When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. 2009.Audience: Grades 4-7th; ages 9-14
My Rating: 4*s of 5
Summary: As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space.
Comments: I kept seeing reviews for this book and decided to give it a listen. It is a great puzzle-read with a well written girl protagonist. It was very satisfying to keep track of each subtle clue as it clicks into place. More than anything, though, it is a book about relationships. A passage about racism is deftly but clearly handled. I enjoyed this clever story and find myself thinking about it from time to time.
Awards: Newbery medal!
Read-alikes: A Wrinkle in Time (more of a companion book than a read-alike), Chasing Vermeer by Balliet
