A Little Mystery; A Lot of Heart

I wish I were one of those people that only needed four hours of sleep to function.

I’m not.

In fact, you don’t want to see or hear from me after only 4 hours. It isn’t pretty.

I also wish I were one of those people that could read books fast.  I have a friend who can do that. She basically reads a book a day.  She’s a book agent so I guess that’s helpful.

I read like I run… like I do most things…at my own pace.  Translation: slow.

Which means that I totally appreciate books that don’t waste my precious book-reading-time (which lately I’ve gotten less and less of)

When You Reach Me, did just that…. not waste my time.

I’m not sure if it was the beautiful story or the fact that there weren’t any more pages, but by the end, I was in tears.

One of the best books for middle grade readers out there.  But don’t take my word for it. Rebecca Stead has won the Newbery medal, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction, and the New York Times Notable Book for Children.

From Amazon:

By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood.(that’s right, set in NYC—BONUS) They know where its safe to go, and they know who to avoid. Like the crazy guy on the corner.

 But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a kid on the street for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Mirandas mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then a mysterious note arrives, scrawled on a tiny slip of paper. The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows things no one should know. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think shes too late.

Rebecca Stead unfolds this gift page by page. When You Reach Me is a story about friendship and family, social class and self. I CAN’T RECOMMEND THIS BOOK ENOUGH!!! Make sure you swipe it from your child after their done or just buy a copy for yourself…you won’t be disappointed.

**Note: I totally understand that I’m doing a book review on a novel published in 2010.  When You Reach Me is not hot off the presses and the fact that it is a totally awesome book of awesomness is not a news flash.  Just to let everyone know I am currently reading Rebecca Stead’s new book: Liar & Spy.  I hope it doesn’t take me until next year to review it for you.


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