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Apr 08, 2010

Lisa rated it:

First I have to say that A Wrinkle in Time has been my favorite or among my very favorite books since I was nine years old, and I’ve never been able to write a true or worthy review for it; I can’t even try.

There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of books I wish I’d written. Occasionally, I come across a book I should have written. This is a book I definitely should have written. It touched me to the core in that incredibly familiar way that seems to come from within, not the outside. Some More...

26 comments like (30 people liked it)

Jun 29, 2010

Monica rated it:

My New York Times review.

A blog post about reading it aloud to my fourth graders with links to their own blog posts.

7 comments like (12 people liked it)

Feb 07, 2012

Clare rated it:

This intriguing modern day story draws inspiration from Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time.

When Miranda's mother unexpectedly fell pregnant during college, she put her studies on hold and took time out to care for her baby. Twelve years later mother and daughter are poor but happy together.

Miranda is a good girl, but like many her age her world is small and revolves mainly around herself. When strange notes appear which tell her about things that will happen in the fu More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

May 02, 2010

Samantha rated it:

Newbery Winner 2010
#2 on Barnes & Noble's Top Ten Children's Books of 2009
Maine Student Book Award Nominee 2010-2011

I feel like I'm missing something because every other review seems to be five stars. I liked the book. How could I not, when it references A Wrinkle in Time so often. I personally found the mystery to be easily solved. I like how the author weaved the clues in, but I found it to be very obvious and knew from the beginning from the book who it was and ho More...

7 comments like (15 people liked it)

Jun 04, 2011

Cassy rated it:

I almost did not read this book. I knew it was targeted for a younger audience, but I didn’t realize just how young. I kept vainly searching for it in the teenagers’ section (where I was already a bit embarrassed to be spotted). When I realized I would have to go inside the children’s section at B&N, I wavered. The little chairs. The colored foam titles on the floor. The stuffed animals. It’s all cute, but could one of those books satisfy me?

It probably deserves more than three stars More...

2 comments like (9 people liked it)

Feb 07, 2010

Luann rated it:

Wow. Easily five stars. This is a MUST for all Madeleine L'Engle fans - and anyone who enjoyed watching The $20,000 Pyramid game show! Once I really got started, I didn't want to stop until I had finished. And even once I reached the end, I went back and reread some parts again.

I loved the writing style with short chapters, most with titles that could be categories on The $20,000 Pyramid game show and applied in some way to the events in the chapter. The short chapters also moved t More...

6 comments like (7 people liked it)

Mar 28, 2009

KT rated it:

This is the best middle-grade novel I've read since The Hunger Games. It has everything -- believable, well-developed characters, great setting, intriguing plot with some surprising twists, humor, depth, mystery, meaning, and an ending that will knock your socks off. Oh, and perfect, funny chapter titles. Everyone I know who's read it is raving about it. Find it! Read it!

1 comment like (11 people liked it)

Jan 09, 2011

Bonnie rated it:

So much in such a little book and not what I expected at all. Miranda's (the main character's) favourite book is A Wrinkle in Time, which pretty much tells you everything you need to know about this novel if you really think about it. There are kind of two intertwined stories that are really one story. The first is the story of a preteen girl going through the pangs of growing up, losing her best friend and finding new ones, overcoming preconceived notions of others, coming to terms with racism, More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Apr 06, 2011

The Holy Terror rated it:

4.5 stars!

This is the newest Newbery Medal Award Winner and I had actually wanted to read it before it had been nominated. This is a cleverly written "slice of life" tale that transcends age, gender, and race and is a great story that anyone and everyone can enjoy.

This book twists and turns and meanders about in such a fascinating way that you're quickly pulled into Miranda's and her friends' lives and what's it's like to grow up in New York in the late '70s. So More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 21, 2010

Clarence :P rated it:

This is a book that will intrigue people of all ages. It boggles your mind at times, makes you laugh at others, and turns the corners of your mouth down at others still! I enjoyed reading this, trying to figure out how the complex plot would unravel.
Miranda, the main charater in this story, lives with her mother in a shabby apartment. Her mother has just been selected to be in a game show involving money, and while they get ready for that, things tsart happening.
Sal, Miranda's best More...

