Book Review: When You Reach Me

I didn't want to like this book.

That will probably sound really strange, but I have this problem with authority, so every once in awhile when too many people are saying I should do something, I don't want to do it. (Yet another reason why I get along well with my high school students!) So, in this case, everyone in the world saying I should read this made me not want to read and like, this book. Also, I have found myself NOT enjoying some Newbery/award-winning books of late. And lastly, I was sitting next to a trusted friend at the Youth Media Awards (when this book won the Newbery), and when I asked her about the book she simply said "eh."

So I suppose I started reading this book today with a chip on my shoulder, and I thought the book couldn't possibly live up to all the hype.

Simply put, I was wrong.

I really, really liked this book. It was different from anything else I have ever read. It surprised me. And although I think it will be a hard sell for teens (reasons: the age of the character and especially the cover), I am glad that I purchased it for my high school kids, and if they can get past those two things they will be greatly rewarded.

mini reviews

Here is what I've been reading for the past 3 weeks:

1. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan - Terrifying! I don't know that I've ever actually read a book that can be classified as horror. My husband is always pestering me to go see scary movies with him and I refuse. When FHT is made into a movie I don't know that I will be able to watch it! That being said, this is a fabulously exciting and well-written horror story.

2.Another Faust by Daniel & Dina Nayeri - I'd almost like to call this a quiet fantasy, meaning there are no dragons, wizards, or huge action-packed scenes. But I said almost. This is not a quiet story by any means; the characters are memorable and powerful and the story dark. I'm a big fan of fractured fairy tales and retellings and this is no exception. I linked to the audiobook for this one because I purchased my copy of this on iTunes and listened to it. The narration was SO well done!

3. Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko - I loved the book Al Capone Does My Laundry, and therefore had high hopes for this title. I was not disappointed. Al Capone Shines My Shoes is humorous and touching in a way that reminds me of Gary D. Schmidt's Wednesday Wars. I think this would be a perfect classroom read aloud. I can't imagine many kids in 5th - 8th who would read this and be disappointed. It's just as exciting, well-written and crowd-pleasing as the first!

[note: the copy I read was an ARC]

4. The Comeback Season by Jennifer E. Smith - Amazing parallels between life and baseball are drawn in this heartbreaking story of love and loss. Highly recommended for ages 14 and up, baseball fan or not.

5. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen - I have read other books by Dessen and enjoyed them, but haven't particularly loved them...until now. I am so glad that one of my students gave this to me to read! I really sympathized with the main character, Macy, in this story as she explored loss and love. The character development in this story was intriguing and wonderful.

LIAR by Justine Larbalestier

Since this is an arc and the final published work does not come out until October, I will just tease you with a vague review:

Have you ever read a book where you can't trust the main character? Where she tells you part of her story, only to admit 100 pages later that she was lying? This may sound frustrating, but instead I found this book fascinating. It's broken into 3 parts, and by the end of Part One I wasn't convinced that I liked this book. It just didn't grab me. As soon as I got into Part Two - BAM! The plot drastically changed and I was completely surprised, and from then on I could not put it down. LIAR may be one of the most intriguing books I've read.

I highly recommend it and will be purchasing it for my high school library when it comes out in October! [I also think it would be a fabulous read for a discussion group - I plan to start some sort of book/movie/discussion club/group at my high school this year.]
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Sidenote: When I read this book, I was bothered by the cover because I felt the main character was misrepresented. Not only is the main character African American, she is not pretty and can pass for a boy! Not so with the girl on the cover! It's bad enough to misrepresent the character in other ways, but changing the race on the cover of the book just seems wrong.

What do you think? Does it matter if the cover doesn't match the story? Does it bother you that the race of the character is misrepresented?

For more on this [interesting? disturbing? controversial?] topic, read this article from School Library Journal: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6647713.html