When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

I feel that if my goal as a teacher was to get my students to love reading, this is the book I would start them off with. The book is a captivating, edge-of-your-seat read that I feel would draw in all different types of students. It also gives students a view of different socioeconomic classes coexisting in the classroom and in life, both real situations that they could or are experiencing in their personal lives.

Summary courtesy of http://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm/book_number/2310/When-You-Reach-Me

By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it's safe to go, like the local grocery store, and they know whom to avoid, like the crazy guy on the corner. But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a new kid for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda's mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then Miranda finds a mysterious note scrawled on a tiny slip of paper: 
           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 notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows all about her, including things that have not even happened yet. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she's too late.

Stead, Rebecca. (2009). When You Reach Me. New York: Wendy Lamb Books. 197 pp. ISBN: 978-0-385-73742-5.