I have not actually finished this book: A Mango Shaped Space, by Wendy Mass

Hello again, Potentially Happy Readers! (I’m not actually sure how much I like that name for you all, but for whatever reason I now feel obligated to stick to it… Oh well, I’ll work on it maybe) It’s Jemina, hope you all had a reasonably okay week, hope you didn’t stress out too much over the bio test and all that jazz. This is once again the spoiler alert, however it probably won’t be as big of an issue as the previous book was, as this one is lesser-known and also older. Because I feel pretty secure in the innocuousness of spoiling this book, I will go more in-depth. Then again, I haven’t actually finished this book, so you’ll probably be fine. Again, here be dragons, and spoilers…

A Mango-Shaped Space is a novel by Wendy Mass, and I read this book last Saturday. I haven’t actually even finished it, (or have had time to read really anything) because I’ve been swamped with everything for the past few weeks. We’ll see if it gets better from here, although now I have blogs to publish, so I better find a way to read more again. 

Getting back on track, this book is about a girl named Mia Winchell, who has synesthesia, which, if you didn’t know, is when your senses are interconnected in association. Okay, that was a terrible explanation, but here’s an example of the most common form of synesthesia: colored hearing, which is when sounds have color to them. (A fun coincidence: Cecilia’s blog a couple of weeks ago also featured a protagonist with synesthesia.)
Mia has colored hearing, as well as an association of words and numbers to color. She’s thirteen, and she’s been hiding her condition for basically her entire life, making life in a neurotypical world more difficult, especially while trying to learn math at school. This year, however, she’s decided to reveal her secret to her parents and friends, no matter whether or not they believe her, so she can get the resources she needs to figure out how to function better in society. Also, she has a cat named Mango. His meows sound like the colors of ripening mangoes. 

That’s about as in-depth into this book I want to go. She does seek out advice from medical professionals, and becomes an outcast at school, and if this book sounds interesting to you, knock yourself out, check it out. However, I don’t think it’s for me. 

Frankly, I’m not interested enough in this book to continue reading. This novel was published in 2003, and a lot of the references that it makes, --especially to electronics-- which would have been highly relatable at the time, are simply outdated. This wouldn’t be an issue in many of cases, but I don’t consider this book to have what it takes to become a classic, unlike a book like the perks of being a wallflower, published in 1999, which I read last year. 

I think that A Mango-Shaped Space is supposed to be profound, in a relatable way. It does remind me a lot of Out of My Mind, (the prequel to the book Cecilia covered, which I previously mentioned) but it’s far less impactful, and the themes just don’t resonate. Mia’s struggles don’t feel real enough to me, and all the characters seem too one-dimensional. The author tries to create realistic middle-school tension of with strange mood-swings and puberty, but I can’t see past the feeling that the author is far too unfamiliar with teenagers to be writing middle-grade fiction.
I’m actually really disappointed, because her later duology The Candymakers and The Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase was amazing, and had some of the best-written plots I’ve ever read. A Mango-Shaped Space simply falls flat. And that makes me wonder if nostalgia is manipulating my memories and judgements of books, and whether or not I’d enjoy The Candymakers today. 

Honestly, I’ve been questioning whether or not, to quote Taylor Swift, “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me”, and that I’m just outgrowing the middle-grade genre. It’s a scary and saddening thought, since I've loved this age-range of books and it's been incredibly influential to my life, but maybe it’s a sign of maturing? I don’t know. But this book was bland and boring, and if it were a bowl of mashed potatoes, it would have a weird aftertaste.
Anyway, if you’re reading this blog in search of recommendations, I do recommend The Candymakers series. Tell me what you think if you do. And if you do try A Mango-Shaped Space, tell me as well. All in all, I hope this blog was mildly entertaining at the least, and have a nice week.

- Until we meet again, Jemina Feng