Alex Martiros

Alex Martiros
A Mango Shaped Space
Wendy Mass
Realistic Fiction
Just Right
86

1. I am currently reading A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass. Right now in my book, the main character named Mia is going to the doctors office because she tells her parents that with each sound and letter that she sees or hears, there is a color that relates to it. What that means is that when she sees the letter "D," for example, it appears in her head as hot pinkish purple with a gold tinge. Its like that when she reads and when she hears anything. Everything has a color attached to it, like a name or a title. When her mother takes her to the doctors, the doctor thinks Mia is lying about the colors she can see, and sends her to a neurologist, who determines that what Mia is experiencing is called synesthesia, which means that her senses overlap, and her visual and hearing senses are linked. Mia is super glad that she finally knows what it is that she has had been able to see since before she can remember. Now Mia has to deal with another problem; Jenna, her best friend who won't talk to her because Mia has never told Jenna about her synesthesia, and now Jenna is refusing to talk to her. Also, because Jenna is so upset about Mia not telling her until now, she tells the whole school about Mia's synesthesia. And that's the one thing Mia has feared about telling, is that everyone at school will make fun of her for having this weird "disease."
2.  I feel like the book is really good so far. I love Mia as a character, and I think the topic for the whole book in general is really interesting to read about. I also like the author's way of describing the effects of synesthesia, and I really enjoy reading about all the colors that different things are. It almost makes me want to have synesthesia because I think that it is such a cool concept. There is one thing that I don't like about the book so far, and that is Mia's sister Beth. I think Beth doesn't really make much sense as a character and I cannot really connect with her as a reader. She doesn't make a lot of sense and I still don't understand what made her get into the whole spirits and feng shui idea, like Zack. I think the author is doing a good job of keeping me interested in the book and making me want to read more and not put the book down. But I do think that the one thing that is keeping me reading is the synesthesia. I don't think I would like the book if the plot didn't include Mia's secret and her overlapping senses. 
3. A theme in the book that I have noticed so far is family uniqueness. I have noticed the theme family uniqueness because of mainly Zack, Beth, and Mia's whole situation. Zack is kind of an oddball and he doesn't really seem to grasp the whole idea of normalcy. He also seems a little distant. He is very superstitious and it doesn't quite make sense to me, for why he is like that. i think that is unique because he seems like someone who I have never met and someone that I could never meet someone like him because his personality is so unique to me, but maybe not to other people. Beth also confuses me and comes across as a very unique person and different. From the description before Beth was introduced as a character, she seems just like a mean, older sister. But when she comes back from her summer course, Beth acts like she is really into nature, and is starting to seem a little peculiar. Mia, on the other hand, is unique because she has the synesthesia  and that almost no one in the world has that accept for her and maybe a few hundred or so others.   I also think the parents are unique. I think this because they don't really notice their children's completely unique and special things that are going on with them, and even if they do notice, both parents are okay with it. 
4. My favorite character is Mia because I think she is really brave to have kept that secret to herself all this time and also, I like Mia because I always admire people who have good art skills. I cannot draw or do anything artistic for my life, and I think its awesome that Mia takes time out of her day to just relax and paint. Another reason for why Mia is my favorite character is because I love reading about her synesthesia. I think learning about things like that are awesome, and I think having something like that is so cool to read about.
5. My least favorite character is Jenna. I just don't really like the way she acts around Mia. I feel like she is growing up faster than Mia is and she is kind of..... being rude to Mia. I also thinks he is going to be one of those characters that ditches her best friend for someone "cooler" and I really dislike people who do that. I also think Jenna completely overreacted in the situation when Mia told her about her secret, just so Jenna could control Mia and make Mia apologize. I do not trust Jenna, even as a character in a book.
6. My prediction for what is going to happen next is that Jenna is going to ditch Mia for cooler friends, and Mia is going to find a friend that is really nice. I think the friend Mia makes is going to be someone who has the same type of senses-overlapping type of thing as she does, and they understand it, and get through it together. I also predict that Mango, her cat dies, because Zack and Mia have both noticed that Mango has gotten older and more tired. I think the ending will be that Jenna apologizes to Mia fr how mean she is to her, and Mia finds another cat. I also think Mia will stay friends with her mystery friend who has the same senses thing as she does, and Jenna will just kind of be there, not friends with the popular kids, but not friends with Mia either.