Mosquitoland by David Arnold - Restarting January 16th 2021

[Mei]

"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."
After the sudden collapse of her family, Mim Malone is dragged from her home in northern Ohio to the "wastelands" of Mississippi, where she lives in a medicated milieu with her dad and new stepmom. Before the dust has a chance to settle, she learns her mother is sick back in Cleveland.
So she ditches her new life and hops aboard a northbound Greyhound bus to her real home and her real mother, meeting a quirky cast of fellow travelers along the way. But when her thousand-mile journey takes a few turns she could never see coming, Mim must confront her own demons, redefining her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane.
Told in an unforgettable, kaleidoscopic voice, "Mosquitoland" is a modern American odyssey, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.

--

Reading this with Martha. You are welcome to join at your own pace!

[Martha]

Yey!

[Mei]

Chapter 5: (view spoiler)[I just started and I'm already starting to LOVE this book. Mim is such a complicated and mysterious character. I'm very interested in knowing her more and seeing her growth. For a girl her age (16), she seems to have experienced and encountered A LOT in life, and from what we've been given a glimpse of her life— her parents' divorce, her dad's remarriage, a possibly dying mother, her stepmom Kathy's interrogation to the way she communicates her mom, Mim's mental illness (or so we think since she they have a family illness of psychosis) and being a troublemaker in school—it's really rough and unpleasant. But there's something about her voice and narration that is unique and gripping! It's blended with unique prose and nbrilliant choice of wording that is suitable to her situation with wittiness, sarcasm and pain. It's weird to describe, really. It's an odd mix of emotions that I don't know how Arnold does but I'm ENGROSSED. I'm looking forward to know more of Mim's life. So many questions. But you know that kind where you're willing to wait, because you feel the author's got this? I do hope he's not going to hold it back longer. (hide spoiler)]

[Mei]

Chapter 7: (view spoiler)[For some reasom, I see myself in Mim. Hmm... Anyway, this war paint of hers is weird. Sounds like from a tribe, what she does in her face. Is this her way of coping? Joe aka Poncho Man seems to know a lot about Mim. Curious what roles he takes on further in the book. Really loving these flashbacks. (hide spoiler)]

[Mei]

Chapter 9: (view spoiler)[Everything I've known so far from the story is getting overwhelming. I'm still processing... what do you call this... Mim's conditions? She really is half-blind and has a problem with epiglottis. Though I still don't get what the latter means. And I take that she doesn't have a mental illness, like Isabel, as her dad puts it? Her dad's just overreacting? I am looking forward to meeting Isabel, if she's even alive. The letters are addressed to her but will they ever be sent? (hide spoiler)]

[Mei]

Chapter 11: (view spoiler)[Poncho Man seriously scares and creeps me. What an observant dude! What does he want anyway? (hide spoiler)]

[Mei]

Chapter 12: (view spoiler)[I am in love with this writing! Whatever happens towards the end of this book, I'm gonna look out for Arnold's future works!
I love how Mim narrates and her letters and stories. It's so full of LIFE and MEANING, and it connects with an emotion or a flashback so perfectly integrated to the wholeness of the scene. I am at awe. Want to quote a lot that's for sure. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 13: (view spoiler)[Maybe that war paint was her way of coping. Still odd, though.
Poncho Man is at her bus again? I'm really curious now. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 13: (view spoiler)[I honestly don't really understand some of things she says. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 16: (view spoiler)[Will we be meeting any of these minor characters after this trip though? I can't seem to place and imagine Walt... (hide spoiler)]

[Martha]

End of ch 3-
Interesting so far!
I'm worried it's going to be pretentious and I'm not sure what to make of the main character so far.
(view spoiler)[Has she got a mental health issue? Is her mother dying? (hide spoiler)]
Reading on~

End of Ch 8-
(view spoiler)[What just happened?!! Arlene no!! :( (hide spoiler)]

End of ch 11-
I thought this was gonna be kind of cute, but at the moment its disturbing and depressing :( unsure of the main girl

End of ch 16 - Still unsure. The whole thing seems a bit disjointed.


I have friends of the family coming over now, so won't be able to pick this up until Sunday!

[Martha]

Wow just read your comments, Mei! You seem to be connecting to it more than me. Gonna give it another chance though! I think the writing is good... just unsure :/

[Mei]

I get what you meant. I did like it from the start, but now it's kind of drifting away; my feelings are inconsistent. The main character is... I don't know the right word to place it... but you seem right with the pretentious. But I still feel that she's real. It's just that the way she talks about her life is weird. She's in pain but there's also happiness. It's weird!

I thought this is going to be cute, too, but I'm still excited to go along. Don't worry, we all have different tastes. Let's just hope it's still a good book even with flaws.

I get what you meant with depressing. We both loved The Disenchantments. The narrator's voice is full of emotion yet I didn't feel that depressed. I'm not sure what to make of Mim, still. She's so complicated like she's build up of a lot of personalities or characteristics that there isn't anything standing out. I really cannot describe it properly. This is my first time feeling like this at a book and character.

[Mei]

I'll be out the whole day so... I won't be able to read today. Have fun though!

[Martha]

I was going to read some more of this today... but I just needed a fluffy, happy read to cheer me up a bit! :P Will pick it up again soon!

