When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Author: Rebecca Stead
Genre, SciFi, Mystery
Rating: 8
Teach-ability: 6
Teachable Aspects: characters, piecing together the plot

This book takes place in the late 1970's in New York City. The story revolves around Miranda, a twelve year old only child to single mother. In all, her life is that of an average inner city child. She knows how to navigate the streets, she knows that she needs to have her keys out before she reaches her door and she knows who her best friend is, Sal. However, once Sal gets punched by an unknown kid, Miranda's life starts to turn upside down and mysterious notes start popping up containing information that no one else should know, unless that someone knew stuff about the future that no one else does.

The story that follows contains just enough information in each chapter, creating a beautifully crafted story about Miranda, Sal and the other friends she meets along the way.

I could definitely see using this text in my classroom. This work would coincide nicely with L'Engle's A Wrinkle In Time, a classic science fiction novel. This book would also work nicely as a read aloud text, as the chapters are short but pack a large punch. When I was researching about this book, I found the blog of a teacher who used this book as a read-aloud book, and the writing produced by her students responding to the text was really great. Despite your age, this book makes you think and there is a lot to wrap your head around. Although this book is a quick, fast read it is by no means an easy read. There are layers, and connections that last the entirety of the book.

Especially in the rural setting that I live in, I found Miranda's inner-city home interesting. Although setting is really not a huge part of the book, I think, depending on the reader, setting could be something that is incorporated into the teaching of the novel to make a fuller unit. I think students would find this book suspenseful, and intriguing, and I think that they would want to read more, as I found myself wanting to do at the end of the tale.

I would recommend this book to teachers and students alike, because as a free-read this book is fantastic and I think it has incredible promise as a taught text (read-aloud or otherwise).