Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Review: A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass

13-year-old Mia has always been able to see colors and shapes for sounds. For her, letters and numbers have their own colors. Her cat, Mango, whom she found on the day of her grandfather's funeral, is actually named after the orange that his sounds produce. Mia has hidden her strange condition from her friends and family for years, but being an eighth grader and failing pre-algebra takes a toll on her, and she finally tells her parents what's going on.

After visiting numerous doctors, Mia learns that she has synesthesia, where different senses "cross paths" in the brain. This knowledge opens her up to a whole new world of people who understand her, people who are just like her. At first, she is so fascinated by these new experiences that she almost loses touch with the real world around her. It takes a devastating loss for her to understand that she must incorporate her newfound knowledge with the relationships she has with the beloved people around her.

This is a sweet and interesting book about an unusual and little-known condition. Mia's world is realistic and sympathetic; her conflicts and relationships, typical of teenagers her age, gains a further depth with the synesthesia. Readers, especially those in middle school and early high school, will be able to connect with Mia's growing up.

You'll like this if you also like...
Terry Spencer Hesser (Kissing Doorknobs)
Carolyn Mackler

Rating: 4/5

2 comments:

  1. I just recently got this book through paperbackswap. Are you familiar with the book trading site. I'm looking forward to reading this especially after reading your review. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  2. My soul sister really loves this one, she hates reading but this book got her hooked. I want to try this real soon. Thanks for the review ; )

    ReplyDelete

Hello! I'm so excited to read what you have to say. Due to high amounts of spam, I'm forced to disabled anonymous comments for the time being. Sorry for any inconvenience this causes, and I hope you can understand and still appreciate the content here!

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...