A review by sephora_ariean
When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
5.0
I wanted to hop inside the book so bad, so that I could be a part of the characters lives. That’s never happened to me whilst reading middle grade before, even when I was actually a middle grader.
Every single character that graced the pages was sprinkled with something warm and magical— seriously every single one. I loved them all. How has Rebecca done this??? I love Miranda. I love her intelligence, her spunk, her depth, her awareness. I love her voice, OMG. It was such a thrill to read the world through her eyes. God I’d love her as a friend. She’s Good People. Every character in this book is Good People.
I’m so happy I stumbled upon this book, and this author. I was hesitant about the middle grade genre, but only because in the past I’ve tried reading it and it was like if someone were to walk through a jar of molasses. Everything was too slow or too simple.
But Rebecca Stead? Oh, brilliant writer. Just take a look at these passages.
My first memory of Julia is from second grade, when we made self-portraits in art. She complained There was no “café-au-lait” -coloured construction paper for her skin, or “sixty-percent-cacao-chocolate” colour for her eyes. I remember staring at her while these words came out of her mouth, and thinking, your skin is light brown. Your eyes are dark brown. Why don’t you just use brown, you idiot? [...] I didn’t complain about the stupid hot-pink colour I’d been given. Did my skin look hot-pink to her?
You don’t have to be in middle grade to enjoy the sharp wit of our wonderful protagonist. She’s so freaking smart and funny. There were so many nose-snort moments for me while reading. The more nose-snorts a character gets outta me, the more favourite they become.
There’s also such tender moments of truth, and discovery, and depth. Moments of universal profoundness that a six grader is learning, and yet are still relevant to me, someone in her mid twenties.
Sometimes you never feel meaner than the moment you stop being mean. It’s like how turning on the light makes you realize how dark the room had gotten. And the way you usually act, the things you normally would have done, are like these ghosts that everyone can see but pretends not to.
It was also fun finding out that the book Miranda had been reading throughout was A Wrinkle In Time I’d first heard about it because it’s Disney adaptation was filmed around the same time as Black Panther. I’d also heard it referenced a few other places and I think I’m going to read it for myself. Time travel spooks me but never fails to fascinate me. I love the way the book intertwined with the main story. I don’t know why but I love books and stories that kudos other stories. This book showed that time travel doesn’t have to be large scale, and it can still be just as entertaining and fascinating. The twists were amazing and all the details were so. Dang. Smart.
It’s not hard to see why this book got so many awards. Why the copy if had was the 10th anniversary addition. I’m going to have no choice but to read more of Rebecca Stead’s work. Her story gave me the same feelings I had when I read stuff by Melina Marchetta. Profound in a way that captures the heart, and character based narratives that are so deeply engrossing without the need of an actual villain.
Re-reading is a rare phenomenon for me, but I already know I’m going to visit this one again and again.
Every single character that graced the pages was sprinkled with something warm and magical— seriously every single one. I loved them all. How has Rebecca done this??? I love Miranda. I love her intelligence, her spunk, her depth, her awareness. I love her voice, OMG. It was such a thrill to read the world through her eyes. God I’d love her as a friend. She’s Good People. Every character in this book is Good People.
I’m so happy I stumbled upon this book, and this author. I was hesitant about the middle grade genre, but only because in the past I’ve tried reading it and it was like if someone were to walk through a jar of molasses. Everything was too slow or too simple.
But Rebecca Stead? Oh, brilliant writer. Just take a look at these passages.
My first memory of Julia is from second grade, when we made self-portraits in art. She complained There was no “café-au-lait” -coloured construction paper for her skin, or “sixty-percent-cacao-chocolate” colour for her eyes. I remember staring at her while these words came out of her mouth, and thinking, your skin is light brown. Your eyes are dark brown. Why don’t you just use brown, you idiot? [...] I didn’t complain about the stupid hot-pink colour I’d been given. Did my skin look hot-pink to her?
You don’t have to be in middle grade to enjoy the sharp wit of our wonderful protagonist. She’s so freaking smart and funny. There were so many nose-snort moments for me while reading. The more nose-snorts a character gets outta me, the more favourite they become.
There’s also such tender moments of truth, and discovery, and depth. Moments of universal profoundness that a six grader is learning, and yet are still relevant to me, someone in her mid twenties.
Sometimes you never feel meaner than the moment you stop being mean. It’s like how turning on the light makes you realize how dark the room had gotten. And the way you usually act, the things you normally would have done, are like these ghosts that everyone can see but pretends not to.
It was also fun finding out that the book Miranda had been reading throughout was A Wrinkle In Time I’d first heard about it because it’s Disney adaptation was filmed around the same time as Black Panther. I’d also heard it referenced a few other places and I think I’m going to read it for myself. Time travel spooks me but never fails to fascinate me. I love the way the book intertwined with the main story. I don’t know why but I love books and stories that kudos other stories. This book showed that time travel doesn’t have to be large scale, and it can still be just as entertaining and fascinating. The twists were amazing and all the details were so. Dang. Smart.
It’s not hard to see why this book got so many awards. Why the copy if had was the 10th anniversary addition. I’m going to have no choice but to read more of Rebecca Stead’s work. Her story gave me the same feelings I had when I read stuff by Melina Marchetta. Profound in a way that captures the heart, and character based narratives that are so deeply engrossing without the need of an actual villain.
Re-reading is a rare phenomenon for me, but I already know I’m going to visit this one again and again.