Mosquitoland - David Arnold

Title: Mosquitoland
Author: David Arnold
Genre: YA
Rating: 3.5/5
# pages: 345
Date read: October, 2018

When her parents unexpectedly divorce, Mim Malone is dragged from her beloved home in Ohio to the 'wastelands' of Mississippi, where she lives in a haze of medication with her dad and new (almost certainly evil) stepmom.

But when Mim learns her real mother is ill back home, she escapes her new life and embarks on a rescue mission aboard a Greyhound bus, meeting an assortment of quirky characters along the way. And 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.


I liked it, but didn't love it. I enjoyed the writing style and really liked the friendship Mim struck up with Walt and Beck, but taken as a whole, the book was far too depressing for me to fall in love with it. At one point I thought the book took a crazy, twisted turn (you'll know if it you've read it) and was ready to toss it across the room, but unfortunately that turned out not to be the case. The ending was better than I had expected, and I'm glad Mim realized that Kathy wasn't all bad... but I still wish it hadn't been quite that open.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - Jesse Andrews

Title: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Author: Jesse Andrews
Genre: YA
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 246
Date read: October, 2018

It is a universally acknowledged truth that high school sucks. But on the first day of his senior year, Greg Gaines thinks he’s figured it out. The answer to the basic existential question: How is it possible to exist in a place that sucks so bad? His strategy: remain at the periphery at all times. Keep an insanely low profile. Make mediocre films with the one person who is even sort of his friend, Earl.

This plan works for exactly eight hours. Then Greg’s mom forces him to become friends with a girl who has cancer. This brings about the destruction of Greg’s entire life.


I had high hopes for this one, as comparisons to John Green's "The Fault in Our Stars" (which I loved) were inevitable. Unfortunately it fell very, very short. I liked the writing style, I liked that there was no too-obvious romance, but the ending fell flat. Among other things, it really bothered me that Greg's and Rachel's mums never realized how seriously they abused Greg's trust in Rachel.

So why still three stars? I enjoyed it while reading it. My complaints with it didn't register until after I had finished. Objectively speaking it probably doesn't deserve more than 2 stars, but my immediate response was to say 3, so I'm going to leave it at that.