When You Reach Me
By: Shradha, Pd. 3
When You Reach Me the 2010 Newbery Award winner is....
Written by no other than Rebecca Stead! It is amazing how she can weave such an interesting story into 208 pages! When You Reach Me is a mystery and science fiction(for all the time travelling!). It has been rated as young adult literature. It has a 750 lexile.
The Story Itself....
I liked the story a lot. The way she gave each character a unique personality was really very interesting. I personally feel like Miranda one of the main characters changes the most in the book. Miranda starts to change when she gets mysterious notes, and is starting to wonder who is sending her the notes. She starts to become more open to being friends with Marcus and Annemarie, she gradually becomes more okay with the "laughing man". Her opinion of time travel definitely changes by the end of the book too. In When You Reach Me there is a minor character named Anthony, though he is a minor character he still has a major impact on the story. In the story as revealed in chapter 48 another character named Marcus reveals that it was Anthony who tells him he will better understand life if he get in a fight. That is why Marcus had punched Sal. If Anthony had not told Marcus that, then Marcus wouldn't have punched Sal, and Sal wouldn't be in the risk of getting hit by a truck while trying to avoid Marcus. I personally feel like the ending of the book concluded the story well. I wish that the "laughing man" didn't have to die, but the major event helped explain all the unanswered question from the beginning of the book. I feel like it is an effective way to conclude the story.
Character
This is a picture of what a reader thought Miranda might look like based on how she s described in the book. She is one of the main characters.
Setting
In When You Reach Me the book is set in New York City in the late 1970's.
Conflict
In the story Miranda is not able to figure out why or who she is getting the notes from. The notes start to make her believe she is too late to save her friend's life.
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Trailer
Similarities
A Series of Unfortunate Events reminds me of When You Reach Me, because both have mystery genres and you have the same urge to know more when you read them. Both have a mystery they are trying to solve, and what they are doing could be dangerous. In a Series of Unfortunate Events they are trying to figure out what the adoption parent (they are orphans) is up to. In When You Reach Me Miranda is trying to figure out who the note are coming from and why she is receiving them. In both books someone important to the or someone they knew died, and they rue over them quite often.
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