[Mei]

Chapter 20: (view spoiler)[I'm so curious about Walt and Caleb! Are they even related? Does Caleb have schizo, really? How did theyget to the woods? Where did all the cash came from? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 25: (view spoiler)[I hope the book doesn't focus on the romance, if it's even a likely one. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 34: (view spoiler)[This is getting confusing lately. This book is chock full of metaphors and I'm not sure I get what she's talking about. Metaphors are supposed to be direct comparisons but the meanings underlying in hers are so indirect it's hard to figure out what she really means. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 37: (view spoiler)[I'm kinda crying now. This is so emotional and heartbreaking! (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 40: (view spoiler)[So... all along she was writing to her half-sister not her aunt aye? Her aunt's dead though. The flashback of all flashbacks was this narration is written. I get it. (hide spoiler)]

ENDING: (view spoiler)[Nice way to end it. Mim put significance in all the people she met throughout the journey I never would've thought she would or I myself never would've valued. They may be minor, or nothing of heavy role, but she remembered them dearly as if they meant a lot. I loved the writing even more now. I guess I suffered a love-hate-hate-love relationship with it; some of the things she says are so profound it sounds exaggerated or ambitious. I loved her meeting with her mom, though I wish we could've known what kind of illness she has or how frequent will the visits be. Reconciliation with her dad is also lacking. With Kathy, it was satisfying. But I think her dad plays a bigger role than her stepmom does in her life, not just in the story. We learned about Mim meeting Beck and Walt soon, and I like the mystery behind their further lives. I love the character growth of Mim, specially how it changed in seeing her stepmom. Maybe it's a little by little step towards knowing her, but it's still a step.
Loved the way it ended. I guess it's a 3.5. (hide spoiler)]

[Martha]

End of ch 31 -

(view spoiler)[ I am so sick of Mim. She thinks she's so above everyone else and it's really getting on my nerves. Just because someone has a cliche phrase on their bag doesn't mean they're emptyheaded!!!!!
Also, WHO doesn't tell someone that they're partially blind??!
Grrr. Pretentious characters are such a pet peeve of mine.
Also, I'm sorry but Beck is boring me.
HOWEVER, what I do like is the letters! (hide spoiler)]

[Martha]

End of ch 36 - (view spoiler)[ Oooo I didn't guess that she was writing to her sister! Like that! I wish Mim wouldn't be so horrible to Kathy... (hide spoiler)]

[Martha]

END - (view spoiler)[ ...WOW. What a powerful ending. I enjoyed the end! (hide spoiler)] Agree with your ending notes, Mei! :)

[Mei]

I'll read your comments when I get on my computer! :)

[Abi]

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Reading from the 20th of January 2016

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[prag ♻]

Just started!
(view spoiler)[I'm confused. Who's Isabel? Is she a real person, or someone like the person Charlie writes to in the Perks of Being a Wallflower? (hide spoiler)]

[prag ♻]

Chapter 5
(view spoiler)[OH MY GOD I'M BARELY INTO THIS BOOK AND I ALREADY ABSOLUTELY LOVE MIM!! She seems like n amazing protagonist- a little unreal, true, but she's the perfect character for me. She's humorous, sarcastic, intelligent, and has an emotional capacity of more than a teaspoon. Lol, see what I did there? *HP reference* (hide spoiler)]

[Mona]

sorry for being late but I will start it now :D :D

[Berit☀️✨]

I am planning on starting this tomorrow :-)

[prag ♻]

44% in
(view spoiler)[I'm feeling my interest wavering a little. Till now, Mim has been an unforgettable jackass-ish amazing character and the storyline gripping, but the plot seems to be dulling. What on earth is Caleb's role? And how is it her Dad and Kathy haven't contacted the police or anything? I'm sure they could have tracked her down. Or is it that they don't want to? What about her mom, though? Is she really sick? Why was she sending letters to Kathy? Ughh so many questinos. (hide spoiler)]

[Berit☀️✨]

I just started a little bit ago, so far so good, not much has happened as of yet :-)

[prag ♻]

Berit wrote: "I just started a little bit ago, so far so good, not much has happened as of yet :-)"

It's going to get better. Oh, so much better. And deeper.

[Berit☀️✨]

I can tell I'm going to like this because I like MIM chapter 7(view spoiler)[ what is the deal with the letters from her mom? Also disgusting the bus bathroom, yuck! Wasn't expecting the accident, and what is in that box??? (hide spoiler)]

[Berit☀️✨]

Chapter 20(view spoiler)[ we don't get to find out what is in the box??? Such an interesting group of character, (hide spoiler)]

[Berit☀️✨]

Chapter 36 (view spoiler)[ is she writing to her sister??? Or her aunt, is her aunt dead??? And what in the world are they going to do with Walt? So many questions still left to be answered
I'm not sure if she has some mental issues, or if she is just a very insecure teenager with some really deep thoughts, IDK (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah Elizabeth]

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Date Changed. Restarting June 10th 2016. Happy Reading ☺

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[Sarah Elizabeth]

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Date changed. Restarting January 16th 2021. Happy Reading ☺

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[Everest]

Booklover and I are doing MosquitoLand. Read as much as you want per day!