2024 the best of me book setting review

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"Like A Wrinkle in Time (Miranda's favorite book), When You Reach Me far surpasses the usual whodunit or sci-fi adventure to become an incandescent exploration of 'life, death, and the beauty of it all.'" —The Washington Post
 
This Newbery Medal winner that has been called "smart and mesmerizing," (The New York Times) and "superb" (The Wall Street Journal) will appeal to readers of all types, especially those who are looking for a thought-provoking mystery with a mind-blowing twist.
 
Shortly after a fall-out with her best friend, sixth grader Miranda starts receiving mysterious notes, and she doesn’t know what to do. The notes tell her that she must write a letter—a true story, and that she can’t share her mission with anyone.
 
It would be easy to ignore the strange messages, except that whoever is leaving them has an uncanny ability to predict the future. If that is the case, then Miranda has a big problem—because the notes tell her that someone is going to die, and she might be too late to stop it.
 
Winner of the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Fiction
A New York Times Bestseller and Notable Book
Five Starred Reviews
A Junior Library Guild Selection
 
"Absorbing." —People

"Readers ... are likely to find themselves chewing over the details of this superb and intricate tale long afterward." —The Wall Street Journal
 
"Lovely and almost impossibly clever." —The Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"It's easy to imagine readers studying Miranda's story as many times as she's read L'Engle's, and spending hours pondering the provocative questions it raises." —Publishers Weekly, Starred review

From the Publisher

Praise for the writing of Rebecca Stead:

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Customer Reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars

832

4.5 out of 5 stars

930

4.4 out of 5 stars

1,269

4.5 out of 5 stars

309

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Read all the bestselling books from Newbery Award-winning author Rebecca Stead!
EIGHT STARRED REVIEWS! The reassuring book kids and families need right now. This brilliant, New York Times bestselling novel explores multiple perspectives on the bonds and limits of friendship. The instant New York Times bestselling novel about spies, games, and friendship. This remarkable and acclaimed debut novel introduces readers to a captivating, hidden world below the ice.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0375850864
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yearling; Reprint edition (December 28, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780375850868
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0375850868
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 10 - 12 years, from customers
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 750L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 3 - 7
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.44 x 5.08 x 7.76 inches
Reviewer: Basically Amazing Ashley
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: BEYOND deserving of its Newbery Award- a truly amazing book
Review: Although I've loved most of my experiences with Newbery novels, reading too many of them close together can make them all start to blend together. Because so many of them are a coming of age story, focusing on a young or boy learning to deal with whatever hardships life has dealt them, some of the details begin to merge together creating a giant Newbery read instead of the individual books.Although some stories have a tendencies to run together, there are some which are a such a w original idea, completely unique unto themselves that they demand that you remember them individually. When You Reach Me by Re Stead is one such story.This book is brilliant. I might repeat that again, because I can't think of a better word to describe the story (unless I'm just going to stick with basically amazing.) I can't imagine the flow charts, timelines and diagrams Stead must have used to create this book. Everything within the story is connected, but nothing feels contrived. Too many times in stories where plot lines overlap and characters connect in unexpected ways, the coincidences become too much and too unrealistic for the necessary suspension of disbelief, and it lessens the enjoyment of the story, because I can't believe any of that would actually happen. When You Reach Me offers no such feeling. It is simply an 11 year old girl trying to come to terms with a life changing experience.Miranda (Mira) is our main character and her voice is strong. Throughout the book, Mira is struggling to determine her place in a world that is suddenly different from what she had always known her world to be. Her best (and only) friend no longer wants anything to do with her, there is a 'crazy-shaped person' living on their corner who sleeps with his head under the mailbox, and (the most disconcerting and unsettling of all) she begins finding letters within her things, asking for assistance from an unknown, unnamed source who seems to know things before they happen. Mira's mind is practical and she finds it very difficult to accept many of these new changes. I love that we are able to watch and listen as Miranda's mind broadens as she learns to accept the changes within her life.One of the complaints I had with this book the first time I read it was the desire to know more about some of the periphery characters. While that is still true to a degree, after the second read through I decided Stead's way was better, especially with Marcus. I believe Marcus is one of my new favorite literary characters. He is just so individual and he lives by such a different set of rules without ever really acknowledging that his way is any different, any more right or wrong, than anyone else's. Although I would love to know more about Marcus and the other great characters in Stead's novel, it is a selfish desire to know everything about everything, not something her novel is actually missing.I refuse to go into too many details here, because this is one book that it would be a shame to spoil. Knowing too much about this book the first time you read it ruins some of its magic. There is so much depth to this story, so much wonder and it is definitely one you must discover on your own. I believe that the brilliance of this story comes from its simple comp ties. Those are what make it such a magnificent first time read, but allows you to enjoy the story more each time you read it. The story is simple enough to appeal to the younger audience it was written for while also being complex enough to not only appeal to s and the older children, but also complex enough to withstand multiple readings. I re-read this book just the other day, about two months after my first read through, and I found myself noticing much that I missed the first time through, and enjoying it just that much more.This book was nothing short of fantastic and managed to hit upon the perfect degree of interest. It left me wanting more of the story and more of the characters, but what I was given filled all the empty places. It was everything it needed to be.

