This is a novel of substance and despair.
It is a collection of oddities, and strange ones at that. It is the story of a displaced epiglottis and partial blindness and willful dissidence (read: teenage angst). It is the story of being miles from okay and learning to actually be okay with that.
Mary Iris Malone, or Mim, in acronym form, is sixteen years old and she is not okay. In fact, she is 947 miles from okay. She has recently moved to the land of mosquitoes and her dad has lost her mother (and found a replacement at a Denny’s). When she learns that her mother is ill, the only solution seems to be to take a Greyhound bus to find her.
Beginning in Mississippi and ending in Ohio, Mosquitoland is a brilliant young adult road trip novel featuring a memorable heroine, one who is as maddening as she is charming. It’s equal parts about the journey as it is about the destination – who we meet, what we want, where we ‘re from, where we’re going, and where we find home. And that’s as it should be. Sardonic, charming, quirky, memorable, a must read for anyone who has ever realized that getting from here to there is not as easy as it seems. Read it.
Boom.
(I am 2,036 miles from where I started and I still don’t know if I’m okay.)
Pair this one with the ultimate – in my and Mim’s opinion – road trip food. Potato Chips. Make them at home before you go (or be daring and grab a bag from a random store).
*I received a review copy of my novel in exchange for my honest opinion.
flannel and folklore 
I’m not usually a YA fan, but I loved the writing in the quote you shared.
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I’m not either, but I was really impressed by this.
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“It is the story of being miles from okay and learning to actually be okay with that.” Great message for a YA book (an adult book too, for that matter). Thanks for the review!
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It is. I liked it because the girl is not drop dead gorgeous, there’s no love triangle, and while it’s not wholly realistic, it’s still really enjoyable.
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Great review, loved that quote, I’m sold. Thank you!
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I hope you enjoy it!
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“A must read for anyone who has ever realized that getting from here to there is not as easy as it seems.” Okay, I think I need to read this immediately.
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It’s YA without being obnoxious and lacked the twee-ness of John Green (who I think is great, I’m just not a fan of his writing).
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I don’t read a lot of YA, but this sounds absolutely lovely!
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It was a pleasant surprise. I love a good road trip novel.
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My copy of the book is on the way! Winter is really bringing me down, so maybe a good fictional road trip will help liven things up.
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I was basically hanging on every word of this post, so I know I HAVE to read this!!
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