (children's/YA), 208 pages
Source: Personal/purchased copy
Reason for reading: leftover from 24-Hour Readathon, follow-up to my re-read of A Wrinkle in Time

Opening Lines: "So Mom got the postcard today. It says Congratulations in big curly letters, and at the very top is the address of Studio TV-15 on West 58th Street. After three years of trying, she has actually made it. She's going to be a contestant on The $20,000 Pyramid, which is hosted by Dick Clark."

Book Description: 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.

Comments: When I recently decided to re-read A Wrinkle in Time for Banned Books Week, I thought it might be interesting to follow it with this novel. I'd seen many glowing reviews of When You Reach Me, and knew that it was inspired by Wrinkle, which also played a significant role in the story itself. In addition, it's followed in Wrinkle's footsteps by winning the Newbery Award. However, I don't foresee it landing on banned/challenged books lists as its mentor has, unless someone's really reaching (no pun intended) for something objectionable.

in When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead doesn't go after the big questions in the way Madeleine L'Engle does, but one of those questions - time travel - plays a big part in the mystery her protagonist Miranda is trying to unravel. The stakes are different from the ones confronted by the Murry children, but Stead also manages to create a similar sense of foreboding that hangs over the story.

I appreciated the call-backs to Wrinkle and how they worked into the story, but what I liked even better were the details that Stead used to give her characters a life of their own - a life I could recognize. Set on the Upper West Side of New York City in the late 1970's, Miranda and her friends are free-range, latchkey kids; many of us who grew up around that time were also one or the other, if not both. These sixth-graders walk to and from school on their own, and know what spots in their neighborhood to avoid. Miranda and her friend Sal both have working, single mothers; Miranda's mother has a long-term boyfriend, but she won't give him a key to their apartment. And Miranda's mom is preparing to compete on a TV game show, The $20,000 Pyramid; I watched that one regularly when I was Miranda's age.

As it happens, what I liked most about When You Reach Me were the things that didn't really pay homage to Wrinkle - the novel stands on its own merits very well. The mysterious notes weren't all that compelling to me, but the characters were - they're vivid and memorable, and their relationships felt authentic. Themes of friendship and growing up play a far bigger role than time travel does, and while there are elements of fantasy, the book's overall feel is realistic and true to life. This book didn't exactly turn out to be what I expected - and on reflection, I'm glad it didn't. I like what it actually is quite a bit better.

Rating: 4/5

This book counts for the RYOB 2010 Challenge (16/20)

Other reviews, via the Book Blogs Search Engine:
Maw Books Blog
Rhapsody in Books
S. Krishna's Books
Jen Robinson's Book Page
A Chair, A Fireplace, and a Tea Cozy (a reflection/essay with potential spoilers)
Steph Su Reads
Booking Mama

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