When You Reach Me

By: Rebecca Stead

Narrated by: Cynthia Holloway

"Like A Wrinkle in Time (Miranda's favorite book), When You Reach Me far surpasses the usual whodunit or sci-fi adventure to become an incandescent exploration of 'life, death, and the beauty of it all.'" —The Washington Post

This Newbery Medal winner that has been called "smart and mesmerizing," (The New York Times) and "superb" (The Wall Street Journal) will appeal to readers of all types, especially those who are looking for a thought-provoking mystery with a mind-blowing twist.

Shortly after a fall-out with her best friend, sixth grader Miranda starts receiving mysterious notes, and she doesn’t know what to do. The notes tell her that she must write a letter—a true story, and that she can’t share her mission with anyone.

It would be easy to ignore the strange messages, except that whoever is leaving them has an uncanny ability to predict the future. If that is the case, then Miranda has a big problem—because the notes tell her that someone is going to die, and she might be too late to stop it.

Winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Fiction
A New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book
Five Starred Reviews
A Junior Library Guild Selection
A PARADE Best Kids Book of All Time
A Kirkus Reviews Best Middle Grade Book of the Century

"Absorbing." —People

"Readers ... are likely to find themselves chewing over the details of this superb and intricate tale long afterward." —The Wall Street Journal

"Lovely and almost impossibly clever." —The Philadelphia Inquirer

"It's easy to imagine readers studying Miranda's story as many times as she's read L'Engle's, and spending hours pondering the provocative questions it raises." —Publishers Weekly, Starred review

©2009 Rebecca Stead; (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

Winner of the Newbery Medal
A Junior Library Guild Selection
An ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Book
An ALA-YALSA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults
A best book of the year:
Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Booklist, Indies Choice
Named to Multiple State Award Lists
Five starred reviews


★ "[W]hen all the sidewalk characters from Miranda's Manhattan world converge amid mind-blowing revelations and cunning details, teen readers will circle back to the beginning and say,'Wow ... cool.'" —Kirkus Reviews, Starred review

★ "[T]he mental gymnastics required of readers are invigorating; and the characters, children, and adults are honest bits of humanity no matter in what place or time their souls rest." —Booklist, Starred review

★ "Closing revelations are startling and satisfying but quietly made, their reverberations giving plenty of impetus for the reader to go back to the beginning and catch what was missed." —The Horn Book Magazine, Starred review

★ "This unusual, thought-provoking mystery will appeal to several types of readers." —School Library Journal, Starred review

★ "It's easy to imagine readers studying Miranda's story as many times as she's read L'Engle's, and spending hours pondering the provocative questions it raises." —Publishers Weekly, Starred review

[T]he believable characters and unexpected ending invite readers to ponder the extraordinary that underlies the ordinary in this fictional world and in their own.” —The Washington Post

"Absorbing." —People

"Readers ... are likely to find themselves chewing over the details of this superb and intricate tale long afterward." —The Wall Street Journal

“Incandescent.” —The Washington Post

"Smart and mesmerizing." —The New York Times

When you reach me review

I loved this book because I thought it was mysterious. It had an action mystery, love, suspense, and so much more. I don’t know how you came up with this plot but it is a page turner. I loved the part about the mystery in every note the laughing man wrote. I was confused, excited, and surprised all at the same time. I could also connect with the main character. I almost felt as if I was her. I am definitely reading another one of your books. Thank you for this amazing read.

I LOVED IT WITH ALL OF MY HEART!!! (Don’t read if you have read the book ;)

My English teacher assigned me this book to read and answer questions. I can’t tell you how much I LOVED it!!! I loved it because it was well read by Cynthia, and most of the books I listen to are with people breathing heavily or really swallowing there spit. So I’m so happy my teacher showed me this, and my favorite part was the ending where Miranda and Colin become a couple :D

One of mh favorite stories

I even like the title, and let me imagine my time travel and letters. I actually like the way Miranda's mother speaks.

Good Read

I read this because my student had to read it. He said it was boring. It had a slow beginning but steadily improved. I found the story predictable but I'm not sure I would have had the same thoughts as a 10 year old. It leaves me wondering what Sal needed to do in the intervening years.

Book

I had to read this book for a a test and I did not thing I was going to like it but I enjoyed reading this book

Great book

This is a must read and don’t skip to the end trust me also you’ll get a kick out of it

When you reach me the sci-fi mystery

It was a amazing sci fi mystery with tons of turns and interesting details and characters a super fun book that always kept you guessing

Nice book but..

It’s a good story line and a good story it’s self but the person who’s reading it is VARY monotone through ok the untied book 🤖

How I think about the book

Great book highly recommend very interesting and different loved it 5 stars ⭐ liked the person reading sounded clear.

Good book

This book held my third and fifth grade boys' attentions. We'd wait before going into the school to finish some parts of the book.