Weekly Reads: When You Reach Me

When You Reach Me was the Newbery Award winner for 2010. The book group I lead at the library, Young @ Heart <3, read it for our meeting last week. It was a re-read for me, I read it in 2011, and I loved it just as much as I loved it then. I recall reading it the first time and saying it was on par with The Giver for extraordinary children's books IMO. When You Reach Me has a ton of references to A Wrinkle in Time, which I was obsessed with when I was a kid. I actually listened to A Wrinkle in Time on audiobook while reading When You Reach Me. Interesting book coupling there. :)

My Rating: ***** (still)

Summary from Goodreads:

By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it’s safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know whom to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner.

But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a new kid for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda’s mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then Miranda finds a mysterious note scrawled on a tiny slip of paper: 

I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own.
I must ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter.The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows all about her, including things that have not even happened yet. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she’s too late.