BiblioAddict The First Step on the Road to Recovery

On the everyday and the fantastic:

This book is now five days overdue at the library.  Normally, I would feel really bad about that, especially since other patrons have requested it and are waiting for it as we speak, but I am so happy that I didn’t return Rebecca Stead’s When You Reach Me before I had a chance to read it.  Good lord, what a wonderful book.  I have no words for how much I enjoyed this novel, only that I’m thanking my lucky stars When You Reach Me wasn’t published four years ago when I thought YA literature couldn’t possibly suit my adult literary taste.  How wrong I was.

One of my favorite kinds of novels are those that mix the everyday with the fantastic, and what I really enjoy is when novels use the fantastic not just for its inherent appeal, but to reveal how profound the everyday really is.  When You Reach Me is one of those books.  When You Reach Me is the story of Miranda, a twelve-year old girl who’s learned how to expertly navigate the streets of her New York neighborhood with her best friend Sal.  Avoid crazy laughing man on the corner.  Check.  Always have key out before you get to the door. Double check.  Miranda’s life seems to be a normal one until something terrible and momentous happens to her best friend, and suddenly Miranda is forced to think about the true meaning of friendship, and what it means to be a thoughtful and generous person.

Oh, but it’s about so much more than that, and I’m making it sound all blah and cliche, aren’t I?  How do I explain that it’s also about understanding that people are complicated, that you might have more in common with someone you despise or less in common with someone you find generally agreeable.  It’s about navigating the tumultuous waves of friendship; it’s about the embarrassment of your first crush and the excitement of your first kiss; it’s about the moment at which we realize our parents can dream and be disappointed too.  It’s about boring music assemblies (I remember those!), and first jobs, and quiz shows, and A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle.

And, I haven’t even gotten to the fantastic part yet. Somewhere in the middle of all of this Miranda begins receiving mysterious notes from someone who knows more than anyone could possibly know about Miranda’s life.  The first letter reads (don’t worry – this doesn’t give away anything of the plot):

M,

This is hard.  Harder than I expected, even with your help.  But I have been practicing, and my preparations go well.  I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own.

I ask two favors.

First, you must write me a letter.

Second, please remember to mention the location of your house key.

The trip is a difficult one.  I will not be myself when I reach you.

And so begins the mystery of When You Reach Me.  The mystery at the heart of this novel – who is sending the letters? Why are they sending the letters? How do they know so much about Miranda’s life? – is what makes this great novel unforgettable.  No wonder it won the Newbery Medal.  As far as I’m concerned, it deserves many more.  And I’ll tell you another thing, I really need to read A Wrinkle in Time.

Sigh.  So now that I’m finished, I guess this means I have to be a good library patron and return When You Reach Me to the library now.  Naturally, I’m already saving up cash and space to add a copy to my personal library.  Highly recommended.

Happy reading, all.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
Wendy Lamb Books / July 2009
$15.99 / 199 pages

Popularity: 13% [?]