The book I chose to read this six weeks is When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. It was copyrighted in 2009 and fits in the category of science fiction. The book takes place in the 1970's in the state of New York. Miranda, the twelve-year-old protagonist, tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes she receives in the most peculiar ways. The notes seem to make no sense at all when she first receives them but they eventually become clear, as if events were somehow predicted. The book is mysterious and suspenseful, making it hard to put down.
The story is told in second person (ex: "Very soon, I will bring it to Marcus, just like you asked.") from Miranda's point of view. The story starts off with Miranda's mother receiving a letter stating that she made it on The $20,000 Pyramid, a 70's television show. During that event, Miranda reflects on the mysterious letters she received from the enigmatic sender, not fully explaining who she is referring to. The book then introduces Marcus and Sal, who are Miranda's friends, and The Laughing Man, a crazy homeless man who appears to have mental issues. Sal is nearly killed by a truck whist trying to run away from Marcus,who he thought was trying to harm him. The Laughing Man then comes to the rescue and kicks Sal out of the way, knowing he would die. Miranda then realizes that the letters all came from The Laughing Man, who actually was Marcus from the future. She also becomes aware of the fact the Marcus felt guilty for accidentally chasing Sal into the streets, therefore he invented time travel to save him. The intended audience for this book is 6th grade to 8th grade. The genre of this book is science fiction because there is time travel involved and inexplicable events that occur as well. The author keeps her audience interested by creating mystery and suspense. The authors style shows how a twelve year old would handle the situation, so that makes the audience able to relate.
The book has affected me because it's made me realize that behind every mystery there is a reason for it, no matter how bizarre. It also got me thinking if time travel really could exist. It could be possible but to me it seems pretty unlikely. I just don't see how a person can go back in "time" when "time" doesn't really exist if you think about it.The theme of the story reminds me of the third book in the Harry Potter series because in both books the characters went back in time for a good cause; each going back to save a life.
I think this book was very well-written and the author had an exceptional idea of how a girl like Miranda would handle things, therefore I would recommend this book to a 5th to 8th grader.
Amie Nguyen
12/15/13
RATING:**** 4/5
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