(This book will play a pretty big part in the novel, just so you know. As for Miranda, her favorite book is A Wrinkle in Time, and she carries a copy around with her constantly. Mom has a boyfriend named Richard who is a lawyer and who has one leg that is a little bit shorter than the other – he visits often and helps Mom prepare for her game show appearance. Miranda and her mom live in New York City and the year is 1979. Who is this 'you' and how is he/she able to predict the future? It's a mystery to us – and to Miranda. This 'you' also told her about the game show postcard before it even arrived. Miranda, her sixth-grade daughter and latchkey kid, is considering writing a letter to some unnamed 'you' who has been sending her letters. Mom, who is a single mother and a paralegal, is preparing for an appearance on the game show $20,000 Pyramid.

It’s not a completely implausible puzzle, once one gets over the initial conceit, and it’s fascinating to see how all the pieces fall into place.įascinating doesn’t cut it: it’s a remarkable - if indescribable - book all around.The story begins in medias res with a postcard. For me, the best part is puzzling out the mystery along with Miranda. From the tight writing - Stead is not only amazing at capturing characters with minimal descriptions, but also at foreshadowing - to the plot itself there is not a wrong moment in the book. There really is so much to love about this book. The last one, in fact, plays a major role in the novel: our main character, Miranda (named for the Miranda Rights) adores Madeline L’Engle’s classic, preferring to carry around and read her beat-up copy rather than read the books with the spunky girls on the cover her teachers put in front of her. Frankweiler, The Westing Game, Harriet the Spy, and - most of all - A Wrinkle in Time. It has the feel of those books about precocious kids in the 1970s, books that I loved growing up: From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. There’s a sense of mystery, of charm, that is palpable, and you know whoever you hand the book to will absolutely love it, yet the book itself defies description. Once in a while a great book comes along, one that draws you in and yet will remain completely elusive when you try to tell others about it.

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