When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead is a young adult, science fiction novel that portrays a young girl trying to figure out the importance of relationships in her life and how she impacts others through those relationships. It is excellently told through second-person narrative.
Miranda is a 12 year-old girl living with her single mother in down-town New York City. The story takes place in the year 1978-1979, and starts with Miranda saying that her mom just received an invite to be a contestant for $20,000 Pyramid; a T.V. show hosted my Dick Clark. The story is written mainly in second person, where Miranda is writing to an unknown individual. She starts by talking about her typical daily life in New York. She talks about friends and family and how each relationship goes through a cycle of events. Her relationships with others are the key to unlocking the mystery as to why she has received random letters from someone unknown; an individual who prompts her to write about what is going on in her life. The story ends in an exciting way, where the reader is trying to figure out who this unknown person is and what is the purpose of the letters and Miranda’s story.
“Sometimes you never feel meaner than the moment you stop being mean. It’s like how turning on a light makes you realize how dark the room had gotten. And the way you usually act, the things you would have normally done, are like these ghosts that everyone can see but pretends not to” (p 144).
“She shook her head slowly. ‘I don’t know. I just feel stuck, like I’m afraid to take any steps, in case they’re the wrong ones. I need a little more time to think.’ She stood up. ‘The water’s probably boiling by now. Spaghetti in ten minutes.’
Spaghetti again. We were kind of stuck, I realized. In a lot of ways” (p 117).
Maybe this comes from my love of fantasy fiction, but this novel ties science fiction with the story of a girl we can all relate to. Life at that age is always changing and discovery plays an important role at this stage of development. I definitely want to keep this book around and share it with others, especially my kids.
Stead, Rebecca. When You Reach Me. New York: Wendy Lamb Books, 2009. Print.
