When You Reach Me: Protagonist

     I have just started reading the book When You Reach Me, by Rebecca Stead, and it is a very interesting book. Even though I have just started it many issues have popped up and the readers learn a lot about the protagonist, Miranda, and all the things that she goes through. One important event is when Miranda's best friend, Sal, got punched by a kid on the street, and for some reason he starts to shut her out of his life. Miranda is also part of a poor family who is just making it by. Miranda's mom gets accepted to a game show called The $20,000 Pyramid, and their family really needs the money, so Miranda works really hard with her mother so that they can win the game show. Miranda also goes through many other things, such as being ignored by her best friend, Sal, and experiencing thugs in New York City, that shows the reader who protagonist, (Miranda), is as a character and how she might overcome challenges in the future.
     First of all, Miranda really is dedicated to things and will work hard to accomplish something. An example of this is when Miranda's mom gets accepted into The $20,000 Pyramid and they work hard together to win, because they really need the money. Miranda's family is really poor. Miranda's mother has to steal essential goods from her work to sustain her family.  So when Miranda's mom gets accepted into the game show, Miranda and her mother work really hard with flash cards for weeks to make sure that Miranda's mom wins money. They are both very hardworking and they are determined to reach their goals. This also shows that Miranda is caring. Another example that shows that she is caring is when she wouldn't just let Sal walk away from her and ignore her. A piece of evidence from the book is, "I asked him four hundred time whether he was okay, or if he was mad at me, or what was wrong, and three hundred and ninety-nine times he answered 'Yes,' 'No,' and 'Nothing'" (33). Miranda know that there is something wrong, but she won't just accept the fact. She wants to know exactly what is happening and why. Since I have read the blurb of this book, I know that Miranda will encounter a mystery. These characteristics that she has from these activities can help her overcome this challenge that she is about to encounter.
     Also, whenever Miranda faces a thug or a homeless person on the street, she know how to deal with it. Miranda is very cautious with them. When Miranda was still best friends with Sal, they knew how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it is safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know who and what to avoid. Like for example, whenever she sees someone on the street who she is scared of, she asks for the time. She even has logic behind it. She would turn to the person and say "Excuse me, do you happen to know what time it is?" The reason why she does this is because the person would think that she is just a friend and that there is no need to hurt her or to take her stuff. It also says that she doesn't have a watch and that she isn't worth mugging. Miranda uses logic behind everything she does, and she thinks before she does anything that can harm her. What I don't get is why doesn't she use all this logic and thinking when she does something with Sal or to fix up the problems between them? Maybe she does later on in the book when she ties to solve the mystery that happens after Sal got punched.
     In conclusion, I think that all these events show the reader who Miranda  really is, and I believe that she should use all the good character traits that we learn that Miranda has, to solve the mystery later on in the book. From the important events that happened so far in the book, Miranda is a caring, determined, cautious, hardworking, logical, and intelligent girl. I can't wait to read on and see how Miranda uses these traits to her benefit.