Book Review: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Publisher:  Random House Children's Books
Date Published:  12/28/2010
ISBN:  9780375850868
Genre:  YA/MG Sci-Fi
Grade Equivalent: 4.6
Interest Level:  Grades 6-8
Lexile:  750L

It is the years 1978-79 in New York City, and Miranda and Sal are in sixth grade.  The two are best friends.  They have learned to survive the city – know where and when it is safe to be – until one day, Sal gets punched.  After that, nothing is the same for the two of them.

Sal no longer wants to be friends, so Miranda has to find new friends, and helps her mother prepare for her appearance on $20,000 Pyramid.   She starts to notice things about people and life.

One day, she starts getting mysterious notes.  As they arrive, Miranda starts to realize that the sender knows things before they happen.  One note says "I am coming to save your friend's live, and my own."  It causes her to consider events from her favorite novel A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'engle.


Miranda begins to believe that it is her responsibility to save someone's life.  Then the final not arrives, and she thinks it might be too late to take on this challenge.


This novel carries many of the qualities of A Wrinkle in Time.  It is a mind-grasping mystery, and coming of age story, and has that twist of science fiction thrown in for added measure.  


I loved the mind-bending nature of the novel.  It didn't drag me in at first, but after a while, I just couldn't put it down.  I just had to know what was going to happen next.  So, don't give up after the first few pages.  I thought the structure of the novel was very fascinating.  Miranda's mother was preparing for the $20,000 Pyramid game show where she has to guess the categories of words she is given (e.g.  trees, flowers, pets:  things that are living).  The chapter names are given in the same fashion (e.g.  Things You Line Up).


This novel is probably not one that I would have individually selected based on the book cover - jut not something that caught my eye.  However, because it was a recommendation, I took on the challenge.  I am so glad that I did.  I am very satisfied with the read, and wish it were still going on.  I am definitely going to read more books by this author.

Book Review: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Publisher:  Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published:  April 01, 2010
Genre:  science fiction/fantasy
ISBN:  978-0312367541
Grade Equivalent:  5.8
Interest Level:  Grades 6-8
Lexile:  740L








Meg was different from everyone else, so was her brother Charles Wallace. Her twin brothers, Sandy and Dennys were able to blend in.   It had been a while since her father had mysteriously left, and there were many stories as to why, and where he had gone.  Upon the arrival of 3 friends:  Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which, Meg and her brother, along with their new friend Calvin, set out on an adventure to retrieve her father, by using a tesseract.  What is a tesseract? Will they find him?  Will they be able to bring him home?  


A Wrinkle in Time has been a favorite of mine since my sixth grade teachers, Mrs. Greynolds read it & the rest of the series to our class.  It has all the qualities of a good science fiction:  time travel, strange characters, and a touch of mystery.  It starts on a dark and stormy night, drawing you in from the get go.  


What do I find as somewhat of a downfall of the book?  The end leaves you hanging and wanting more detail as to what happened.  Unless you read on in the series, there are so many unanswered questions.  So, if you are only up to reading one book, this one is probably not for you.  As for me, I will eventually be finishing the series!

Classic Double Challenge 2012

OK, so I wanted to challenge myself this year to read more.  I was blessed with a mom who instilled a love of reading in her kids.  She always took us to book stores and made sure we had something to read.  Because of her, I have always been an avid reader, however, the past few years I have really slacked off.  I'm gonna kick it into gear this year, and the best way I know how is to hold myself accountable.  If I post it publicly, I will do it!!!  So here is my first one - the Classic Double Challenge 2012.  I found this challenge roundabout through reading another blog - called The Book Whisperer.  She discussed challenges to read more this year, and I found it very inspiring, and it hit a note with me.  The Classic Double Challenge seemed really interesting, as I have wanted to go back and read more classics.  Adding the "double" to it is just a plus.


For the Classic Double Challenge, you read one older book (classic) and a newer book that relates to the older book in some way.  An example that the blog author  provided:  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Jane by April Lindner. 


This Challenge also has 4 levels to choose from:

• Small:  You read 2 related books (one classic & one related).
• Medium:  You read 4 books (2 sets of related books).
• Large:  You read 6 books (3 sets of related books).
• Super Size:  You read 8 books (4 sets of related books).

I am going to start small with this one, as I want to attempt some of the other challenges as well.  I might come back to this one later and read more, but I am only going to commit to the Small challenge and read 2 related books.  The books I have selected for this challenge are:

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle - classic

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead - related double

I remember my sixth grade teacher Mrs. Greynolds reading the Madeleine L'Engle A Wrinkle in Time series to our class.  I loved these books. I cannot wait to reread A Wrinkle In Time and then tackle When You Reach Me.

The author to the blog & challenge creator has a wonderful list to choose from, you can find that here:  Classic Double Book List

If you would like to also take part in the Classic Double Challenge, or other challenges I found today, visit The Brain Lair blog post with a wonderful list.