When You Reach Me

 When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

When You Reach Me tells the story of a young girl called Miranda, living in the Upper West Side of New York City, with her mum. When her best friend Sal is punched by a boy he doesn't know for no apparent reason, he starts to shut Miranda out of his life. Things start disappearing and all of a sudden Miranda starts receiving strange notes, that know things no person knows, and about things that have not happened yet, causing Miranda to believe that only she can prevent a tragic death.

The varying storyline of this book makes it so enjoyable to read, in particular the constant twists and turns. Through the book, three storylines are followed - the appearance of Miranda's mum on a game show, Sal not talking to Miranda, and the appearance of a laughing man. The book is action-packed, and constantly enthralling and it's also filled with cliffhangers, so once you start reading you won't be able to stop.

This book isn't actually that long (in comparison to some other books I have reviewed), but it is definitely as good! The only thing I would change would be to make it longer, but that's only because I love it so much! What is also really great is that it's suitable for a wide range of ages, I would say anyone older than 9 or 10 could read this and enjoy it, however the older you are the better you may understand the book so perhaps I would recommend it to 10 or 11 year old's and older.

FictionFan1 Rating: 9/10

If you liked this author you might like: Rebecca Stead, Sharon Creech, E B White

About the author: Rebecca Stead is an American writer, who writes fiction for children and teens. For When You Reach Me she won a prestigious award, and has won other prizes for her various other books.

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The 1000 year-old Boy by Ross Welford

Wow. Wow in capital letters. WOW WOW WOW WOW! There is no other way to describe this book. I want to congratulate Ross Welford on this amazing novel. Let me start this review with a bit of information about my connection to Ross Welford.

I was gifted a copy of ‘Time Travelling with a Hamster’ a few years ago and devoured it. About a year later, Ross Welford visited my school, and gave an interesting talk which I clearly remember featuring a write-a-story-in-less-than-5-minutes-without-pen-and-paper. During this visit, my family purchased a copy of his newest and second book ‘What Not to do if you Turn Invisible.’

This book came out today (thank you to my secret friend for the copy!) and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is the tale of a young boy called Alfie Monk who remembers the last Viking invasion of Britain. He discovers there is more to life than age, and sets about trying to find the last life-pearl, the only way to reverse the Neverdead curse.

Along the way, Alfie learns what friends really are, and encounters somebody he recognises…but when his house in the forest where he lives with his Mam, burns down, he has nowhere left to go, but a children’s home. Mam may have perished in the fire, but Alfie’s spirit did not, and his ever-empowering spiritual journey is a real heart-string puller.

This is an original story full of wit and brains, but also a hint of history, as we learn about Alfie’s Neverdead life. Full of interesting characters, this book is one that certainly exceeded my expectations. The blurb fits the book, and the characters fit the story. Wow, Wow and Wow again!

FictionFan1 Rating: 9.5/10

If you liked this author you might like: Rebbeca Stead, Simon Mayo

About the author: Ross Welford used to be a journalist and television producer, but then became a full-time writer in order to pursue his dream. Ross visits schools and knows many book-themed magic tricks, and in his spare time, like me, he writes a blog!

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Coming up soon: Stay tuned for next review of A Message to the Sea by Alex Shearer