Reading in the Middle, Junior and Senior High Schools, Spring, 2010

So, I have finished the book and wanted to just make some general comments about my overall feedback about the novel. I must say that I actually liked it a lot more than I thought I would--I really enjoy reading adolescent literature. Not only could I read through it quicker and understand it easily, but I think the topics that adolescent literature deals with are so relevant for me as a future teacher--the problems that my students will deal with and face on a daily basis are covered within many of the YA novels. With that being said, I think that "When You Reach Me" is certainly a great book that teaches the value of friendship, all the while exploring a sort of scientific or futuristic aspect.

What I liked most about this book was the mystery involved in the plot. Not knowing where the mysterious letters were coming from or how the letter writer knew the future made the story very suspenseful and kept my attention. I also think that the whole concept of time travel that eventually turns out to be the explanation for the letters was very compelling--I never would have guessed that the man under the mailbox was going to save Sal's life. The ending really tied the story together well and made all of the pieces fit together into a coherent puzzle. This is kind of a sidenote to the plot, but I also thought it was neat how Miranda's mom was going on The $20,000 Pyramid and each of the chapters was entitled like a category from the show. This aspect of the book made it very relevant and relatable to an audience in today's society.

One final comment about the novel and its relatability to teens is the dynamics between families and friends within the novel. Miranda lives at home with her single mother (well, the mother has a boyfriend, but he doesn't live with them) and begins to struggle with embarrassment of her humble home once she makes friends with a more wealthy girl. Miranda's friend Annemarie lives with just a father. The idea of single parenting, or divorced parents, or parents who have boyfriends/girlfriends is something that a lot of children in the classroom will be dealing with. Kids struggle to find friends who won't gossip about them behind their back and who will stick by them no matter what-- both of these aspects are explored within "When You Reach Me."

So my overall opinion of the book is that it was very well written and did an excellent job of keeping the reader's attention and engaging them in the story, all the while relating to a YA audience on several levels. What do you guys think about the book as a whole now that we've read it in its entirety?

Brooke I think that you did a really good job picking this book out! I really enjoyed it! I liked the way Miranda was writing to somebody and saying things like "I understand it now" or "I didn't know that until later". It kept me reading just because I wanted to know who she was writing to and where the notes were coming from! I think that if you used this in a classroom you could have the students keep a journal and have them start each lesson discussing who they think the letters are coming from and why. If the students are anything like me, they will change their opinions every 20-30 pages. I think that at the end of the book they could look back over their journals and see if they got it right and feel pretty good about their ability to predict the outcome.
Also, commenting on Brooke’s statement about how each of the chapters were titled after a category for the $20,000 Pyramid, I must be completely dense because I didn’t notice that!! Now that it has been pointed out I can see it and I think that is a really neat idea on the author’s part! I guess I was just reading from page to page, trying to find out who was writing the letters and I ended up just skimming through the chapter names!
When You Reach Me does a really good job of opening up people’s minds to things they may not normally think about. When I started reading this book I wasn’t aware that it was going to be about time travel, and that’s definitely not one of my conversation starting pieces, but throughout the book it made me think about how it could work. I thought that when Miranda was discussing A Wrinkle In Time with the kid that punched Sal, it made it more tangible. He was able to clear up the subject, and eventually master it.
Another aspect of this book that I like is that all the characters were important. In most books you will have one or two characters that are key to the story, but here every character played a role in the book and by taking one out it would change the entire story. I thought that by making the laughing man the hero at the end was a good and unexpected choice. When you read the book it didn’t seem like he had much of a role besides just being crazy but then you find out that he was only crazy because he traveled through time to save Sal’s life.
Overall, like I said before, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others. I think this would be a good book to give someone who may be interested in science fiction topics that is having a hard time finding things they like to read. I think that they would be able to follow the plot closely and have a better grasp of the subject.

Cassie--I love your idea about journals to help teach this book to a class. I think that having the students predict the novel's outcome and who is writing the letters is a great way to get them interested and engaged in the storyline. Plus, it would be fun for them to make guesses and see who ends up being right.

Cassie--I love your idea about journals to help teach this book to a class. I think that having the students predict the novel's outcome and who is writing the letters is a great way to get them interested and engaged in the storyline. Plus, it would be fun for them to make guesses and see who ends up being right.

So, when I started the book I never thought I'd say it, but it was pretty good. It seemed to develop a little slowly but the author did an excellent job of bringing it all together at the end. Luckily all though the plot was a little slow and confusing in the beginning, the characters are interesting enough to get through it. I agree with Happi that she could have made the supernatural elements a little more apparent earlier on, but I think part of the aim was that by not doing so, the book takes on certain elements of a mystery so it blends multiple genres. As far as a young adult novel, it has many of the “standard” themes and ideas that are so relevant, but as has been said before, the author introduces a chronological element that until recently isn't even seen in very much adult literature. It's also somewhat subtle, but in the modern world the usage of characters who violate the “traditional” family are increasingly important, as many of the students and children reading the book will not be from such a family. I would have liked to see the plot line with the $20,000 pyramid develop a little more and go somewhere, but it did provide and interesting backdrop to the story. Overall I was very surprised and rather pleased with the story – good pick. I think I would recommend that students read this book similarly to the way we did, small reading groups with discussion seem to work well. If I incorporated something else, such as journals, I would like them to make predictions about the plot to see where they think it's going. The plot was unique and well-developed, as were the characters; this novel did an excellent job of avoiding the trap that so many other YA books fall into of being repetitive and flooding the market with the same story under a different title. Thumbs up.