When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
When You Reach Me is an homage and a response to Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. Whereas L'Engle's novel is overtly Christian, Stead rejects that Christianity, or at best overtly avoids it. All the same this is a well thought-out, well-written story of human compassion. Stead confronts her readers with the challenge of refraining from judging those around us and reaching out to everyone who might need our help. Furthermore, Stead delivers this message without being corny or creepy.

There's plenty to discuss in the book, but I'll refer (cryptically) to only one more thing: Stead showed me something about myself that I didn't like and challenged me to change it. There is nothing more noble that a writer can aspire to.

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