Fall Required Reading #24

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

I was given a list of authors, and had to read a book by each of them. This is my last one. I searched Amazon for the synopses, and this one sounded interesting. Once again, though, I don't feel that this one fits in the young adult genre.

Miranda lives in New York, and she has learned how to navigate her part of the world. She knows there's a guy on the corner who gives her the heeby jeebies, and she tries to avoid him. One day, she receives a note from a mysterious stranger who knows too much about her. He tells her to write a letter "from the beginning" about the incident that ultimately saves her oldest friend's life.

This jumps around a bit. It starts out in Miranda's present, but then flashes back to the fall and winter that precede that. The story does tell what happens from the beginning, but also tells what happens in the present.

Good story, but I figured it out before the author presented what she wanted you to know. I attribute this to being an adult reading a book meant for elementary school students.