When You Reach Me

Title: When You Reach Me

Author: Rebecca Stead

Genre Study - Mixed Genre

Have you ever wondered if time travel is possible? In Rebecca Stead’s, When You Reach Me, this wonder turns into a reality when the main character, Miranda, finds herself trying to unravel a mystery involving a string of unexplainable notes that ultimately lead to the almost death of her best friend Sal. Though I admit that at first the book was hard to get into, about half-way through I found myself unable to put it down. The story itself is gripping, mysterious, and thought-provoking in the way that it twists reality with the unthinkable. In my mind, the mystery and suspense would definitely pull younger readers in.  I think students would love trying to figure the story out before it unfolds at the end. However, I must confess that even I found myself shocked by the ending as I was unable to put all of the pieces of the story together.

Overall, I think this is a great story that I feel would be appropriate for upper elementary grades through middle school. In my own classroom, I think this would be a good book to use with reader-response journals. Students could make predictions about what they think will happen next in the story, reflect upon what they have been able to piece together, or simply write down questions about the story they may have. In the end, I think this would be an enjoyable read for multiple ages and for multiple interests simply because it combines the best elements of science fiction, mystery, and adventure all in one book.