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Miranda lives in NY City in an apartment with her mom. Her mom loves game shows and her ex-best friend, Sal, lives below her. Sal and Miranda used to walk to school together until “he got punched in the stomach. He cried and ran home.”  Miranda hates walking to school alone because a man just showed up and hangs out at the mailbox in front of her apartment building. He sleeps there staring up at the mailbox.

One day, Miranda came home from school and the door was opened. That night her mom doesn’t remember leaving the door open and she checks each room to see if anything was stolen. Everything was fine. But when she checked for the spare key that was hidden in the fire hose, it was gone. Soon after the door incident, Miranda finds the first note. “The note said, 'I’m coming to save your friend and myself.  I ask two favors. 1. Write me a letter. 2. Tell me the location of your house key.” Miranda’s mom changes the locks on the door. After this Miranda and her mom get back into their routine.  Miranda’s mom practices to be on a game show and Miranda goes to school. Everything was fine until November when Miranda got the second note. This one said, “Your letter must tell a true story. You cannot begin now, as most of it has not taken place yet. The trip is a difficult one. Ps. I ask you not to share this note with anyone.” Read When You Reach Me to find out what all these notes mean, why Miranda needs to right a letter, and where the key went.


 
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Liam Digby is tall and looks like an adult. He looks so much like an adult, he and his best friend, Florida, go to stores at the mall pretending to be father and daughter. Even his principal mistook him for being a substitute teacher one day. Like any 12 year old boy, Liam also loves playing video games. When his favorite game company, World of Warcraft, sponsors a contest, he spends all day (even at school) on his mobile phone to enter the contest. Liam ends up winning the contest but the prize is for a child and their parent to visit War of the Warcraft headquarters. Liam and Florida once again pretend that they are father and daughter and go to the headquarters. However, they haven’t won a new video game. Instead, they won a trip into space. The book begins with the winners and Liam in space on a broken rocket. Find out how Liam is chosen to go into space and if they come out of space on the broken rocket by reading Cosmic.