Scan barcode
iceangel32's review
4.0
This was a great book. I started this book to help my cousin get through her summer reading. It was a great story of a girl learning about her synthesia, herself and her relationship with others. I enjoyed learning about something new and also became engrossed in Mia's story.
lily_beans06's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
stephxsu's review
3.0
13-year-old Mia has always been able to see colors and shapes with 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 hid her strange condition from her friends and family, 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. This knowledge opens her up to a whole new world of people who understand 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 love of the people who have always been there for her.
This is a sweet and interesting book about an unusual and little-known condition. Readers, especially those in middle school and early high school, will be able to connect with Mia’s growing up.
After visiting numerous doctors, Mia learns that she has synesthesia. This knowledge opens her up to a whole new world of people who understand 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 love of the people who have always been there for her.
This is a sweet and interesting book about an unusual and little-known condition. Readers, especially those in middle school and early high school, will be able to connect with Mia’s growing up.
lizbethlowpezz's review
5.0
My favorite book growing up, it truly took me to a different world and I have never felt so engulfed by a story.
sreddous's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
In general, this book feels like a good and pretty-realistic lens into the mind of a middle-schooler who is struggling with social interactions, subjects at school, and a mental condition that makes her life/makes learning hard in ways. The way the colors and other symptoms of synesthesia are described is very poetic and beautiful, and it feels like a lot of research went in to describing what it really can be like for different people, which is really cool. The slice-of-life plot doesn't really have "enormous stakes" but that's really okay; it's nice to watch a character deal with their feelings and with learning to communicate and such.
This book gets pretty intense sometimes. This is a good thing in a lot of ways, in that it takes its audience seriously and goes over difficult and emotional topics that kids and young people really do face, such as the deaths of parents, grandparents, and pets. In that sense, I respect that this book doesn't shy away from how painful all of those events can be. But, whew. There's a relatively-detailed description of a family putting down their dog at the vet's office that made me have to take a deep breath and put the book down for a second about, so heads up if that kind of thing is difficult for you/for a young reader who you otherwise might get this book for.
This is a four-star experience for me instead of a five- because, honestly, I think maybe a few too many things were going on in this book, and maybe trimming a few characters or plot threads could make things a little more emotionally impactful. The way things wrapped up with Adam and the support group made me literally say out loud "that's all?", and the sort of love-triangle stuff just made things feel cluttered.
Also, I feel like a lot of the bullying stuff felt a bit generic and actually not super believable -- I was bullied in school too and I know peers can be cruel, but I feel like the "freak" stuff is maybe a bit not-super-believable. Characters like Amy are interesting since I can see why she'd say the things she'd say, but the other generic bullies/classmates aren't really given that kind of insight, and there's enough drama and hardship in Mia's life without also having generic bully memories and encounters.
Overall, this is emotional and difficult in good ways. I'd recommend this to any middle-grade reader who is ready to handle some difficult topics.
This book gets pretty intense sometimes. This is a good thing in a lot of ways, in that it takes its audience seriously and goes over difficult and emotional topics that kids and young people really do face, such as the deaths of parents, grandparents, and pets. In that sense, I respect that this book doesn't shy away from how painful all of those events can be. But, whew. There's a relatively-detailed description of a family putting down their dog at the vet's office that made me have to take a deep breath and put the book down for a second about, so heads up if that kind of thing is difficult for you/for a young reader who you otherwise might get this book for.
This is a four-star experience for me instead of a five- because, honestly, I think maybe a few too many things were going on in this book, and maybe trimming a few characters or plot threads could make things a little more emotionally impactful. The way things wrapped up with Adam and the support group made me literally say out loud "that's all?", and the sort of love-triangle stuff just made things feel cluttered.
Also, I feel like a lot of the bullying stuff felt a bit generic and actually not super believable -- I was bullied in school too and I know peers can be cruel, but I feel like the "freak" stuff is maybe a bit not-super-believable. Characters like Amy are interesting since I can see why she'd say the things she'd say, but the other generic bullies/classmates aren't really given that kind of insight, and there's enough drama and hardship in Mia's life without also having generic bully memories and encounters.
Overall, this is emotional and difficult in good ways. I'd recommend this to any middle-grade reader who is ready to handle some difficult topics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Bullying and Ableism
bickie's review
3.0
Interesting coming-of-age story set against the back-drop of learning about and coping with synesthesia, a condition which the protagonist experiences as seeing colors with loud sounds as well as associating colors with letters, numbers, and words. She grapples with missing her recently-deceased grandfather, friction with her long-time best friend, parents who think she is making up her synesthesia, boys, a being the middle child in a quirky family. Overall, the book has a pleasing tone, and it is interesting to learn more about synesthesia, even though it is not really about that; it's about a girl in middle school who deals with typical middle school things as well as the synesthesia. Best suited for 5th and up, though there is one part in which the protagonist spends all of her savings on two sessions of acupuncture to have what could be considered to be hallucinogenic experiences. She makes up a medical reason to go, evades her parents, and lies to a classmate in order to go. While the actual actions are not dangerous, it is the kind of behavior a drug or alcohol user would have. She decides the experience is too overwhelming to continue it (providing a convenient reason to not have to deal with addiction-type of behavior issues in the book), but it is a good discussion point.
fmun53's review
5.0
Wow this book was amazing! A girl in my class recommended it to me and I'm so glad she did! It's the kind of book that you wish you hadn't read, so you can read it again!