It took a few reads to fully understand this book, but they were all well worth it. Stead navigates the awkwardness of growing up brilliantly in conjunction with the fascinating idea of time travel, making the story both comforting and, at times, painful to read. Would absolutely recommend to teens and adults alike.

Recommended by my granddaughter Olivia

This is one of those books that is intriguing and mysterious, but also really relatable. It gets a little confusing with some of the concepts of time travel, but in the end, it's surprising how much sense it makes! Altogether amazing book! Recommended for ages 11+

It was a pretty good book but I mainly like to because of the small parts of suspense and mystery the middle was a bit hard to follow but by the end it all made sense and turned out to be a good book

This book has been on my shelf for a very long time; finally decided during COVID to start reading through my backlog. Took me three weeks to read this between two dozen other books that were far more compelling. I felt I HAD to keep reading it since it was a Newbery award-winning book and it had so many positive reviews, but ... meh. 2.5 stars. I did sort of like the ending, but perhaps I kept drifting to other books because I didn't really feel drawn in by any of the characters. I enjoy most time travel stories, however, so the last 30 pages were actually the best and I'm glad I at least persisted through the middle. The 20,000 Pyramid game hooked me (liked the uniqueness of the chapter titles as questions the game might ask) and then kind of got lost or buried in the middle, about where I lost interest. But the end pushed the rating up half a point. I preferred Stead's First Light and The List Of Things That Will Not Change much, much better.

Miranda is twelve years old and has just experienced a fall-out with her best friend, Sal.
Unsure how to handle that, she now finds herself sorting through a series of mysterious notes that have begun to arrive. This clever story has it all! Told through a cast of surprising and diverse characters with a game-show as a backdrop, this story explores time travel, friendships, and growing up. Once you have finished, this story will have you re-examining the beginning for clues you may have missed.

Reviewed by Miss Rachel

This science fiction story is equally strong on character and setting. The reader is sympathetic to the narrator but recognizes her flaws as she does. Lots of fun to read and lots of food for thought.

Absolutely adored it. It has that slow, whimsical feel of one of those books that they make you read in elementary or middle school together as a class, so I understand it can be a boring book for many different audiences.

But for me, I loved every bit of it. All the lovable characters and the quirky stories they have tie into a veeeeery unexpected ending.

Fun and, but best for middle schoolers

So many bits and pieces of wonderfulness in this book. The mother's boyfriend, the school secretary, the homeless man, etc - lots of delightful characters. Highly recommend to just about everyone.