History Literature / WhenYouReachMe

It's 1979 and twelve year old Miranda, while helping her mother prepare for a stint on ''The $20,000 Pyramid'', is thinking of all the events that happened the previous fall. If it was up to her, she'd probably not think about them. But then there are the notes asking her to do just that, to write down everything that happened last fall. Notes telling her that someone is coming to save both a friend and their own lives. Notes from a time traveler.

It's 1979 and twelve year old Miranda, while helping her mother prepare for a stint on The $20,000 Pyramid, is thinking of all the events that happened the previous fall. If it was up to her, she'd probably not think about them. But then there are the notes asking her to do just that, to write down everything that happened last fall. Notes telling her that someone is coming to save both a friend and their own lives. Notes from a time traveler.

''When You Reach Me'' is a 2009 novel by Rebecca Stead with allusions to ''AWrinkleInTime''. Despite its time traveling elements and mystery, the book is at heart a ComingOfAge novel that subtly deals with social issues, racism, and the quiet dangers of late seventies New York. It won numerous awards, including the NewberyMedal.

* ChildProdigy: Marcus. He reads Einstein's General relativity for fun at age 11. He also debated temporal paradoxes from the book ''Literature/{{A Wrinkle in Time}}'' with his second grade teacher.

* CrazyHomelessPeople: The Laughing Man, though how much is an act and how much is real is in question. This makes a nice ShoutOut to ''AWrinkleInTime,'' where Mrs. Whatsit is described as looking, in day-to-day life, like a homeless tramp.

* DisappearedDad: Neither Miranda nor Sal has a father. Miranda even comments that because she never have a father, she doesn't feel the need for one.

* FridgeLogic: an InUniverse example, discussed in regards to ''Literature/AWrinkleInTime.'' The three Mrs. W's promise Meg and the boys that they should be back "five minutes before you left." But as Marcus points out, if this is true then Meg should have seen herself returning, because Meg&co. landed in the garden, which in plain sight from wall, where they left. Marcus is arguing a StableTimeLoop is in effect, while Miranda (very defensive of her favorite author) maintains that the future hadn't happened yet, so of course they wouldn't be seen.
** There is a simpler explanation, which no one InUniverse notices: Mrs. Whatsit says they'll be back five minutes before they left, ''unless'' "something goes terribly wrong." And something does indeed go terribly wrong.

* [[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming Idiosyncratic Chapter Naming]]: Most chapters are references to the $20,000 Pyramid with "Things that.." or "...Things". The few chapters that aren't references deal with the notes.
* InformedRealLifeFame: In an in-universe example, Miranda experiences this at work while watching a taping of the $20,000 ''{{Pyramid}}''. ("The celebrities take the stage. I've never heard of either one of them.")

* IJustWantToHaveFriends: Sal was a Tybe B. Ironically, he gave up his one friendship in order to get more friends.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Wheelie, the school secretary knows all of the students, what class they are in, and even who is absent. But when the police come looking for Marcus, Miranda realizes just how bad the situation is when Wheelie asks them to repeat his name and ask what grade he is in.
* PottyEmergency: Alice Evans. She waits too long to ask to go to the point she does the {{Potty Dance}}. Implied that she has encountered {{Potty Failure}} as she is the only sixth grader with a change of clothes at school. Classmates love to keep her talking with them when she has to go just to watch her suffer.
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong or StableTimeLoop: It all depends on how you believe the "Save your friend's life and my own" statement was fulfilled.
* TitleDrop: The fist note has the phrase "I will not be myself when I reach you".
* TwoGirlsAndAGuy: Miranda, Annemarie, Colin. Is there a {{Love Triangle}}? In Miranda's mind, yes. In reality, who knows?

* UnnamedParent: Miranda's mother. Surprising as two close friends of the mother are also frequent characters.

* WritersCannotDoMath: The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is referred to as the first cold day in December. This takes place in 1978 and Thanksgiving was oN November 23, meaning that Tuesday would be on Nov. 28. Marcus exacerbates this by telling Miranda to imagine she went to the movies the previous week, "December whatever". While he is a Cloudcuckoolander, Miranda does not correct him, which she is known to do.

* InformedRealLifeFame: In an in-universe example, Miranda experiences this at work while watching a taping of the $20,000 ''{{Pyramid}}''. ("The celebrities take the stage. I've never heard of either one of them.")

* WritersCannotDoMath: The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is referred to as the first cold day in December. This takes place in 1978 and Thanksgiving was oN November 23, meaning that Tuesday would be on Nov. 28. Marcus exacerbates this by telling Miranda to imagine she went to the movies the previous week, "December whatever". While he is a [[Cloudcuckoolander]], Miranda does not correct him, which she is known to do.

* BerserkButton: A childhood, non-violent version when Julia goes off on Miranda after Annemarie has a seizure at school. She calls Miranda an idiot about seven times in teh course of a minute.

It's 1978 and twelve year old Miranda, while helping her mother prepare for a stint on The $20,000 Pyramid, is thinking of all the events that happened the previous fall. If it was up to her, she'd probably not think about them. But then there are the notes asking her to do just that, to write down everything that happened last fall. Notes telling her that someone is coming to save both a friend and their own lives. Notes from a time traveler.

* TitleDrop: The fist note have the phrase "I will not be myself when I reach you".

* Fantasy-ForbiddingFather: Julia's parents pick out her bedroom decor and will not let her decorate her room in her preferred space posters.

* DisappearedDad

* TitleDrop: The notes have the phrase "when I reach you".

** There is a simpler explanation, which no one InUniverse notices: Mrs. Whatsit says they'll be back five minutes before they left, ''unless'' "something goes terribly wrong." And something does indeed go terribly wrong.

* InformedRealLifeFame: In an in-universe example, Miranda experiences this at work while watching a taping of the $20,000 ''{{Pyramid}}''. ("The celebrities take the stage. I've never heard of either one of them.")

* CrazyHomelessPeople: The Laughing Man. Though how much is an act and how much is real is in question.

* CantTakeAnythingWithYou

* ChildProdigy: Marcus. He reads Einstein's General relativity for fun at age 11. He also debated temporal paradoxes from the book {{AWrinkleInTime}} with his second grade teacher.
* Cloudcuckoolander: Marcus on occasion. He doesn't always notice people around him or where he is.

* PottyEmergency: Alice Evans. She waits too long to ask to go to the point she does the {{PottyDance}}. Implied that she has encountered {{PottyFailure}} as she is the only sixth grader with a change of clothes at school. Classmates love to keep her talking with them when she has to go just to watch her suffer.

* TwoGirlsAndAGuy: Miranda, Annemarie, Colin. Is there a {{LoveTriangle}}? In Miranda's mind, yes. In reality, who knows?

* UnfortunateNames: Miranda hates that she was named after a criminal. Her mother was in law school in 1967, when Miranda was born.

* ChildProdigy: Marcus. He reads Einstein's General relativity for fun at age 11. He also debated temporal paradoxes in the book {{AWrinkleInTime}} with his second grade teacher.

* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong
* StableTimeLoop

* PottyEmergency: Alice Evans. She waits too long to ask to go to the point she does the {{PottyDance}}. Implied that she has encountered {{PottyFailure}} as she is the only sixth grader with a change of clothes sy school. Classmates love to keep her talking with them when she has to go just to watch her suffer.