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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
I can see why this book won the Newberry award. The majority of the narrative takes place in late summer 1999, a time I remember well since at that time I was only a year or so older than the main character. (That makes it historical fiction for the target age range; yes, I feel old saying that.) The other, much smaller portions, take place approximately 200 years in the future, written in transcript format which is the only downside to the audiobook. (The narrator ends up reading out the names of the speaking character each time someone new speaks.) The main character (say it with me ... whose name I have forgotten) spends the summer worrying about the possible impending Y2K crisis, stockpiling shoplifted canned goods, making sure to have some of his mom's favorites. He also worries about, and feels responsible for their lack of money, blaming himself for his mom's firing from her former job because she stayed home to take care of him when he had the flue; she now works three jobs to make ends meet. Enter into the picture a new character who should not be there, a character who came from the other timeline on a dare, and because he wanted to see a real mall. Together, along with the main character's only slightly older babysitter/crush, they try to fulfill the time traveler's wish and to help him return home. This story was beautiful and brilliant. I love how Entrada Kelly wove all of this together.
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Newbery Award 2025
maybe it’s because when you reach me is one of my favorite books of all time, or maybe it’s because i’m not in the target age range, but i was expecting much more from this book than what i got. a lot of things were tried, and i thought some things were quite interesting (like the conversation about the ethics of time travel in regards to the movement of viruses and illness — really thought-provoking, perhaps a topic for another book!), but overall this was…okay. i think maybe too many things were trying to be done here, but none of them were fully fleshed out. and the ridge name origin was kind of silly to me… but also ik thats probably the point! again im not the main audience. but still.
i was also kind of confused because i feel like some of the stuff here was a bit convoluted for kids to understand. some of the documents and files were written convolutedly, which made them feel like real files lol but also felt kind of starkly different from michael’s simpler, youthful pov. the back and forth was intriguing at times but often disrupted my focus while reading. i feel like also ridge didnt really do much while he was there and then he left and michael i guess had some development but eh and gibby was also very flat. also everyone telling michael not to worry about y2k annoyed me like he’s 12 and this sounds scary as hell of course he’s worried!! can someone talk to him calmly about it!! i guess ridge kind of did. also i just feel like some of the jokes would not have made sense to kids this is targeted to, like the netflix thing?? but i’m definitely not the target audience, so hm? anyway i’ll stop now but i wish i had enjoyed it more :/ i hope the kids enjoy it if thats the case then thats good
i was also kind of confused because i feel like some of the stuff here was a bit convoluted for kids to understand. some of the documents and files were written convolutedly, which made them feel like real files lol but also felt kind of starkly different from michael’s simpler, youthful pov. the back and forth was intriguing at times but often disrupted my focus while reading. i feel like also ridge didnt really do much while he was there and then he left and michael i guess had some development but eh and gibby was also very flat. also everyone telling michael not to worry about y2k annoyed me like he’s 12 and this sounds scary as hell of course he’s worried!! can someone talk to him calmly about it!! i guess ridge kind of did. also i just feel like some of the jokes would not have made sense to kids this is targeted to, like the netflix thing?? but i’m definitely not the target audience, so hm? anyway i’ll stop now but i wish i had enjoyed it more :/ i hope the kids enjoy it if thats the case then thats good
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a good reminder to enjoy a children's book. It was creative, thoughtful, and interesting. I saw someone recommend it and based on the cover, I wasn't expecting time travel. Fun read.
medium-paced
i need a whole separate novel about gibby. she's literally everything i want to be