A Mango-Shaped Space

palindrome - Mia, a thirteen-year-old eighth grader, wants nothing more than to be absolutely normal. That is, however, until she discovers that the secret that would make her known as a freak, the fact that she can see colors for letters, numbers, and sounds, is not insanity but a gift known as synesthesia. The book A Mango-Shaped Space is about a snapshot in Mia's journey through adolescence, which is anything but normal. Throughout the book, Mia interacts with a slew of interesting, original characters, such as handsome fourteen-year-old synesthete Adam Dickinson, Mia's younger brother Zack, who's kept a chart of every McDonald's hamburger he's consumed; her older sister Beth, who is obsessed with hair-dye, vegetarianism, and yoga; her outspoken best friend Jenna, the cute-for-a-grown-up neurologist Jerry; Roger, a boy who may be more than just her partner for history homework; Billy Henkle, a five-year-old boy who is thought crazy by his family because of his synesthesia; and, of course, Mango, Mia's beloved cat who wheezes and meows in shades of orange-yellow, holds a piece of Mia's grandfather's soul, and will steal the heart of the reader. A Mango Shaped Space is an interesting, moving novel that will warm the reader's heart and send tears to his or her eyes. When I first began this book, it reminded me of many other books that I'd read. However, as the story progressed, I saw that this is not the typical story of a gifted middle-schooler. In A Mango-Shaped Space, author Wendy Mass tells an intriguing, original story. However, I wouldn't saw this book is for everyone. If you like high-action stories or dislike realistic fiction, this may not be the book for you. But, if your favorite books are inspiring, emotional, and moving, you would like A Mango-Shaped Space. Also, if you're a cat-lover like I am, you will relate with Mia, the protagonist, because of her love for Mango, and will probably appreciate and be saddened by Mia and Mango's story. If you are looking for a heart-warming, original, sensitive book to read, you will thoroughly enjoy A Mango-Shaped Space.

April 14, 2003
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.

March 1, 2003
Gr 5-8-Mia, 13, has always seen colors in sounds, numbers, and letters, a fact she has kept secret since the day she discovered that other people don't have this ability. Then she discovers that she has a rare condition called synesthesia, which means that the visual cortex in her brain is activated when she hears something. From then on, she leads a kind of double life-she eagerly attends research gatherings with other synesthetes and devours information about the condition, but continues to struggle at school, where her inadvertent pairing of particular colors with numbers and words makes math and French almost impossible to figure out. Her gradual abandonment of her frustrating school life in favor of the compelling world of fellow synesthetes and the unique things only they can experience seems quite logical, although readers may feel like shaking some sense into her. Finally, and rather abruptly, her extreme guilt at her beloved cat Mango's illness and death brings her back down to earth and she begins to work on some of the relationships she let crumble. Mia's voice is believable and her description of the vivid world she experiences, filled with slashes, blurs, and streaks of color, is fascinating. Not all of the many characters are necessary to the story, and some of the plot elements go unresolved, but Mia's unique way of experiencing the world is intriguing.-Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library

Copyright 2003 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2003
Gr. 6-10. This contemporary novel does for synesthesia what Terry Hesser's "Kissing Doorknobs "(1998) does for obsessive-compulsive disorder: the lively personal story demystifies a fascinating condition. For 13-year-old Mia Winchell, the world has always been filled with a wonderful, if sometimes dizzying, sensory onslaught--numbers, letters, words, and sounds all cause her to see a distinct array of colors. She keeps her unusual condition a secret until eighth grade, but then her color visions make math and Spanish impossibly confusing, and she must go to her parents and a doctor for help. However, this is more than a docu-novel. Mass beautifully integrates information about synesthesia with Mia's coming-of-age story, which includes her break with her best friend, her grief over her grandfather's death, and the loss of her beloved pet. The episode where Mia fabricates an illness to try out acupuncture for the color visions it produces is marvelously done, showing Mia's eagerness for new experiences even as it describes a synesthete's vision. References to a comprehensive Web site and bibliography about synesthesia are included. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)