When You Reach Me facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
When You Reach Me

First edition cover
Author	Rebecca Stead
Cover artist	Sophie Blackall
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Young Adult, Science fiction and mystery
Publisher	Wendy Lamb Books
Publication date	July 14, 2009
Media type	Print (hardcover)
Pages	208 pp
ISBN	978-0-385-73742-5
LC Class	PZ7.S80857 WH 2009

When You Reach Me is an exciting science fiction and mystery novel written by Rebecca Stead. It won the prestigious Newbery Medal in 2010. Published in 2009, the story takes you back to the Upper West Side of Manhattan in 1978 and 1979. It follows a sixth-grade girl named Miranda Sinclair. Her life gets very mysterious when she finds a strange, unsigned note in a library book. The note is only for "M," and it hints at future events. Miranda must solve this puzzle, mostly by herself. While this mystery unfolds, Miranda also deals with school, her friends, and helping her mom get ready for a TV game show called The $20,000 Pyramid. Key characters include Miranda's mom, her mom's kind boyfriend Richard, her best friend Sal, and a mysterious homeless man known as "the laughing man." The book explores important ideas like growing up, making things right, and the power of friendship.

When You Reach Me was inspired by a story Rebecca Stead read about a man who lost his memory. It also drew from parts of her own childhood and her favorite book, A Wrinkle in Time. After writing much of the novel, Stead worked with her editor, Wendy Lamb, to make it even better. The book was published on July 14, 2009. Critics praised the story for its realistic setting and how well the author handled small details. The novel became a best-seller and won several "Best Book of the Year" awards, in addition to the 2010 Newbery Medal.

How the Story Was Created

Rebecca Stead started writing When You Reach Me in 2007. She got the idea from a newspaper article about a man who lost his memory. He woke up in a strange city and couldn't remember who he was. This made Stead wonder if he had traveled back in time to prevent a past event, but lost his memory during the journey. This fascinating idea sparked the story of When You Reach Me."

Besides the newspaper story, Stead also used memories from her own childhood. She remembered a mysterious man she called "the laughing man" who lived near her apartment. She also included her old elementary school, her childhood home, and a sandwich shop where she once worked. Stead even added moments where characters acted unkindly, just like she sometimes did as a child. Over time, the book became a mix of everyday life mysteries and exciting time-travel ideas.

To make the time travel in her story believable, Stead researched how it might work. She even asked her father, who loved math puzzles, for help with the scientific parts. He helped her make sure the time travel ideas in the book made sense.

At one point, Stead stopped writing because she felt the story was too much about her own life. But after attending a writers' conference, she felt inspired to continue. She sent her unfinished story to her editor, Wendy Lamb, who loved it. Together, they worked to make sure the complex ideas in the book were clear and that the plot had no confusing parts.

The Influence of A Wrinkle in Time

In When You Reach Me, Miranda often reads A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. This was Rebecca Stead's favorite book when she was a child. She read it many times. Stead thought of A Wrinkle in Time as a special charm for Miranda. Her editor suggested keeping it in the story if it could be connected well. Stead reread A Wrinkle in Time from different viewpoints. This helped her create new ideas and links in her own novel.

Story Setting: New York City in the 70s

The story of When You Reach Me happens during Miranda's sixth-grade year, from 1978 to 1979. Rebecca Stead chose the Upper West Side of Manhattan as the setting. This is the same neighborhood where Stead grew up. Many places in the book, like Miranda's apartment and the streets she explores, are based on Stead's own childhood experiences. She wanted to show what it was like to grow up with a sense of independence, exploring the city on her own. Her memories of seeing a mysterious man, the "laughing man," in her neighborhood also became an important part of the story.

Unraveling the Mystery: The Plot

Miranda, a sixth grader, lives with her single mother in New York City. Her mom gets a chance to be on the $20,000 Pyramid game show. Miranda and her mom's boyfriend, Richard, help her practice, hoping she can win money for a better life. Meanwhile, Miranda's best friend, Sal, starts ignoring her after another boy, Marcus, hits him.

A mysterious homeless man, called "the laughing man" because he often laughs to himself, lives near Miranda's home.

Miranda starts getting strange notes. These notes ask her to write a letter about things that will happen in the future. The writer claims to be from the future, coming to save a life. The notes also predict events that soon come true, making Miranda very curious.

