When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2010 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Yearling Newbery

This remarkable novel holds a fantastic puzzle at its heart.

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, 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 Miranda's 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 she's too late.

www.Amazon.comhttp://www.amazon.com/When-You-Reach-Yearling-Newbery/dp/0375850864/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345650334&sr=1-1&keywords=when+you+reach+me

I don't want to disclose any of the plot twists of this book especially since the Amazon summary doesn't hint about it... but I can say I was not expecting it to be science fiction/realistic fiction.  Although I enjoyed the writing style of the book it was just a bit "heady" for the age 9 and up it's recommended for. That being said, I did enjoy the realistic interaction of the characters and the author, Rebecca Stead's, writing style.  She gave such a wonderful visual image of life in the New York city neighborhood that I had difficulty in was the eventual switch to the science fiction genre during the book. Would I recommend the book? Definitely... but not to I thought I would recommend it to. I would highly recommend it to lovers of thought provoking science fiction stories.

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Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler

"Thou art the Black Rider. Go thee out unto the world."

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

     Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home—her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power—and the courage to fight her own inner demons?

summary from http://www.amazon.com/Hunger-Riders-Apocalypse-Jackie-Kessler/dp/0547341245

     A wildly original approach to the issue of eating disorders, Hunger is about the struggle to find balance in a world of extremes, and uses fantastic tropes to explore a difficult topic that touches the lives of many teens.

What an interesting look at the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse through the life of troubled teenagers! Very different, very profound and thought provoking. I liked it! I would recommend it to upper middle to high school students.

Dead is the New Black by Marlene Perez

Welcome to Nightshade, California—a small town full of secrets. It’s home to the pyschic Giordano sisters, who have a way of getting mixed up in mysteries. During their investigations, they run across everything from pom-pom-shaking vampires to shape-shifting boyfriends to a clue-spewing jukebox. With their psychic powers and some sisterly support, they can crack any case!
Teenage girls are being mysteriously attacked all over town, including at Nightshade High School, where Daisy Giordano is a junior. When Daisy discovers that a vampire may be the culprit, she can’t help but suspect head cheerleader Samantha Devereaux, who returned from summer break with a new “look.” Samantha appears a little . . . well, dead, and all the most popular kids at school are copying her style.
Is looking dead just another fashion trend for Samantha, or is there something more sinister going on? To find out, Daisy joins the cheerleading squad. Summary via www.amazon.com

This book will suck in (no pun intended)all those younger middle school girls who are looking for a cute romantic fantasy with werewolves, vampires, psychics, telekinesis and of course... high school drama!  This is the first of the "Dead Series" including "Dead is a Battlefield", "Dead is Not and Option", "Dead is Just a Rumor", "Dead is So Last Year", "Dead is a State of Mind".

 

Learning to Swim to Sara J. Henry

“If I’d blinked, I would have missed it. But I didn’t, and I saw something fall from the rear deck of the opposite ferry: a small, wide-eyed human face, in one tiny frozen moment, as it plummeted toward the water.”

When she witnesses a small child tumbling from a ferry into Lake Champlain, Troy Chance dives in without thinking. Harrowing moments later, she bobs to the surface, pulling a terrified little boy with her. As the ferry disappears into the distance, she begins a bone-chilling swim nearly a mile to shore with a tiny passenger on her back.
Surprisingly, he speaks only French. He’ll acknowledge that his name is Paul; otherwise, he’s resolutely mute.
Troy assumes that Paul’s frantic parents will be in touch with the police or the press. But what follows is a shocking and deafening silence. And Troy, a freelance writer, finds herself as fiercely determined to protect Paul as she is to find out what happened to him. What she uncovers will take her into a world of wealth and privilege and heedless self-indulgence—a world in which the murder of a child is not unthinkable. She’ll need skill and courage to survive and protect her charge and herself.
Sara J. Henry’s powerful and compelling Learning to Swim will move and disturb readers right up to its shattering conclusion. www.amazon.com


This is a wonderful summer read with plenty of intrigue, suspense and romance. My only negative comment is the main character, Troy cries a lot. I suppose if I was in a similar situation, I would probably cry a lot too. That being said, Troy's character seems to be an independent and confident and self-motivated young woman yet she seems to be crying about something is most of the chapters. Personally, I chose to ignore that fact because the overall book was well written and the plot was intriguing.

Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to NOT Reading by Tommy Greenwald

Charlie Joe Jackson may be the most reluctant reader ever born. And so far, he’s managed to get through life without ever reading an entire book from cover to cover. But now that he’s in middle school, avoiding reading isn’t as easy as it used to be. And when his friend Timmy McGibney decides that he’s tired of covering for him, Charlie Joe finds himself resorting to desperate measures to keep his perfect record intact.This is the hilarious story of an avid non-reader and the extreme lengths to which he’ll go to get out of reading a book. Amazon.com

Need I say  I was a bit reluctant to  recommend this book. It's hard enough to get some kids to read without having a book to give them ideas about NOT reading. However, this may be a really great choice for the reluctant readers out there. Charlie Joe keeps his chapters short (Charlie Joe's Tip #1) and interesting (Charlie Joe's Tip #19).  It also has a story kids can relate to (shh.... yes, I said there's actually a story line too!).


By the way, check out the cute book trailer I found on Amazon.com and also a promotional video for public libraries!

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Overview from www.barnesandnoble.com

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

I wish I had something more insightful to add to this review but this description pretty much sums it up for me too. It's full of witticism and is eloquently written although maybe a bit above the comfortable language level of most students below high school reading level. It's easy to fall for the two main characters, Hazel and Augustus as they confront their own mortality while yearning for some semblance of normal.

I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb

summary from www.barnesandnoble.com

Twelve-year-old Oliver Watson’s got the IQ of a grilled cheese sandwich. Or so everyone in Omaha thinks. In reality, Oliver’s a mad evil genius on his way to world domination, and he’s used his great brain to make himself the third-richest person on earth! Then Oliver’s father—and archnemesis—makes a crack about the upcoming middle school election, and Oliver takes it as a personal challenge. He’ll run, and he’ll win! Turns out, though, that overthrowing foreign dictators is actually way easier than getting kids to like you. . . Can this evil genius win the class presidency and keep his true identity a secret, all in time to impress his dad?

This book sparked my interest from the first time I saw it. I know, I know.... don't judge a book by it's cover. But this one lived up to its packaging. Oliver is a stereotypical evil genius with a blend of Stewie from Family Guy and Austin Powers's Doctor Evil complete with disdain for adult authority, secret hide-outs and high tech gadgetry. But the underlying story is a lot closer to reality. Read this book and find out why Oliver, the evil genius, has chosen to run for class president...


Just noted... it looks like they may be turning this book into a movie... I'll write more information  about this as it becomes available.