My favorite new children’s author is Rebecca Stead.

She won the 2010 Newbery Medal for her novel, When You Reach Me, which is the story of a sort of geeky sixth-grade girl, Miranda, who lives in New York City in the 1970s.  After losing her house key and her best friend, she starts getting strange notes, such as: “I am coming to save your friend’s life, and my own.  I must ask two favors. First, you must write me a letter.”  The messages are odd yet show that the writer knows a lot about Miranda’s life.    The plot is a marvellous puzzle that keeps readers guessing until the end.  A great story for kids and adults alike.

Stead’s most recent novel is Liar & Spy, a contemporary story about seventh-grader, Georges (the “s” is silent, but causes him no end of grief in school), who must deal with bullying, a change of residence when his father loses his job, and a mother who works so much she’s never home.  In his new apartment, Georges meets Safer, a home-schooled boy who accepts Georges into the Spy Club to investigate the strange doings of Mr. X who lives in the apartment above Georges.

As the parent of a seventh-grade boy, I can tell you that Stead knows kids.  The characters are smart and funny and troubled and, more than anything, real.  I loved Georges, and loved Safer’s little sister Candy, and as my focus was on the characters, I was taken completely by surprise at the turn of events in the book.  Wow!  Again, a great book for kids and adults alike.

Stead has also written the novel First Light, which I haven’t read yet.  You can bet I’ll be getting it soon.