When You Reach Me

Stead, R. (2010). When you reach me. New York: Yearling.

Summary: Miranda lives with her mother and her mother's boyfriend, Richard. Miranda begins to get notes from the laughing homeless man that lives on the corner of her street. The notes are instructions on what Miranda needs to do to help this time traveler save a life. Miranda and her friends get a job at a sandwich shop, but they are soon fired under the suspicion that they stole a ceramic bank. They apologize and get their jobs back but soon quit when they discover the owner is prejudiced against African-Americans. She is walking home when she sees a boy try to apologize for punching her ex-friend, Sal. Sal tries to run but is almost hit by a truck. A homeless man kicks him out of the way and he is killed. Miranda discovers that he is the one that was leaving all the notes and that he is Marcus that has time-traveled to save Sal's life.
Commentary: The style of this book is that of flashbacks. The author tells her story by flashing back and forward in time to important events that are crucial for the reader to understand.  She combines realistic fiction with a bit of science fiction. The plot is is very intriguing because it starts out as a typical story of a girl with her family and friends. The plot twist that includes time travel gives an awesome conclusion to the story.
Connections: Teacher Resources, Book Trailer, Book Review, Author Interview
Similar Books: Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool; Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos; The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron
Textbook Connections: When You Reach Me talks a lot about family and friendship. It would be excellent to recommend as a read aloud and let the students know what a twist they'll find at the end.