When You Reach Me...

I just finished this book, it was a quick read because it is a juvenile fiction. Without getting into the story too much, there were a few parts that I could take from the book and thought they were rather profound.

"Mom says each of us has a veil between ourselves and the rest of the world, like bride wears on her wedding day, except this kind of veil is invisible. We walk around happily with these invisible veils hanging down over our faces. The world is kind of blurry, and we like it that way.

But sometimes our veils are pushed away for a few moments, like there's a wind blowing it from our faces. And when the veil lifts, we can see the world as it really is, just for those few seconds before it settles down again. We see all the beauty, and cruelty, and sadness, and love. Bust mostly we are happy not to."

Wow. I sometimes think that these books don't get the credit they deserve. They may be geared toward a younger audience, but there is definitely something for the adult to take away. I think about this and how true it is. We do walk around, not really knowing anyone else, or showing ourselves to really anyone. Who really knows us? Who do we show ourselves to? What do we really want to know about what is going on around us? Isn't it easier not to know about other people's problems?

Here is another meaningful section:

"Sometimes you never feel meaner than the moment you stop being mean. It's like how turning on a light makes you realize how dark the room has gotten. And the way you usually act, the things you would have normally done, are like these ghosts that everyone can see but pretends not to."

Once again. I read this over and over again. It just makes sense.It makes me think about what people do know about us, and what people expect you to be or do. Do certain people ever do anything that surprises you? Or is is just, oh yea, that's just how so and so is, or I would have expected that from him/her? Are we that easy to read? Is that a good thing or a bad thing? It just goes to show how important it is to be an example to others and to live what you believe...so, at least if someone expects you to be someway, it is a positive and not a negative.

Definitely a book worth reading, a little predicable, but there were a few nice surprises.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead