Book Review: Mosquitoland by David Arnold

48) Mosquitoland by David Arnold

Sixteen year-old Mary Iris Malone (Mim), moves to Mosquitoland (Mississippi) from Ohio after her parents' very abrupt divorce. Her dad has a new wife and 'breaking news' (the new wife is pregnant). Unable to cope, Mim steals an emergency cash fund and hops a greyhound to Cleveland, hoping to reunite with her mother, who left Mim's life so abruptly. Chapter titles count down the miles, and along the way Mim meets all sorts of characters: a college dropout (Beck), a mentally challenged young man (Walt) with no apparent caretaker, a potential rapist stalker wearing a poncho. As Mim meets each of these characters, we see her evaluate the trustworthiness of each, while also examining her own ability to trust others. We get backstory through journal entries and old letters, which reveal that perhaps something isn't quite right with Mim's mother. Author David Arnold builds the suspense by allowing little bits of the back story in at a time, while the imminent arrival of Mim's father and stepmother keeps the pressure on Mim to reach her mom as quickly as possible. By the end, the narratives have met up, and both Mim and the reader see her mother with understanding and compassion. This is a sad, touching novel about coming of age and longing for a past that cannot be part of the future. Recommended for middle school and up.