RIGHT BACK AT YOU, by Carolyn Mackler, Scholastic Press, March 4, 2025, Hardcover, $17.99 (ages 9-12)
Two kids from different times become pen pals in Right Back at You, a middle-grade novel by Carolyn Mackler.
Mason lives in 2023. His parents have just split up, and there’s a guy at school who won’t get off his case. As part of an assignment, he writes a letter to Albert Einstein and it ends up getting a little too personal. He throws the letter into his closet…
…and the next day he gets a letter back from a girl named Talia, who lives in 1987. She has problems of her own, including classmates who make jokes because she’s Jewish. She thought her friends would have her back. But it ends up the only person she really has to talk to is… a random boy from the future?
In the tradition of such beloved novels as When You Reach Me and Save Me a Seat, Carolyn Mackler has written a funny, all-too-relatable story about finding the friend you need… even if that friend happens to live in another year. —Synopsis provided by Scholastic Press
Right Back at You is a fairly short (approximately 225 pages) novel that explores friendship, bullying, family dynamics, and antisemitism against the backdrop of a magical phenomenon.
The story unfolds through alternating letters written by Mason (2023) and Talia (1987). As the duo comes to believe they are actually sending missives through time, their trust, and eventually friendship, with each other grows.
Sometimes it’s easier to share feelings and events with someone you don’t actually interact with in person. And that’s how readers learn the things that are troubling both Mason and Talia. It’s a smart writing convention on the part of author Carolyn Mackler who really gets to the heart of certain matters. Mackler’s text is accessible and has a conversational tone to it. Her characters are likeable and well-developed.
Right Back at You is a thoughtful novel that should appeal to readers who enjoy contemporary and historical fiction, time travel, and situational story lines.
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