A Mango-Shaped Space (Paperback)

~ (Author) "A is for Amy who fell down the stairs," says my best friend, Jenna Davis, as we climb farther down into the steep, parched ravine..." (more)
Key Phrases: Lord of the Flies, Missing Link, Roger Carson

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 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 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 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

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 and her grief over her grandfather's death. 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. Debbie Carton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (October 19, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316058254
• ISBN-13: 978-0316058254
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #17,130 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 STARS FROM A NOT SO AVID READER!, June 30, 2004

By	e. rose - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Mango-Shaped Space (Hardcover)

As you sit in front of your computer screen, observing the slew of reviews posted on this popular website, I urge you to stop for a minute and please read what I about to share with you. I don't even know you, but I would be thrilled if you could read and absorb the experience I had when reading, "A Mango Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass and hopefully this will encourage you to pick up this book and enter a more colorful world. Now, I am not an avid reader I must admit, but when I find a great book...I am sure to share the title with as many friends as family as possibly. For they know when I say it's a wonderful book, it is! My beloved French teacher has the beautiful gift that Mia shares with us, in "A.M.S.S." My teacher told us the first day of class, she saw our names in color as she read from the class roster. We all thought she was kidding, you know those "first day of school teacher jokes" But when I read this book, the respect I had for my French teacher grew and I was more than curious to hear about her experience of living in a world more colorful than the average person. I gave her my copy and she told me as tears rolled down her cheeks that this book portrayed the world she lives in so vividly and accurately. So come on, read this book, from the first page to the last your eyes will glide across the black words and your heart will be encompassed with colors you never knew existed. Happy reading!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Mia Rules, Too!, April 12, 2003

By	"gingersilverman" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Mango-Shaped Space (Hardcover)

A funny, touching book about a teen-aged girl named Mia, who, because of a medical disorder, sees words and numbers in colors. How Mia learns to cope with her unusual gift (while also putting up with all the normal horrors associated with a typical teen girl's life) makes for an entertaining read for all ages. This one's got it all...cute boys, cats...not to be missed!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Colors, colors, colors., July 31, 2007

By	Julie Jordan Scott "Writer, Life Coach - Owne... (Bakersfield, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Mia has recently lost her grandfather. On the day of his funeral, she received a gift at the cemetery - an adorable "stray" kitten named Mango. No, he didn't have Mango colored fur, he exuded the color "Mango" from his little feline being. Mia, you see, has synesthesia, an unusual brain "abnormality" where she sees color in letters, in numbers, in names.

When we first meet Mia, she has kept her synesthesia hidden due to an unfortunate embarrassment in elementary school. Thankfully, she finally gets a name for what it is that makes her "different" and a new world begins to unfold for her.

Readers walk alongside Mia through stumbles with her closest friends, changes in her siblings, experimentation with what she learns about synesthesia. We are with Mia when she experiences yet another huge life loss... and survives.

What I gleaned, most of all, is how "normal" we all are, even in our "uniqueness". Wendy Mass writes cleanly and crisply and steers away from melodrama. She doesn't overwrite a word. I enjoyed reading this book possibly as much as my teen daughter, the owner of the book.