Mosquitoland by David Arnold

Reviewed by Sedona K.
Grade 9

Mary Iris Malone is a spunky 16 year-old girl who wants to get away. With her father taking her from a comfortable home in Ohio to a new life in "Mosquitoland" Mississippi, she goes with her first instinct and does just that... she runs.

Hopping on a Greyhound bus, teenage Mim begins her odyssey back to Ohio in an effort to reach her former home in time for Labor Day. This beautiful story spans over 6 days and 1,000 miles. Taking only her JanSport backpack, a coffee can filled with money, and her cell phone, she embarks on the journey of a lifetime to regain what it means to be okay and to piece together what it means to be a family. While on her journey she meets new people, and takes the time to write about them, following her Aunt Isabel's wise words to document her life. Through hard times and easy ones, Mim keeps her head held high and her eyes on the prize: to reach her mom back in Cleveland.

From the first ten words of this book, "I am Mary Iris Malone and I am not okay," I was thoroughly hooked on Arnold's writing. This novel was complete with wit and unexpected plot twists which kept me enthralled and made it hard for me to put this book down! Not only did the book fuel my wanderlust, but as I followed Mim on her adventure, I learned what it meant to be a daughter. Reading her letters to a character named Iz, I was able to understand her opinions on subjects in the book. For this being David Arnold's first book, I was sincerely impressed and cannot wait to read his other works!

I loved this book and would definitely recommend it to many people (in fact I already have). It is such a heartfelt tale that takes you through an emotional journey alongside of a unique and true-to-life character. I learned about my own life as well as related my life to Mosquitoland. The book was very realistic because it did not end as you suspected it to, and had language many teens today would use. The language is the only thing I would caution one about, because some of the words used are harsh. Arnold's novel taught me to always persevere and to find my niche in the world because no matter how old or how odd we think we might be, we are all okay.