Mosquitoland by David Arnold

“I am a collection of oddities, a circus of neurons and electrons: my heart is the ringmaster, my soul is the trapeze artist, and the world is my audience. It sounds strange because it is, and it is, because I am strange.” 

Mosquitoland, by David Arnold turned out to be a fantastic book along the lines of Eleanor & Park and All the Bright Places.

The book tells the story of Mary Iris Malone, “acroname” Mim, who has been transported by her dad and his new wife from Ohio to Mississippi – aka Mosquitoland.  After overhearing a conversation between her parents and a school administrator, Mim comes to the terrifying realization that her real mom is sick.

Without waiting to get the whole story, Mim runs home, packs the pills she takes for her purported mental illness, steals her stepmom’s stash of cash, and sets off on an epic Greyhound bus journey from Mississippi to Ohio.

Along the way, Mim meets the Carlest of Carls, the Clairest of Claires, and Arlene, a grande dame of the old school.  She also finds a sense of belonging with Walt, a mentally challenged homeless kid with a Rubik’s Cube and a love of baseball and shiny things, and the handsome, slightly older Beck, a guy on a bus journey of his own.

Mosquitoland is hilarious and touching at the same time, and I feel sure this first reading will be followed by a few more.

LAME FACTOR: 0 of 5, of course.

YOUR PARENTS WILL FREAK FACTOR:  It’s pretty tame, all things considered.

BRAIN POWER:  The writing is fantastic.  It will be good for your brain cells to get some exercise.