Scan barcode
A review by chemwitch
My Name Is Mina by David Almond
3.0
This book was... eh. Bordering on ugh. 2.5 stars.
Full disclosure: I read this before reading Skellig. I read the followup (released 12 years prior to this) just after, and felt it was a much better read.
What was good?
Mina's mom. I felt she was a good character. We see her only from Mina's POV,
obviously, but she's warm and encouraging and always seems to be trying her best. She
was a ray of light in an otherwise kind of annoying narrative.
Alternative school. I liked the presentation of the alternative school. It didn't seem
to demonize alternative schooling and actually painted a pretty nice picture. I was
expecting something totally different going in and I was pleasantly surprised.
What wasn't?
Mina. I DID NOT LIKE MINA. And she writes the entire book, so that was a
problem. It wasn't that I didn't like her as a person. It was that she felt extremely unreal.
Like the author was trying so hard to write someone "different" and "quirky" but took it
just a little too far. It wasn't in every scene or every line, but occasionally I would just have
to roll my eyes because she is NINE YEARS OLD. My sister is almost nine, smart as a whip,
and would not be trusted to take a knife outside of our house. Next point.
The narration. The diary format didn't work for me. It was twisting, confusing,
and extremely annoying. There were constant changes of tense. I get he was going for
something to showcase Mina's being "different" and "quirky" but I hated it.
The plot. Or lack thereof. There wasn't one. Nothing happened. There were no
stakes. Would Mina have to go back to school? I didn't care. I didn't care about Mina, and
nothing happened to her that was worth caring about? Ugh. At one point, they ask if it's
possible to write a story about nothing. It is. It's this book. /eyeroll/
All those negatives being said, I didn't hate it. It wasn't the worst. At times I smiled, like the scene where they eat Italian. The scene where she goes to the alternative school. And it was a quick read, which is probably why it gets above 2 stars from me, honestly.
Full disclosure: I read this before reading Skellig. I read the followup (released 12 years prior to this) just after, and felt it was a much better read.
What was good?
Mina's mom. I felt she was a good character. We see her only from Mina's POV,
obviously, but she's warm and encouraging and always seems to be trying her best. She
was a ray of light in an otherwise kind of annoying narrative.
Alternative school. I liked the presentation of the alternative school. It didn't seem
to demonize alternative schooling and actually painted a pretty nice picture. I was
expecting something totally different going in and I was pleasantly surprised.
What wasn't?
Mina. I DID NOT LIKE MINA. And she writes the entire book, so that was a
problem. It wasn't that I didn't like her as a person. It was that she felt extremely unreal.
Like the author was trying so hard to write someone "different" and "quirky" but took it
just a little too far. It wasn't in every scene or every line, but occasionally I would just have
to roll my eyes because she is NINE YEARS OLD. My sister is almost nine, smart as a whip,
and would not be trusted to take a knife outside of our house. Next point.
The narration. The diary format didn't work for me. It was twisting, confusing,
and extremely annoying. There were constant changes of tense. I get he was going for
something to showcase Mina's being "different" and "quirky" but I hated it.
The plot. Or lack thereof. There wasn't one. Nothing happened. There were no
stakes. Would Mina have to go back to school? I didn't care. I didn't care about Mina, and
nothing happened to her that was worth caring about? Ugh. At one point, they ask if it's
possible to write a story about nothing. It is. It's this book. /eyeroll/
All those negatives being said, I didn't hate it. It wasn't the worst. At times I smiled, like the scene where they eat Italian. The scene where she goes to the alternative school. And it was a quick read, which is probably why it gets above 2 stars from me, honestly.