When You Reach Me (audio)

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

One False Note

One False Note (39 Clues series, book 2) by Gordon Korman. 2008.
Audience: 4-8th Grade
My Rating: 2*s of 5
Summary: Amy and Dan Cahill are in the lead to find thirty-nine clues that safeguard a great power, and are in possession of a coded sheet of Mozart's music that will help them find the next clue while their relatives follow in close pursuit. (Does not include game cards.)
Comments: I was really disappointed with this book. Between the series hype and the author's reputation, I had high expectations that this flat action story fell far short of. It reads like the screenplay to Da Vinci Code probably did or any given transcript of "The Amazing Race." This might be a good thing, though, for this age audience and espeically boys/reluctant readers? I might also feel differently had I read book 1 and/or checked out the other branches of this multi-media series.
Awards:
Read-alikes: Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin