Book stats (from Amazon):
- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers (March 3 2015)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 045147077X
- ISBN-13: 978-0451470775
- Amazon rating: 4.2/5 stars
- Goodreads rating: 3.9/5 stars
To be honest, I haven't enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed Mosquitoland in quite a while. I'm a sucker for a good literary, coming-of-age style novel. Don't get me wrong, I love genre fiction too, but there's just something about the (somewhat) realistic stories that get me every time.
Mosquitoland's protagonist is a 16-year-old girl named Mary Iris Malone - but only her mother calls her Mary. Everyone else calls her Mim. I'm going to come right out and address it - a lot of the other reviews I've read of this book claim Mim doesn't exhibit enough growth by the end of the book, claiming she's still too judgemental and hasn't seemed to have learned a lot. I don't think this should be a detriment to the quality of the book, however. Mim learns the important lessons about herself and her family that she needs to learn, and if she isn't completely 'cured' of her tendency to be rude/blunt and a bit judgemental, I think this makes it more realistic. In my opinion, it just isn't realistic for a teenager to suddenly learn their entire worldview is wrong and change it. Mim drastically changes her opinions of her family and many other people by the end of the novel, and as such I think she displays as much character growth as can be realistic for a teenager.
I think, overall, Mim is a great character. She's a little rude at times, sure, but she's also immensely entertaining, loyal to her friends, and determined to accomplish what she set out to do. To be honest, I related to her almost immediately - I don't have a single doubt that I'd run across the country too if I thought there was something wrong with my mother and I wasn't there to help her. Mim is one of those people who says what many people are thinking; she has the comebacks, humour, and mannerisms that most people wish they could come up with or would have the guts to say out loud. She has some strange quirks - for example, her 'war paint' - but I think this served to make her more relatable and contributed to her character development (I can't go into too much detail without spoiling, but the 'war paint' I think symbolizes how Mim is still holding on to some idealized version of her mother, which makes sense in light of the ending).
I really liked the other characters too. Walt especially was a great character, although I wish he'd had a bit more 'screen-time' and been developed a bit more. Two of my absolute favourite characters were Albert and Ahab, even though they are only in one chapter - it's a bit like being that parent who cheers every time their child is onstage in their school play, even though they're playing Tree #4.
It's difficult to discuss the plot without spoiling, but I love the 'road trip' story, especially with quirky and unique characters, and I think this plot had just the right amount of twists to keep it interesting. The way the narrative switches from a traditional format to Mim's letters to Isabel from time to time is also really interesting and helps provide backstory and more internal monologue without breaking up the flow of the story too much.
Overall, this story is definitely not for everyone. There probably are a few elements that will offend some people, and some elements that are quite dark, but I'd recommend it to anyone age 14 and up.
4.5/5 stars!
Mosquitoland's protagonist is a 16-year-old girl named Mary Iris Malone - but only her mother calls her Mary. Everyone else calls her Mim. I'm going to come right out and address it - a lot of the other reviews I've read of this book claim Mim doesn't exhibit enough growth by the end of the book, claiming she's still too judgemental and hasn't seemed to have learned a lot. I don't think this should be a detriment to the quality of the book, however. Mim learns the important lessons about herself and her family that she needs to learn, and if she isn't completely 'cured' of her tendency to be rude/blunt and a bit judgemental, I think this makes it more realistic. In my opinion, it just isn't realistic for a teenager to suddenly learn their entire worldview is wrong and change it. Mim drastically changes her opinions of her family and many other people by the end of the novel, and as such I think she displays as much character growth as can be realistic for a teenager.
I think, overall, Mim is a great character. She's a little rude at times, sure, but she's also immensely entertaining, loyal to her friends, and determined to accomplish what she set out to do. To be honest, I related to her almost immediately - I don't have a single doubt that I'd run across the country too if I thought there was something wrong with my mother and I wasn't there to help her. Mim is one of those people who says what many people are thinking; she has the comebacks, humour, and mannerisms that most people wish they could come up with or would have the guts to say out loud. She has some strange quirks - for example, her 'war paint' - but I think this served to make her more relatable and contributed to her character development (I can't go into too much detail without spoiling, but the 'war paint' I think symbolizes how Mim is still holding on to some idealized version of her mother, which makes sense in light of the ending).
I really liked the other characters too. Walt especially was a great character, although I wish he'd had a bit more 'screen-time' and been developed a bit more. Two of my absolute favourite characters were Albert and Ahab, even though they are only in one chapter - it's a bit like being that parent who cheers every time their child is onstage in their school play, even though they're playing Tree #4.
It's difficult to discuss the plot without spoiling, but I love the 'road trip' story, especially with quirky and unique characters, and I think this plot had just the right amount of twists to keep it interesting. The way the narrative switches from a traditional format to Mim's letters to Isabel from time to time is also really interesting and helps provide backstory and more internal monologue without breaking up the flow of the story too much.
Overall, this story is definitely not for everyone. There probably are a few elements that will offend some people, and some elements that are quite dark, but I'd recommend it to anyone age 14 and up.
4.5/5 stars!
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