Alex Martiros

Alex Martiros
When You Reach Me
Rebecca Stead
Realistic Fiction
Just Right
84

1. I am currently reading When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. What is going on in my book is that this girl named Miranda has just received the second mysterious letter. These mysterious letters have so far told her that her life is in grave danger and she needs to somehow write to this person and give them a key to their house. If she doesn't, she could die, along with her mother. Also on a completely different note, Miranda and her mother's boyfriend are training Miranda's mother for this game show the mother gets to be on called The $20,000 Pyramid.  The mother really needs money and so she gets to be on the show. There are questions she has to answer in a specific time limit and so Miranda and the mother's boyfriend is helping her to prepare for the game show. Another thing that is going on in my book is that Miranda, and her two new friends, Annemarie and Colin have started working at a sandwich shop called  Jimmy's sandwich shop. They don't get paid but it is just something fun they are deciding to do during their lunch period from school. This one day, a girl from school walks in and Miranda and Annemarie look at each other with disgust. It is Julia, a spoiled rich girl who always teased Miranda. She used to be friends with Annemarie but then decided she wasn't cooler enough to be her friend. So when Julia walks in to the store, everyone starts arguing until Jimmy comes out. Jimmy can tell that Julia is giving his workers a hard time and kicks her out of the store. At this time, Miranda decides that Jimmy isn' as bad or annoying as she thought he was.
2. So far I feel like the book has been extremely confusing. I am all caught up now, but I had to reread parts of the book to understand what was going on. I also don't like how there are three or four different parts in the plot going on. I don't like how there is this conflict with Julia, a conflict with Sal, all the notes, helping her mom get ready for the game show and her job at Jimmy's. Also, her feelings for Colin. The author put too much into the plot for me to understand. It is confusing, but right now I understand what is going on. I do like the notes part of the plot though. I have never read anything else by this author but I don't think I will end up not reading much more of the author. She is pushing me away a reader because it is too confusing. I really have not enjoyed the story so far. 
3. A theme in my book that I have noticed so far is loss of innocence. I have noticed this because in the beginning of the story, Miranda is little and innocent and she is friends with Sal and goes to school and is happy, and pretty oblivious to what is going on. Then her mom gets into the game show, and Miranda starts realizing that she is pretty poor and her mom really needs the money. She also has to now deal with the fact that Sal isn't talking to her and she has a crush for the first time. Miranda loses the innocence of never having a crush and she gains a lot of knowledge about reality, and therefore becomes more mature. I also think the theme is loss of innocence because Miranda has to do a lot more on her own since moving to New York. She has to walk around the city by herself, and find her way around by herself. The loss of innocence extends to at school, when she starts getting teased by this mean girl, Julia. Miranda has to stand up for herself, by herself. I think that makes Miranda gain much maturity, and at the same time, she loses that feeling of being safe and in comfort wherever she goes, also known as loss of innocence. 
4. My favorite character is Miranda. She is my favorite character because she seems to grasp reality and life really well. What I mean by that is Miranda, while pretty young, understands the big pictures in life. She gets that people all have struggles and that sometimes, people can't help but being the way they are. Miranda is also my favorite character because she has a very straight forward personality. She likes telling it how it is, and she isn't afraid to ask questions. For example when Miranda is talking about the game show, and she says that if her mother gets partnered with a dumb celebrity, its hopeless, and say goodbye to money. I just think that's a pretty bold statement to say out loud, especially to your mother who is trying to win. The last thing I like about Miranda, is that she is brave. She is brave because first of all, she lives in New York City, and not in the high end of the city. She lives in the midway point between dangerous and nice. I also think she is brave because she dared to look in the safe while Jimmy was outside. I don't like getting into trouble so I wouldn't have done that. I also think it takes a brave person to walk through the streets of New York City either by yourself, or with another person, but not an adult. Miranda does that everyday coming home from school. I personally do not like cities, because of bad experiences, so I think at first I would be terrified to do that. That's why Miranda is brave to me, and my favorite character.
5. My least favorite character is Julia. I don't like Julia because she is a bully. She teases Miranda and pretty much everyone else who isn't her friend. Annemarie, Miranda's new friend was Julia's friend, but now they are no longer friends, and Annemarie gets teased too. Julia also makes me dislike her because of her extremely snobbish attitude. Julia always has to flaunt her wealth around, and wear things that would make it dangerous for you to live in New York, like very nice necklaces, or rings. Julia doesn't seem like the kind of person who really is confident in herself, and that is why I think that she has to show off most of the time, to make others jealous of her, and to make herself feel better. The main reason I do not like Julia, is because of her history as a bully. No one likes bullies, including me. 
6. I predict that Miranda's mom will win the game show, The $20,000 Pyramid. I think this because she has been studying for so long, that it would be a waste to include it into the plot if she loses. I also think Miranda will become friends with Sal again, but I also think that Sal might be the letter sender. I think this because the author hinted ( or at least I think she hinted ) that Sal has become very mysterious. I also think the person sending the notes could be Marcus. the boy that punched Sal. He seems like he has an important part in the story, but we don't know what it is yet. I also think Miranda will stand up to Julia, and Julia will become her friend. The last thing I predict will happen is that Colin will be liked by both Annemarie and Miranda, but he will choose Miranda, and that will end Miranda's friendship with Annemarie. I think this because I don't feel like they really connect as friends, and I know that they both like Colin, even though they don't know that themselves.