4 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 23, 2009

Waller rated it:

Mystery, fantasy, science fiction? Who has been dropping little notes for Miranda, and how does he or she know what is going to happen? Whose life is in danger? *When You Reach Me* weaves the mystery among the threads of Miranda's daily life, dealing with friendships, school, her mother's boyfriend, and her own first kiss; L'Engle's *A Wrinkle in Time* provides a leitmotif throughout that is connected to the mysterious new boy, Marcus, and his peculiar theories about time travel.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 25, 2009

Karlan rated it:

Set on the upper West side of Manhattan in the 80s, this realistic novel about a girl and boy who are best friends until they become self conscious is a winner. The plot takes a turn into fantasy and science fiction in a moving and believable way to make this an unusual novel. The fantasy is very cleverly slipped into the story.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 14, 2011

Audrey rated it:

Finished the Awesome and interesting book

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 15, 2011

Michelle rated it:

At first, I really didn't think I was going to like the book as much as I enjoyed the others. After the first note was recieved, things started to turn around. I wanted to know who the author was, I needed to know. While I knew the man on the corner was going to be an important part of the story, I was absolutely dumbfounded when I found out exactly how significant he was. This book was a welcomed change. Completely unlike the recent books I have been reading. While there were strong theme More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 10, 2010

Tatiana rated it:

Actually, I surprised myself by thoroughly enjoying this book. This is why: 1) I rarely like any books whose target audience is middle-schoolers; 2) "When You Reach Me" is a sort of homage to Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle In Time," a novel which I couldn't get myself to finish.

It's a little hard to give a synopsis of the story. 12-year old Miranda's best friend Sal suddenly stops talking to her. The apartment key that Miranda’s mom keeps hidden for emergencies i More...

7 comments like (8 people liked it)

Feb 19, 2010

Anna rated it:

I have to admit, this is a pretty awesome book. I was hesitant to read this at first because I heard that it was sci-fi and I am just starting to slllloooowwwwly get into that genre so I wasn't sure I'd like it. But it's really not very sci-fi at all, except for the concept of time travel, which really isn't driving the plot, at least directly. I really loved the writing, though. The story unfolds beautifully and the author pretty much sucks you in right away. The storytelling is so engaging More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 13, 2010

Jolie rated it:

If I had any power in the book-world at all, this book would be reprinted next year with a shiny sticker on the cover proclaiming it to be a Newberry Award Winner. Since I really have no power at all, I will satisfy myself by suggesting to all those that still happen to read my little reviews that you go out and find this book and read it. Immediately. Or at least, really soon. It really is that good.

Rebecca Stead's novel is set in the late 70's in New York City--a time when sixt More...

4 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 29, 2009

Destinee rated it:

I love it when I find a book I can't put down. I read this in one sitting and it went by so fast, but in a good way, like I'm excited to read it again. It's pretty difficult to describe the plot, so I'll just say that it's exceptionally well written, moves at a great pace, and the characters leap off the page.

It also defies genre. I'd call it a mystery because Miranda, the 6th grade protagonist, tells the story as she's trying to figure it out, so the reader is there trying to figur More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 26, 2009

Abby rated it:

It's 1978. Twelve-year-old Miranda lives in New York City, walking to school each day with her best friend Sal and reading A Wrinkle in Time more times than she can count. But then everything changes. Sal refuses to walk to school with Miranda. And Miranda starts finding notes left for her in strange places. Notes that caution her not to tell anyone about them. Notes that seem to predict the future. And if Miranda can figure out who's leaving the notes and what they're telling her to do, she mig More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 10, 2009

Lauren rated it:

A little gem of a book - a unique storyline that is wonderfully crafted and executed. Miranda's character is this encapsulation of what it is to be 12 years old - going back and forth between this world of childhood and adulthood. I wouldn't really characterize this as a coming-of-age story though... more like a day-in-the-life with a twinge of mystery and sci-fi thrown into the mix. I really liked the setting in 1979... it was a lot like my childhood, so there was a nostalgic element there... More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 27, 2010

Major rated it:

