“I swear, the longer I live, the less things make sense.”
-David Arnold, Mosquitoland
Recommended to me by a friend, I picked up this book the last time I was at the library, because honestly, who can leave the library without checking out a book? And this book definitely didn’t disappoint! Featuring a cast of quirky characters you can’t help but love, and an epic road trip where things just don’t seem to go right, Mim’s story is one that’ll have you sucked in until the very end.
After her parents divorce, Mim is dragged from Ohio to Mississippi, where she lives with her dad and new stepmom, Kathy. When Mim learns that her real mom is sick, she begins a journey back to her real home, desperate to get back to the happy memories she has with her mom. Through a series of mishaps and unknown turns, Mim is forced to confront herself, and learning that everything isn’t always as it seems.
Let me begin by saying that Mim is quite the unforgettable character. Most of the time, she is unabashedly herself, taking her quirkiness and questions of sanity in stride. Her family has a long history of mental health issues, and at the first inklings, her dad made sure that Mim got the “right” treatments. However, on her journey, Mim learns a lot about sanity and mental health; in fact, I think this book explores mental health in a different way than most YA books that I’ve read. The majority of books mostly deal with depression or anxiety (that I have personally read, anyway), and this book explores it more deeply, with hallucinations, etc., giving readers a more holistic view of Mim herself.
I think the only downside to this, though minor, was that it took me a little bit to get into it. Mim is a fantastic character, but she comes on really strong and it definitely took me a couple of chapters to get used to her voice as the speaker. But I think once you are able to see Mim interact with other major characters, she gets easier to swallow, and that’s when the book started to read at a faster pace for me.
Overall, definitely a fantastic read, and different than a lot of YA that I’ve been reading recently. If you’re look for a philosophically driven road trip novel, you’ve definitely found it!
4/5 stars