Tesser Well

BOOK REPORT for When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Cover Story: Marry Me
BFF Charm: Yay!
Swoonworthy Scale: 2
Talky Talk: Puzzle Pieces
Bonus Factors: A Wrinkle in Time, Friendship
relationship status: True love

Cover Story: Marry Me

LOOK AT THAT GORGEOUSNESS. Why do middle graders get all the great covers? Whine whine whine. I love the illustrations, I love the map, I love the symbols from the book, I love how it reminds me of the model town Miranda and her classmates are building in school. It's just SO GREAT.

The Deal:

12-year-old latchkey kid Miranda is having a tough year. Her best friend Sal suddenly stopped talking to her, there's a crazy man on the corner by her building who's kind of scary, and the mean girl Julia might be out to get her for befriending Julia's BFF Annemarie. Some things are pretty great -- her mom is going to be on a game show hosted by Dick Clark, she and Annemarie have been hanging out with the cute boy in school, and of course she has her favorite book to cheer her up. But when she finds a creepy note asking about her house key from someone claiming to be on a mission to save her best friend, she's not sure what to do.

BFF Charm: Yay!

All the kids in this book get my instaBFF charm. Miranda's such a funny kid, bugging her mom for naming her after a kidnapper ("Miranda stands for human rights!" was her mom's response), and she's so adorably mixed up and 12. Watching her navigate incipient adolescence was charming. Her friends, from Sal-who's-not-speaking-to-her, to Julia-Little-Miss-60%-cacao-stuck-up-snob, to goofy Colin and enigmatic Marcus, are delightful in a way only 12-year-olds can be. They're trying to figure out the world, and their place in it, but they haven't yet decided grownups are idiots.

Swoonworthy Scale: 2

Miranda's crush on Colin, and the possible competition with Annemarie for his affections, are sweet and cute, but hardly rate more than a 2. I did get a few butterflies at a certain moment, although I'll confess a bigger attraction to Marcus, if it's possible to be attracted to a 12-year-old (spoiler alert: it's not).

Talky Talk: Puzzle Pieces

Stead tells Miranda's story in little flashes -- memories, her response to the mysterious and slightly scary note writer, bits and pieces of A Wrinkle in Time, Miranda's favorite book. All these well-crafted bits of the story seem disjointed at first, but gradually fall into place by the end (or a little before, if you're paying attention). Each of the characters is well drawn; I felt demoralized and tired by a thankless job along with Miranda's mom, I was hurt and confused by Sal's rejection, I struggled to wrap my mind around time travel when Julia and Marcus were jumping ahead with explanations that left me behind, I just wanted to fit in and be normal for a change along with Annemarie. Stead's writing is simple and spare -- my favorite kind -- and every word and story has a purpose.

Bonus Factor: A Wrinkle in Time

Duh. This book is only my favorite book of all time, and no matter how many times I read it or how old I get, it will always retain its original magic. Some people say it's not the best book to come to as an adult, but I secretly don't believe it because I will brook no ill feeling toward Meg, Calvin, the Mrs Ws, Charles Wallace and the rest of the clan.

Bonus Factor: Friendship

Behind the mystery and the speculation, When You Reach Me is a fascinating and heartbreaking story about friendship, and all the ways it changes over time. It might not be quite strong enough for a DNRIP warning, but that could depend on your mood when you read it. It's definitely one that left me reflective and a little melancholy, and wanting to reach out to all my dear friends with an, "I LOVE YOU GUYS!!"

Casting Call:

Rachel Covey (the little girl from Enchanted!) as Miranda

Aramis Knight as Marcus (he's playing Bean in Ender's Game!)

Madison Pettis as Julia

Relationship Status: True Love

I knew this book and I were meant for each other from the first chapter. It had been recommended by several trustworthy matchmakers, and we have a shared favorite book. Still, I was surprised at how it fascinated me by reminding me of my childhood (in a much smaller town than NYC, though) and by reeling me in by its puzzle. This is definitely a book I'll be turning to over and over.