Twelve year old Miranda lives in New York City with her best friend Sal. Her life turns upside down and very strange after a boy assults Sal one day. She recieves four notes from an anonymous person that perdicts her future. When Miranda realizes who sent the notes she is extremely surprised. Especially when she finds out why the notes were left for her.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 17, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

This is my favorite middle grade novel of 2009 - well, so far anyway. A completely realistic story about family, friendship, the trauma of 6th grade life... with a nice soupçon of mind-bending time travel. The right kid will finish this and then start again immediately. In fact, I'll go right ahead and take it a step further and say that WHEN YOU REACH ME has the makings of a modern classic. I am sad that I have to wait till summer to sell it to people.

(Also, attn Booksellers, Tea More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jun 24, 2011

tope rated it:

A very quick read - short enough that I can't say much about the plot without giving it all away. It's quite evident that Stead is a big fan of Madeleine L'Engle (as am I!). Come to think of it, Miranda (the main character) has a lot of Meg Murry in her. She's insightful, honest, funny in a dry way, and has a unique voice; it's possible that she's meant to be non-neurotypical; I wasn't quite sure. A at least one other important character in the book is definitely non-neurotypical. Stead's cast o More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 12, 2010

Patricia rated it:

Mystery and time travel go well together in this book. Stead masterfully paces her story between several time periods and incidents in short punchy chapters with headings that are categories in the $20000 Pyramid game show.

Because this novel is completely inspired by Madeline L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time, it makes me want to go back to that story. But this novel stands on its own without being completely familiar with the earlier book. It has suspense, authentic New York characte More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 27, 2011

Jeanette rated it:

Try not to land in the broccoli! :)

Fun! Sort of a little time-travel mystery. Miranda is a New York City 6th-grader in 1978. She is obsessed with A Wrinkle in Time and won't read any other book. She begins receiving messages from the future in the form of notes asking her to perform a certain task. These notes also provide various forms of proof that the person writing them really is from the future. Very cute conclusion, and the multiple references to A Wrinkle in Time make this More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 14, 2011

Kelly rated it:

I remember in high school after watching Mission Impossible, John Marriott said, "I have no idea what that was about, but I loved it." I feel the same way about this book - to an extent. Super fast read. I liked it because it was different from a lot of the young adult books that are out there right now. Breath of fresh air.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 22, 2012

Robin rated it:

Things I really liked about this book: the 1970s setting, NYC, the $20,000 Pyramid, and the fact that I felt a little unsure of the story the whole time I was reading it. Where was the author trying to take us? Did I like any of these characters? What about the mom? I was never quite sure whether I was enjoying the book or not. Having finished it, I appreciate that. I liked the quirky intertwining of a shifting friendships story with a science fiction story. I liked that the sadness was More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 10, 2009

Angela rated it:

As a wonderfully intriguing story of the life and times of a 6th grade girl unfolds, mysterious time travel elements unravel in an intricate and beautifully threaded plot . Relationship complexities beyond what is normally expected in children's literature bring immense wisdom to this most engaging and thoughtful story. To top it off, Stead's superbly rich writing makes this one you'll want to share with every reader you know.

Recommended for fans of Ingrid Law's Savvy and Louis Sach More...

0 comments like

Feb 21, 2011

Florinda rated it:

I'd seen many glowing reviews of When You Reach Me, and knew that it was inspired by A Wrinkle in Time, which also played a significant role in the story itself. In addition, it's followed in Wrinkle's footsteps by winning the Newbery Award. [return][return]in When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead doesn't go after the big questions in the way Madeleine L'Engle does, but one of those questions - time travel - plays a big part in the mystery her protagonist Miranda is trying to unravel. The stakes are More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 06, 2012

Yumi rated it:

I finished reading my thirteenth book in English yesterday. I read, " When you reach me " in English. The book is for children, and it is written for eight to eleven year-old children. So, I quite enjoyed reading it without a dictionary. I prefer reading the leveled book in English because I can enjoy reading without any stress. Actually, the book received a New-berry Medal. That's way I was too expected to read it before reading.

The book is a science fiction, but it is a lit More...

0 comments like