Miranda and her new friends, Annemarie and Colin, try to get a job at a local sandwich shop. The owner, Jimmy, agrees to let them work, but pays them with free food instead of money. The kids find a Fred Flintstone bank in the shop with special two-dollar bills inside. When the bank is stolen, Jimmy wrongly blames the kids and fires them. Miranda later learns the laughing man took it. Jimmy re-hires them after they prove their innocence. However, Annemarie quits when Jimmy unfairly suspects her friend, Julia, of the theft.

One day, Annemarie has a seizure. Julia tells Miranda that Annemarie has epilepsy and needs a special diet, which Miranda didn't know. Colin invites Miranda to hang out, and they share a quick kiss.

Later, Marcus, who is now friends with Miranda, tries to apologize to Sal. Sal runs away from Marcus and into the path of an oncoming truck. The laughing man bravely pushes Sal out of the way, saving his life, but is fatally hit by the truck himself. Miranda finds a fourth note and realizes the laughing man traveled from the future to save Sal. The note asks Miranda to write down recent events. While Sal recovers in the hospital, Miranda visits him, and they become friends again.

While her mother is on the game show, Miranda remembers a conversation with Marcus about time travelers. She suddenly understands that the laughing man was an older version of Marcus. He needed Miranda to deliver the notes to his younger self. Miranda goes to the mailbox where the laughing man used to sleep. There, she finds a picture of an older, smiling Julia. The story ends as Miranda gives the important letter to Marcus.

Book Genres

When You Reach Me is mainly a science fiction and mystery novel. However, it also includes parts of other genres. It's a complex puzzle, a historical story set in the past, a school story, and a tale of friendship. All these elements are woven together with the idea of time travel.

Some people wondered if it was purely science fiction or just a very imaginative girl's experience. Others called it historical fiction because it takes place in 1979. The story's time travel isn't about fancy machines or big action scenes. Instead, it's a deep look into life, death, and the beauty of it all. Even with its science fiction ideas, the book feels very real.

Many readers agree that the novel is a thrilling mystery. Clues are hidden throughout the story, in maps, words, and chapter titles. By the end, everything connects and makes perfect sense. Each mysterious note Miranda receives hints at what will happen next. These clues are skillfully placed until the exciting climax, where all the pieces come together. The mystery keeps you wondering until the very end.

Important Themes

The novel explores how to keep old friendships strong while also making new ones. It shows how new friends can help you hold onto or even fix older friendships. The book deeply helps kids in middle school understand these tricky parts of friendship.

This theme of friendship is clear when Sal stops being friends with Miranda after Marcus hits him. Miranda has to deal with Sal ignoring her without a clear reason. The story shows how Sal's actions force Miranda to find new friends and become more involved at school. She learns a lot about how people interact in that environment.

The book also talks about second chances. Miranda learns to give second chances to Julia, a girl she first disliked, and Alice, a girl who always seems to need the bathroom. Miranda initially saw Julia as a rival for Annemarie's friendship and Alice as just a strange kid. By the end, she realizes Julia is a good friend to Annemarie, and Alice is actually an insecure girl.

Rebecca Stead believes kids today have less independence than she did growing up. She wanted to write about the freedom of exploring the city alone, even if it was a little scary. In the novel, Miranda and her friends often walk around town without adults. They even work at a sandwich shop and walk home from school, trying to avoid the laughing man. Stead hoped to show her sons what her childhood was like, sending them on their own "time-travel journey."

Time Travel in the Story

Time travel is a central theme in When You Reach Me. Miranda often wonders how time travel could be real. Marcus helps Miranda understand a flaw in A Wrinkle in Time. He explains that if the characters had returned five minutes before they left, they would have seen themselves arrive. This moment shows how complex and mysterious the novel is.

The story's structure cleverly mixes past, present, and future events. This goes against Miranda's simple belief that the end can't happen before the middle. Stead's view of time travel in the novel is that going back in time fulfills the future, rather than changing it. She wanted to show that Miranda wasn't just struggling with the universe's randomness, but learning that her world has value and that people care about her.

Audiobook Version

The audiobook version of When You Reach Me was released by Listening Library. It has four disks. Cynthia Holloway's reading of Miranda was praised for highlighting the relationships in the story. The chapter titles were included in the audio, which added more detail to the book.

Awards and Recognition