Book Review: A Mango-Shaped Space

I found this book in the Young Adult section accidentally, just combing through the list of titles. The book's size was a little bigger than the rest on its shelf (and it was the only one there) so I took it out and...

...IT HAS A PRETTY COVER! OOOH!

Seriously though, I picked this up only because I can get a 25% discount on The Time Traveller's Wife and only on an impulse.

It was a good decision, in retrospect.

The book details the life of Mia ...or the adolescent part of it, anyway. Mia is a normal middle-child who has a bitch as a sister and a weirdo of a little brother; so what's new?

Well, for starters, she can see colors when no one can.

You see, for Mia, letters and numbers and sounds, they all have colors for her. For example, the mew of her cat, Mango, has the color of, well, mango. (Hence the name.) To her, this is normal but when her parents find out, they collectively freak out.

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Mia's Mom: I told you not to take drugs!
Mia's Dad: What drugs? My cousin was the one who took drugs! And how is that relevante here?
Mia: (exasperated silence)

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Mia's parents, like all parents would after finding out their daughters are seeing things they're not, thought she was nuts. She's not. Quite simply, she has a condition that is not harmful nor is it a disability.

She has synasthesia.

After that discovery, the book primarily deals with coming to terms with Mia's condition. Mia accepting it with joy; her family supporting her and her best friend...

...ah, yes. Mia gets into a fight with her best friend. It's interesting how it plays out but the potential is lost near the end. But it's pretty good.

Also, as with any typical teen story, there has to be a tinge of romance. It's not sappy and it has an almost clinical outlook on it. But well, by this time, you can already guesss what will happen.

All in all, it's a good book, if slightly flawed. Give it a shot but don't expect too much out of it.

7 out of 10