You Reached Me (with two books)

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

This book really surprised me. I wasn’t expecting the story to go where it actually ended up. It was a pleasant surprise that had me saying, “What!?!?” out loud as I started to figure everything out.

The story revolves around a girl in Grade 6 who starts to get mysterious notes. Her best friend starts to distance himself for some reason, and her mother is busily preparing for a game show appearance.

I can’t say much more without giving things away. But I will admit that I really enjoyed the ending of the book. It made me look up other titles from this author. I was surprised to find out that I had already read one of her books too. I’m behind on my blogging though, so I will write about it now.

One other note, before I move on. There is a great teacher guide for this book as well.

Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead 

This one is about a boy in the seventh grade that moves from a house to an apartment building  where he quickly makes a new friend. His new friend likes to spy on people in the neighbourhood and has his eyes on someone who lives in the building. Together, they begin to spy on him and at first it is cool, but do they go too far?

This was an interesting read and I would recommend either of these books to a young adult reader.

I like Stead’s voice and her sense of pacing. I definitely will be looking for more titles by her in the future.

My List of 2018 Reads – A cool place to find out the books I’ve read this year