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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!
vividlygray's review
5.0
This book is a great read with a deeply heartfelt tune. It examines the discoveries of self as well as the ties of friendship.
katiedoesntftba's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
morganrondo's review
5.0
This was one of my favorite books as a kid, and over a decade later it's still just as emotional. Wendy Mass is a phenom.
missbookiverse's review against another edition
3.0
Ich lese gern Bücher, über Themen, die mir im Alltag nicht über den Weg laufen. Deshalb bin ich auf diesen Roman aufmerksam geworden. Er beschäftigt sich mit dem Thema Synästhesie.
Synasthewas? Mit diesem Zungenbrecher wird man bereits geboren und es bedeutet, dass man Zahlen, Buchstaben, Klänge usw. mit eindeutigen Farben verbindet. Für einen Synästhesisten ist die Eins beispielsweise immer rot (für einen anderen Synästhesisten kann sie allerdings blau sein). Wenn solche Menschen Musik hören oder laute Geräusche, sehen sie oft sehr intensive Farben vor sich, wie ein Schleier, der zur normalen Welt dazu gehört.
Die 13jährige Protagonistin Mia hat Synästhesie. Zu Beginn des Buches ist das aber niemandem klar. Für Mia gehören die Farben dazu und sie denkt, dass jeder die Welt so wahrnimmt. Erst als sie in der Schule Zahlen und Farben an der Tafel kombiniert, um sich das Rechnen zu erleichtern, stellt sie fest, dass ihre Mitschüler das seltsam finden. Es hat mir im Herzen weh getan Mia durchs Leben stolpern und nur auf Ablehnung und Unwissenheit stoßen zu sehen. Zum Glück vertraut sie sich ihren Eltern an und wird von ihnen ernst genommen. Überhaupt mochte ich die Familiendynamik in diesem Roman sehr gern. Mia hat eine große Familie, die oft chaotisch daherkommt, aber am Ende immer zusammenhält.
Nach der Hälfte des Buches macht Mia leider eine unangenehme Wandlung durch. Umso mehr sie sich mit ihrer Synästhesie beschäftigt, desto unsympathischer wurde sie mir. Plötzlich gibt es einen Namen für ihren Zustand. Ihre Synästhesie macht sie zu jemand Besonderes und sie wird sich selbst so wichtig, dass Freunde und Familie komplett in den Hintergrund rücken. Es zählen nur noch ihre Farben, ihr Gewissen wirkt wie ausgeschaltet. Natürlich will das Buch genau diese Wandlung in Mia verdeutlichen und Mia kommt mit ihrem Verhalten nicht lange durch, aber Mitleid musste sie bei mir vergebens suchen.
Im Endeffekt kann ich nicht beurteilen wie authentisch das Buch Synästhesie schildert, aber es vermittelt auf jeden Fall einen guten Eindruck darüber. Als nächstes habe ich schon [b:One Plus One Equals Blue|15793528|One Plus One Equals Blue|M.J. Auch|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1345686112s/15793528.jpg|21515502] ins Auge gefasst.
Synasthewas? Mit diesem Zungenbrecher wird man bereits geboren und es bedeutet, dass man Zahlen, Buchstaben, Klänge usw. mit eindeutigen Farben verbindet. Für einen Synästhesisten ist die Eins beispielsweise immer rot (für einen anderen Synästhesisten kann sie allerdings blau sein). Wenn solche Menschen Musik hören oder laute Geräusche, sehen sie oft sehr intensive Farben vor sich, wie ein Schleier, der zur normalen Welt dazu gehört.
Die 13jährige Protagonistin Mia hat Synästhesie. Zu Beginn des Buches ist das aber niemandem klar. Für Mia gehören die Farben dazu und sie denkt, dass jeder die Welt so wahrnimmt. Erst als sie in der Schule Zahlen und Farben an der Tafel kombiniert, um sich das Rechnen zu erleichtern, stellt sie fest, dass ihre Mitschüler das seltsam finden. Es hat mir im Herzen weh getan Mia durchs Leben stolpern und nur auf Ablehnung und Unwissenheit stoßen zu sehen. Zum Glück vertraut sie sich ihren Eltern an und wird von ihnen ernst genommen. Überhaupt mochte ich die Familiendynamik in diesem Roman sehr gern. Mia hat eine große Familie, die oft chaotisch daherkommt, aber am Ende immer zusammenhält.
Nach der Hälfte des Buches macht Mia leider eine unangenehme Wandlung durch. Umso mehr sie sich mit ihrer Synästhesie beschäftigt, desto unsympathischer wurde sie mir. Plötzlich gibt es einen Namen für ihren Zustand. Ihre Synästhesie macht sie zu jemand Besonderes und sie wird sich selbst so wichtig, dass Freunde und Familie komplett in den Hintergrund rücken. Es zählen nur noch ihre Farben, ihr Gewissen wirkt wie ausgeschaltet. Natürlich will das Buch genau diese Wandlung in Mia verdeutlichen und Mia kommt mit ihrem Verhalten nicht lange durch, aber Mitleid musste sie bei mir vergebens suchen.
Im Endeffekt kann ich nicht beurteilen wie authentisch das Buch Synästhesie schildert, aber es vermittelt auf jeden Fall einen guten Eindruck darüber. Als nächstes habe ich schon [b:One Plus One Equals Blue|15793528|One Plus One Equals Blue|M.J. Auch|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1345686112s/15793528.jpg|21515502] ins Auge gefasst.
quietweather's review
3.0
I really expected more out of this book, especially since it was about such a cool condition. I had heard about Synthesia, the melding of the senses by reading [b:The Name of This Book Is Secret|1099301|The Name of This Book Is Secret (Secret, #1)|Pseudonymous Bosch|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344271058s/1099301.jpg|1086172].
But I was let down, I didn't get anything really out of reading this. No problems was solved, because there didn't seem to be an apparent problem.
All I know is that Synthesia sounds cool and I got to experience some really cool situations out of it, and learned a bit about the condition too.
But one thing I really wish I could've changed about this book was the author's writing. It was too bland since this little girl could see colors pop up from words and numbers. It needed something to make it sound more interesting, more than just describing the colors.
Either way, I think it lacked that extra spark it needed, but it really helped open my eyes on Synthesia.
But I was let down, I didn't get anything really out of reading this. No problems was solved, because there didn't seem to be an apparent problem.
All I know is that Synthesia sounds cool and I got to experience some really cool situations out of it, and learned a bit about the condition too.
But one thing I really wish I could've changed about this book was the author's writing. It was too bland since this little girl could see colors pop up from words and numbers. It needed something to make it sound more interesting, more than just describing the colors.
Either way, I think it lacked that extra spark it needed, but it really helped open my eyes on Synthesia.