STORYTIME: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

In When You Reach Me, Stead crafts a story so breathtakingly suspenseful, so expertly woven and so thrillingly complex that it's utterly impossible to put down, for children and adults, alike.

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STORYTIME: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

POSTED: Tuesday, June 21, 2011, 1:00 PM

Each week, Dylan Rhys Williams reviews a new childrens' book that'll twinkle the imaginations of kids and kids at heart.

Recipient of the 2010 Newbery Medal, When You Reach Me (Yearling, 2010) by Rebecca Stead is one of the most engaging childrens’ books released in the last decade. The novel follows New York City sixth-grader Miranda through a year of confusion and discovery. When the falling out with her best friend Sal and discovery of a mysterious man on her street corner trigger a series of events shrouded in mystery and the possibility of time travel, Miranda and a few unlikely heros must puzzle together the strange occurrences in her life.

The novel is an absolute treat to read, providing a healthy dose of mystery and suspense while sating one’s desire for sagely, literary wisdom. Stead crafts a story so breathtakingly suspenseful, so expertly woven and so thrillingly complex that it's utterly impossible to put down — for children and adults alike. Kids will enjoy the comedy in the story and the climactic resolution as Miranda discovers the common threads connecting the different mysteries in her life. Adults will appreciate the suspense of the seemingly trivial actions of a sixth-grader, as well as the subtle wisdom of the meticulous and realistic first-person narration (à la Jonathan Safran Foer). Overall, an incredible book to be read by all ages; perfect for cross-generational read-alouds or a quiet day at home.

BONUS: In honor of BQ week, we're giving away a copy of Alan Katz’s new book, Mosquitoes Are Ruining My Summer! The first person who emails dylan.williams@citypaper.net with the name of the only author in history to win a Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honor in the same year. (Hint: it was in the late-1960s.) Good luck!

WE HAVE A WINNER: Congrats to Jackie. The correct answer was E. L. Konigsburg, who won both the Newbery Medal for From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler and a Newbery Honor for Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth in 1968. In 1997, Konigsburg went on to win a second Newbery Medal for her novel The View from Saturday.

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