A Mango-Shaped Space

Overview

Mia Winchell has synesthesia, the mingling of perceptions whereby a person can see sounds, smell colors, or taste shapes. Forced to reveal her condition, she must look to herself to develop an understanding and appreciation of her gift in this coming-of-age novel.

Editorial Reviews

In an intriguing first novel, Mass introduces a 13-year-old heroine with an unusual perspective. Mia Winchell is a synesthete; her visual and hearing senses are connected so that numbers, letters, words, sounds and even some people's auras appear to her as colors. The letter "a," for instance, is the shade of a "faded sunflower," screeching chalk "makes red jagged lines in the air," and Mia's beloved cat, Mango, is surrounded by an orange cloud. Mia's unique view proves to be both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, she enjoys having heightened senses ("If I couldn't use my colors, the world would seem so bland-like vanilla ice cream without the gummy bears on top," she says). On the other hand, sometimes it's hard for her being reminded that she is different, like when her brother, Zack, calls her "the Missing Link." Although the story line, at times, seems cluttered with underdeveloped subplots about Mia's friendships, potential romances and conflicts at school, the novel's premise is interesting enough to keep pages turning. The author successfully brings abstract ideas down to earth. Her well-defined characterizations, natural-sounding dialogue, and concrete imagery allow readers to feel Mia's emotions and see through her eyes a kaleidoscopic world, which is at once confusing and beautiful. Ages 10-13. (Apr.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Author Information

Bio of Wendy Mass

Author Wendy Mass grew up in Livingston, New Jersey and received a B. A. in English from Tufts University. She worked as a book editor at numerous publishing houses in New York City and Connecticut and co-created a teenage literary magazine called Writes of Passage. She has written several nonfiction books for teenagers on different educational topics including a book on Stonehenge and a biography of author Ray Bradbury. A Mango-Shaped Space and Leap Day are her first two novels.

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Additional Info

Imprint

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Filesize

552.34 KB

Number of Pages

224

eBook ISBN

9780316048699