When You Reach Me
By Rebecca Stead
One reason the book shows friendship as a theme is through the relationship between Sal and Miranda. Throughout the story we see this relationship change a lot. It started out as them being the best of friends. They did everything together. Miranda says talking about this time in their friendship [page 17] “I used to think of Sal as being part of me.” We see here that they had such a strong relationship that they felt like part of each other. It’s good to have a friend like that. But the thing is they had each other, ONLY each other. This was a problem.[page 167] “Remember… when you got sick? I spent that whole week alone.” This shows the reader that they only had each other as friends and when one was not around the other was simply lost and alone. When you only have one really good friend, it’s the only person you have to depend on. In the end the lesson we learn though this friendship is that having only one friend can be a problem.
Another reason when the book shows friendship as a theme is through the relationship between Annemarie and Julia. These friends had a fight, [page 35] “Julia told her [Annemarie] that, as punishment, she wasn’t going to have lunch with Annemarie for the remainder of the week.”. This “punishment” ruined their relationship. Annemarie and Julia drifted apart. The thing is friends can be mad at each other but they still love each other and wouldn’t let anything or anyone hurt them. For example, Jimmy (owner of the sandwich place Miranda, Colin, and Annemarie work at) thought that Julia stole his money because she is black. Annemarie heard this and got mad.[page 129] “You racist pig!” she yelled at Jimmy. Annemarie was mad at Julia but they were such good friends that that couldn’t let anything happen to each other. Julia felt terrible about the whole thing, the break up, and drifting away from each other. Miranda notices this, [page 144] “ It was Julia that left the rose for Annemarie… Julia cared about Annemarie”. No matter what kind of fights they get into they won’t forget each other because of this strong bond they have created. The lesson we learn within their relationship is that sometimes friends have fights but if your are true friends you’ll always make up and care about each other.
A final reason when we see that friendship is a theme in this book is with the relationship between Miranda and Marcus. Marcus and Miranda had a very bad start. When she first officially met him she realized something, “[page 47] It was the boy who hit Sal”. Miranda thought that Marcus was the reason her and Sal “broke up”. As we go through the story Miranda starts to talk more and more to Marcus, and created a relationship. Miranda starts to realize that Marcus isn’t as bad as she thought. “[page 167] I suddenly got how totally stupid I’d been, never telling Sal that Marcus was an okay kid”. Eventually they become friends. For example on page 173 “I think a kid is going to get arrested. A friend.” Without Miranda noticing she was gaining a new friend with the same kind of relationship as Annemarie and Julia. At first Miranda and Marcus were in a “fight” (punching Sal). Then they became friends and look out for each other (Marcus almost getting arrested). A lesson from this relationship is that sometimes you can make a friend without even knowing or trying.
In conclusion, throughout the story we see that Friendship is a big theme in the book. We also see that friendships can be in different forms and end with different lessons. There are many relationships in the book that show this, Miranda and Sal, Annemarie and Julia, and, Miranda and Marcus. Friends are an important part of your life and they can help you get through tough times, in many different ways.
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