Flight into Fantasy

Dear Internet,

I know I haven’t really been around much, and I feel that my poor blog, with all five of its regular readers, is missing out on the joy that is me waxing poetic–or not so poetic, as the case may be–on what I’ve been reading. There are a number of reasons for this. School has been… an interesting challenge, to say the least. And I haven’t been reading very much.

I have finished a few books, though, and am woefully behind on reviewing them, so I’m hoping that if I take a less structured approach, the reviews will get written and might even be a little better than some of the very blah stuff I’ve been cranking out lately.

Anyway, the recent read that I wanted to talk to you about is When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. This book won the Newberry medal this year, which is not why I picked it up. I picked it up because in other reviews I’d read, mention was made of the fact that Miranda, our main character, loves A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle. As it happens, I do, too. So the fact that this book won the Newberry was just a bonus.

Our story is about a twelve-year-old girl named Miranda, who lives in New York in the 1970′s. It’s told in a very stream-of-conscious style. It starts out with Miranda’s mother finding out that she will be a contestant on the $10000 pyramid. This news compells Miranda to contemplate whether she should write a note to the person who has been leaving her mysterious messages, because she thinks these messages may come from the future. In the meantime, Miranda is dealing with normal kid issues–changing friendships, trying to figure out who she is, and experimenting with boys.

I’m a character-driven reader, as long-time followers of this blog are no doubt tired of hearing. I need relatable characters or a story won’t work. And I loved Miranda. She’s smart, she’s spunky, and she felt real. I liked that her viewpoint was very childish in places, but that she was perceptive. (There’s a touching bit that sticks out in which, after she’s complained to her mom about the shabbiness of their apartment, she is suddenly made aware that her mom knows this and is embarrassed, too.)

That was another thing I really appreciated. Miranda’s family isn’t traditional, and she’s, gasp, close to her mom. She also doesn’t view her mom’s boyfriend as an interloper, and thinks that her mom should just give him a key and let him move in. After so many melodramatic stories about dealing with a parent’s new boyfriend, it was nice to read a protagonist that didn’t care.

But, you may be asking yourself, what does A Wrinkle In Time have to do with this story? Quite a lot, actually. For one thing, it is the only book that Miranda reads, and so she makes lots of references to it. I particularly liked the fact that she acknowledges what a universally relatable character Meg is. Miranda thinks of Meg as twelve, and I had to double check my copy of A Wrinkle in Time before concluding that Miranda’s right. L’Engle never outright states Meg’s age.

I wouldn’t really classify this book as a science fiction novel, though, so if you go into the book thinking there is more than just an abundance of references to < A Wrinkle in Time you’ll be disappointed. It is a mystery, first and foremost, and the science fiction elements are like a nice powdered sugar glazing on top of everything else.

Obvbviously, I liked this book a lot, and am glad it won the Newberry. The writing style was absorbing, and I read it in pretty much one sitting. My only real quibble was that I thought Miranda was a little too young to be making out with boys, but this might not bother an actual reader in the target age range, so you can take that as a sign that I am turning into a fuddy-duddy.

I’d rate this one a very strong B.

Other Opinions

• Booking Mama

• A Chair, a Fireplace and a Tea Cozy
• S. Krishna’s Books

P.S. If you’re from the FTC, hi! I got this from Bookshare, which I have access to because I am considered print-disabled. So there.