A Mango-Shaped Space                       Brown and Company, April 2003, 220 pages Wendy Mass        
Reviewed by G.C. - 2004-2005                                                      

Thirteen-year-old Mia didn’t know that she was different.  She didn’t know that she had a disorder and she definitely did not know that discovering this would change her life forever.

Mia has a disorder called synesthesia in which, the sections of her brain controlling her hearing and sight intertwine. This causes her to see strange shapes and colors whenever she hears a sound.  She named her cat Mango because of the colors of the sounds he makes, which are all bright shades of orange and yellow, like the fruit itself. A Mango-Shaped Space, by Wendy Mass, is the story of Mia and her trying to overcome a period of confusion, uncertainty and self-discovery.

Mia was persuaded when she was a little girl that everyone saw these colors, but she soon enough found out that she was wrong, so she talks to her parents and friends, who become worried about her.   Soon, enough, her best friend isn’t speaking to her and she is seeing a therapist who denies that she has a condition, but is only making it up for attention.  Finally, she meets a doctor who is a specialist on this disorder, who shows her a website for synesthysic people like herself.  She feels slightly reassured by this and accepts herself as a normal girl with an extraordinary gift.  But then, just as she accepts this, her colors go away and everything falls to pieces again.  She is more confused than ever and she doesn’t know who to talk to.

This book was informative as well as entertaining.  I loved how the author showed how Mia responds to everything through her thoughts and actions.   I and anyone else can really relate to her because we all feel uncertain about ourselves at times.  We all know what its like to lose something that means so much to us.  I would highly recommend this book to anyone.  Not only is the topic of Synesthesia a condition everyone should know about, but it was extremely fascinating to read about in this story.

A Mango-Shaped Space
Brown and Company, April 2003,
By Wendy Mass                                                                    220 pages
Review by G.C. - 2004-2005

Thirteen-year-old Mia didn’t know that she was different. She didn’t know that she had a disorder and she definitely did not know that discovering this would change her life forever.

Mia has a disorder called synesthesia in which, the sections of her brain controlling her hearing and sight intertwine. This causes her to see strange shapes and colors whenever she hears a sound. She named her cat Mango because of the colors of the sounds he makes, which are all bright shades of orange and yellow, like the fruit itself. A Mango-Shaped Space, by Wendy Mass, is the story of Mia and her trying to overcome a period of confusion, uncertainty and self-discovery.

This book was informative as well as entertaining. I loved how the author showed how Mia responds to everything through her thoughts and actions. I and anyone else can really relate to her because we all feel uncertain about ourselves at times. We all know what its like to lose something that means so much to us. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. Not only is the topic of Synesthesia a condition everyone should know about, but it was extremely fascinating to read about in this story.

This book is a book for girls. The lesson of the book is that friends are more important than boys in the long-run. Boys get caught up in your life and effects the way you treat your friends and everyone around you. I love this book because the author develops the characters so you really get to know them and their personalities. I also like the book because I could relate to the characters.

Midnight for Charlie Bone-Jenny Nimmo
Mike

            Midnight for Charlie Bone is a fictional story based on magic and mystery. In it, Charlie Bone, an endowed thirteen year-old with the power to hear photographs, is sent to Bloor’s Academy, a school for the endowed and talented.  At Bloor’s Charlie must solve a mystery to keep him and his family safe.

             This book is a great read for Harry Potter fans, young and old.  Even if you don’t like Harry Potter, read it, because it gives a new twist to the word ‘magical’.

             The only parts of the book that I really didn’t like were the cliff-hangers scattered throughout the book.  They made it sort of confusing.

             What I did like about the book, though, was that it had large print, yet it had just as many details as a nine- hundred page book.   I also like how everything builds up and slowly lets itself out so it had some suspense.

             I learned that even if you don’t have a special  power or gift, you can always help out.

Andrew
4 Stars

          I was surprised when I read Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo.  Normally I think that fantasy books are boring and confusing, but not Midnight for Charlie Bone.  This book was different.  It was suspenseful, exciting, and keeps you wanting to read all night long.

          I liked almost the entire book.  It was about kids that go to a school for music, art and acting.  The school was old and a bit creepy.  Also, not only is the school creepy, but the people there are a bit creepy too.  In the school some of the kids are endowed, which means that they have magical powers.

          There was only one bad thing in the book.  That was that some of the characters were hard to follow.  A lot of the names were very strange and not normal.  Also, I found it confusing because I thought that some of the names were a bit alike.

          The mood is continuously changing.  Sometimes the mood is happy because Charlie had done something go, which would be very exciting.  Other parts of the book are sad.  At these parts I almost felt like crying. 

          I think that this is a great book for people any age.  It is good for both boys and girls and they do not normally have to like fantasy books to like this one.  It is not hard to read but it isn’t a small book with no plot.  I strongly recommend that you read Midnight for Charlie Bone.

The Missing Piece
BY:Shel Silverstein

Marilyn

     The Missing Piece is yet another book with simple text by the great poetry writer, Shel Silverstein, who is unfortunately now dead. This particular book is very quick reading. It looks like a thick book but it is short with simple drawings.

     Shel Silverstein was a very good poet. This particular book is about a ball or circle that is looking for its missing piece. It finds pieces that look like they might fit, but some are too big when others are too small. He can’t find one that’s just right for him until....the day he does, or at least he thinks he has found what he has been searching for all that time.

     Shel Silverstein is a talented artist who has a way with words. None of the pages are like a regular book that has text all the way down the page. It only has about thirty words with a drawing in there somewhere, and to top it all off it’s written in a big text!

     Shel Silverstein wrote many poetry books such as: Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light In The Attic, Falling Up, and more! Most of these books are hard cover too so it’s a lot more durable. I can happily say that I have read them all and was never disappointed.

     His form of poetry is funny and meant for it to be read by readers of all ages.

The story takes place in Manhattan at a local drug store when some boys ask Steve to be the look out in a robbery. Steve agrees to this; not thinking that he would be accused of anything illegal, but does he get surprised…

Murder in the mews: Dead mans Mirror                

         Agatha Christie’s Murder in the Mews is a very good book.  One of the stories is Dead Mans Mirror.  It is a story with Mr. Hercule Poirot.  Poirot is a detective who is invited to a dinner party at Sir Gervase Chevenix-Gore’s house.  When Poirot arrives Sir Gervase has appeared to have locked himself in his study and shot himself.  Detective Poirot takes charge and people begin to wonder. 

        I like this book so far because it has tons of suspense and excitement.  You are always wondering what’s going to happen next.  Detective Poirot interview’s everybody at the home of the time, so you always wonder if someone will say they know why he shot himself.

         The only reason why I don’t like this book so far is that Agatha Christie didn’t really describe anything.  We don’t really know what the house, or characters look like.

         I would recommend this book to kids 10 and up and adults too.  Agatha Christie does many adult books so adults could read this one.  Boys and girls could read this book.   It doesn’t have a label that says boy book or girl book.  Though it is a little hard to read but if you read it over and over than you will probably get it.

         Over all Agatha Christie has done a really good job writing this book.  This book could be made into a movie, but there already are a lot of movies like this made for television.