Review Detail

Miranda and Sal have been best friends since they were
babies, but on the day Sal gets punched in the stomach everything changes.  Sal no longer wants to hang out and she cant
figure out why.  Now Miranda has lost
someone who felt like a part of her, and to make it worse she has to walk by
the crazy laughing man on the corner all by herself.  When Miranda was with Sal, she could deal
with the crazy guy and his muttering and kicking but alone hes just too
scary.  When Annemarie, another girl in
her class, loses her best friend she and Miranda become friends.  Annemarie isnt a replacement for Sal, but
shes close enough.

On top of losing Sal, Miranda starts finding strange notes
hidden in her things that warn her of an impending tragedy.  How does the note-writer know that Mirandas
mom will be chosen to appear on the tv show The $20,000 Pyramid, or what shell
get for Christmas?  And why does the
note-writer warn her not to share the notes with anyone else? 

Even though Miranda makes new friends, and finds that the
boy who punched Sal really isnt all that bad, she has to solve the mystery of the
notes on her own.  Can she do it before
tragedy strikes?

Rebecca Stead has created a beautifully written work in When You Reach Me.  Set in New York City in 1978, this book is a
mixture of mystery and coming-of-age tale. 
Mirandas feelings when she loses Sal's friendship are shown with a depth that makes
the heart ache.  The mystery swirling
around the notes is intricately developed and detailed.  At the very end everything comes together, and
then you may just want to turn back to the first page and read the story again.  When
You Reach Me is a masterpiece, and I highly recommend it.