Reviewer: SS
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Read it again and again
Review: Although I'm well into my adult years, I'm a huge fan of YA literature because it's entertaining, tends to be quick and easy to read, and in the best cases, can influence young adults to become empathetic, intelligent, compassionate human beings.This book accomplishes all of those tasks. It was such a short read that I managed to read it three times in the past two days. The first time I was engaged in Miranda's coming-of-age story and the mystery she finds herself entangled in when she begins to receive mysterious notes. There were many relatable elements, such as losing and making friends, having a crush, dealing with family relationships, and the many epiphanies that come along with growing from a child into an adult. The second time I went back to revisit parts that I now realized were important "clues" that I had missed along the way, and marveled at the way the author had incorporated these breadcrumbs throughout the story to bring it to such a satisfying culmination at the end. Finally, I read it one more time just to savor my favorite parts and enjoy the setting, the way the author brings New York City in the late 70's to life and captures the atmosphere so well.What I love most about the book is the journey Miranda, the protagonist, goes on, and how well her character is developed; she is insecure, confused, jealous, ungrateful, but she works towards becoming a better person and seeks to figure out how she fits into the framework of her world. Even though there is a mystery at the core of the book, which moves the plot along and makes you want to move forward to uncover what is happening, the characters are realistically drawn and surprisingly complex.Small gripe - I'm not sure if it was just the transcription to the Kindle version, but there were a few grammatical errors, i.e. persons instead of person's.

Reviewer: Mathaniel
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A fun little mystery
Review: Borrowing greatly from L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time, Rebecca Stead wrote a wandering story about a young girl who finds herself at the center of a mystery. Though the majority of the book seems to simply be a slice of life, the conclusion is straight out of an M. Night Shyamalan tale. I felt that the interactions among the characters were authentic and unforced. Unlike so many of the self-deprecating narrators in YA fiction, Miranda was confident and yet not precocious (she wasn't the 'best or brightest', but also not unfailingly lacking either). In other words, she was real, average.Though I can't say the 'Ah Ha' moment came as a complete surprise, I did look back at early sections to check the bread crumbs Stead had laid. All in all, this was an enjoyable read and the ending made it worth the while.

Reviewer: jimena
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Muy lindo libro tanto mi hija de 11 como yo lo disfrutamos.

Reviewer: Rosemeire dos Reis G Rodrigues
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Veio conforte solicitadol

Reviewer: alice
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: inizialmente questo libro non mi convinceva molto e sono stata obbligata a leggerlo per la scuola ma è un libro molto bello e lo consiglierei a un pò tutti, non si è mai troppo grandi/piccoli per leggere qualcosa

Reviewer: JUDY
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Perfect for my grand daughter kept her interest and encouraged her reading

Reviewer: Laura M.
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Lectura fácil y original enfoque. Una novela bastante cortita cuya lectura suscita distintas sensaciones. En línea con lo que me esperaba. ¡La recomiendo!