When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
My name is Rya. I am in middle school and I enjoy reading, writing, swimming, and backpacking.
Assisting her mother on her path to glory on The $20,000 Pyramid game show could be Miranda’s sole focus, but like any 12-year-old girl, she has plenty of other things on her mind. Her best friend, Sal, is suddenly not talking to her after a random kid punches him in the face. Miranda and her newfound friends are accused of a crime they didn’t commit. Most of all, Miranda is worried about several mysterious notes she is receiving, begging her to keep the messages they hold a secret. Then everything falls apart and comes together at the same time, which left me in the most shocked state I can remember being in after reading any book.
Throughout most of this story, you seem to be reading quite a random realistic fiction book, with a mystery twist. Only at the end do you realize that it is an incredible science fiction book, which takes into account concepts that the human mind hardly has the ability to even grasp, including time travel. When I finished reading this book, I was completely awe-struck. How could such a simple plot change so quickly and become so complicated? When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead is an incredible novel that I would definitely recommend. There is so much meaning packed into these 208 pages, even with the large font the pages hold. Hang in there though, because it is only toward the end of this book that everything makes sense.
