Mosquitoland

For the price it is fine condition, but I wasn’t expecting a library copy.

You know those books that just stay with you long after you read them? The kind where you went in not expecting much, and was then blown away by it? This was that kind of book for me. I went into this book as I do most contemporaries, expecting mostly fluff, but this book was so much more than that. In fact, I never tab or sticky books, with a few exceptions, but I tabbed this one so much. And then I bought a finished copy. I’m not saying that this is a perfect book. It has its moments. But I still found it an exceptional read.Mary Iris Malone, known as Mim, has been uprooted from her mother and childhood home, to move with her father and new stepmother to what she has dubbed “Mosquitoland”. When she finds out her mother is sick, she hops on a Greyhound bus to go back to Ohio. Along the way, she gets into quite a few skirmishes, and meets an eclectic group of people.Mim isn’t the most likeable character, I think, but I also think that was the point. I actually enjoyed her quite a bit. She was blunt, honest, and clever. She has a different and unique way of looking at things, and she wasn’t afraid to tell it like it is. This book is told in two ways: Mim narrating her current journey, and Mim’s letters to someone that mainly include flashbacks from her life. We get to learn who Mim really is, and she is quite an interesting person. She sees the world differently, and that’s a good thing.I love a good road trip story, and this was just that. But along the way, Mim also has to learn to fight her demons. This was a coming of age story, in which Mim learns who she is, and what she wants out of life. Her father has spent most of Mim’s life obsessed that there’s something “wrong” with her, so Mim either covers up how she really feels, or wonders if maybe there really is something wrong with her. Mim isn’t a perfect character. She makes mistakes, does many things wrong. But that’s all part of her learning experience. This book touches on subjects that are so important, says things that really need to be said, that people need to hear.And I loved the supporting cast. Walt, Beck, every person she meets along the way. Mim gets herself into quite the situations, but they were so much fun to read about. This book is so well-written, the pages will seem to fly by. Mim herself says that she is not a fan of predicable endings, and I think Arnold did a great job of tying up loose ends while still keeping them open, and not being predictable.This is definitely one of those books that I wish I could shove on everyone. While I realize this book may not be for everyone, I loved it so much. I thought it had an important message, one we all need to hear. But it wasn’t so serious that it bogged down the story, it was also fun and entertaining. An all-around great story.

I’m so in love this book! Have you ever just sat and hugged a book after you’ve finished the last page? I know, I know- there are always books that you love, but I’m talking about books that you just love beyond reason. The books that you won’t let anyone touch. This is one of those books for me. I haven’t had a moment like this with a book since I read Eleanor & Park. I’ve loved many, but not like this.From the very first page I was hooked.I AM MARY Iris Malone, and I am not okay.This book is equally parts funny and touching. I find that there has been an increase in YA literature that evolves around mental illness, social issues and the like. It’s so freaking refreshing! And the way that the author delivered this story, let’s just say that I felt compelled to keep at it because I had to know how this all played out.Long story short- Mim Malone finds out that her mother, back in Ohio, is sick. She finds this out when she eaves drops on a parent/principle conference (In which she was supposed to have been there but bails). Firstly, she didn’t hear the rest of the conversation between the principle, her father and step-mother. She just ran out of the school and to home, packed a bag, stole over $800 dollars from her step-mom’s stash, and jumped on a Greyhound. All to save her mother.It is during this trip that Mim meets some interesting company, and everything starts to unravel. What the heck? I was so caught up in the revelations in this book. I was seriously going bananas, because when I thought that something was one thing- turns out that it wasn’t. This book is crazy crazy crazy. I swear that you will lose your mind by the end of it. But, don’t worry, it’s the good kind of crazy.I don’t want to spoil this book. If I even say a fraction of what happens, the book is ruined for you. The prose flows perfectly with each chapter. I can’t think of a better way to draft this story, than the way it is now. Any possible attempt to change it, would ruin the whole thing. I’m always searching for a book that will be the best book of the year for me to have had the pleasure of reading. This falls into my young-adult contemporary category. If I read one that tops this, this year, then so be it. For right now, it’s this one. I HIGHLY recommend this book!

Un libro particolare, indubbiamente

I searched for almost ten days to read something like Paper Towns. Something which is untouched by any historical or superhero kind of figures. Something which is not a love story or a story of deaths. Something where people like us appear. Normal people with their abnormal daily life problems. And here come... Mosquitoland.I was excited to read it after just looking at the beautiful cover and a beautiful read it is, indeed. While reading it I remembered when I dared and went for my first solo travel and the challenges I faced. That story and this story have differences of many miles but it's good that writer can connect you on any or some level through anything.

Perfect

Not since my early teens have I truly enjoyed contemporary novels, let alone sought them out. For the past 8 or so years, my go-to genre has been anything with magic or mermaids or vampires or evil governments or fairies. In fact, I have avoided contemporary novels for so long that I didn't even know there was a term for them! I have just been calling them "normal books."One genre that I love is travel. And when I first read the synopsis for Mosquitoland, I mistakenly believed it to be a travel, solo road-trip story. How wrong I was, and how glad I am that I made that mistake. Had I known it was really about a troubled 16-year-old girl dealing with the divorce of her parents and the sudden marriage of her father and his new girlfriend, I never would have bought the book.Mosquitoland boasts a very unique heroine who has a sharp tongue and a rough attitude, but has a good heart and wants nothing more than to be there for her mother. I was entranced by the story and was quickly pulled into Mim's mind. I didn't think I'd like Mim, but I found her to be a refreshing character. I loved reading her thoughts and accompanying her on her journey as she learns, grows, and makes two wonderful friends. I don't have much experience with contemporary novels (at least not since I was 14 or so,) but I think any reader of the contemporary genre will love this story about a confused, stubborn, brave girl who runs away from her new home in Mississippi to reunite herself with her mother. Mim's mental struggles, personal struggles, and road-trip struggles will attach you so deeply to her character and her story that you will never want the book to end. Mim, Beck, Walt, and all the characters we meet will stay with you long after you finish the book.

Una bella storia on the road, a tratti commovente, adatta anche per ragazzi già grandicelli. Romanzo molto bello a mio parere.