She has a father who keeps taking her to psychologists until one agrees that she is crazy and puts her on medication. What I never understood was why she feels like she is at war. Mim (as you can see in the below trailer) uses lipstick as war paint, something that she knows is strange but thinks is permissible since she is 1/64th Cherokee or some such nonsense. The first being the aforementioned cultural misappropriation of Native American peoples. There were three major things that stuck out in the book that I think are important to talk about. The various characters introduced throughout the book are interesting and quirky, although a bit flat as far as characterization is concerned. This is, of course, a byproduct of adult writers writing books for teens, and so I usually give this a pass seeing as it is something that cannot be helped. Mim has that typical YA teen voice that is snarky and standoffish, speaking in a way that most teenagers never would although they wish they did. Sadly, I found the book to be rather confusing and quite a slog to get through.įirst, I must be clear that the writing itself isn't bad. Add to that the promise of a good journey and mental health issues and I was sold.

There was a great deal of excitement for the character with down syndrome, something not often seen in children's literature or literature in general. I ignored the kerfuffle concerning the trailer and cultural misappropriation. I wanted to like this book, I really did. Mim has her own demons too, struggling with what the definition of sanity is and searching for a way to love those who have hurt her. But not even that goes right because she meets Walt, a boy with down syndrome who clearly needs someone to take care of him too. Eventually she abandons the bus, deciding to hitchhike her way to Ohio.

She keeps it a secret though, not wanting her trip to end. First there is the bus accident followed by the stalker poncho man who corners her in the bathroom and almost rapes her. Things don't work out so well on the old Greyhound line though. When Mim catches wind that her mother be sick, she decides to take a bus back to Cleveland to me with her. Mim Malone has witnessed the sudden collapse of her family, being dragged from her home in Ohio to the wastelands of Mississippi to live with her dad and new stepmom.

Mosquitoland review