Stead, R. (2009). When you reach me. NY: Yearling. Sixth-grader Miranda is the protagonist in When You Reach Me. In the novel, mysterious notes start to appear at Miranda’s apartment that eventually make Miranda believe she can stop a death from happening. The novel ends with Miranda discovering that the laughing man was actually an older Marcus who traveled back in time to save Sal from dying, and the laughing man intended for the notes to be passed to the younger Marcus through Miranda to warn him. I think the intended audience for When You Reach Me might be for ages 8 to 12. Recommendations for follow up reading include Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead, Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle, and First Light by Rebecca Stead. Lesson that might come from reading When You Reach Me are anyone who has a friendship like Miranda and Sal, or has had a friendship like Annemarie and Julia. I think kids can relate and associate with the friendships of the characters in the book that match theirs. When You Reach Me meets the social developmental criteria because the novel’s main focus is on the character’s friendships and how they are or were associated with each other. The book captures the good and evil of friendships as they change over time, showing it through the characters as they either stay friends, drift apart, become distant, or break. When You Reach Me teaches the reader how friendships work, and that they don’t always last forever.
