Must-read book of 2009

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I can't remember the last time I finished a book and immediately wanted to read it again from the beginning. When You Reach Me is a mystery that will confuse the reader up until the last ten pages when all will be made clear. Miranda, a young latch-key kid living in NYC in the late 1970s, is generally a good kid. She helps her mother prepare for her turn on her favorite TV game show, loves re-reading her favorite book (A Wrinkle in Time) and is beginning to figure out how to really be a good friend. When she starts receiving strange letters that don't make sense, though, she is confused and somewhat scared. The letters ask her to write a letter of her own and tell her that if she does, her friend's life will be saved. The slow unfolding of this mystery is never boring. I liked everything about this book from the characters and their development down to the chapter titles, which I usually don't pay any attention. Every detail was just right and every word belonged. Kudos to the author for making this novel work even with the time-space complications. Highly recommended for all readers.

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