After the amazing success of Skellig, it would be a challenge for David Almond to write an equally amazing prequel. And in some ways, David Almond succeeded with My Name Is Mina, but in some ways, it was a disappointment.
Mina loves the night. While everyone else is in a deep slumber, she gazes out the window, witness to the moon's silvery light. In the stillness, she can even hear her own heart beating. This is when Mina feels that anything is possible and her imagination is set free. A blank notebook lies on the table. It has been there for what seems like forever. Mina has proclaimed in the past that she will use it as a journal, and one night, at last, she begins to do just that. As she writes, Mina makes discoveries both trivial and profound about herself and her world, her thoughts and her dreams.
Almond shows us Mina in a sensitive, perceptive way that I loved. Mina became so real to me, her presence next to me. I loved the way Mina wrote, her voice engaged me, I loved the metaphors she used and she was so different to other characters I'd read about. She wasn't a girly, giggly teenager that is in all the books on the shelves at the moment. She has a unique voice, one of character and originality. One which made the reader's ears prick up to listen to her words.
However, the plot lacked adventure - there was no real plot. I simply felt that there was not enough action - and yet, there was so much that Almond could have done to provoke the adventure in the book, however he dampened it, loosened it, prolonged it with just thoughts. And although thoughts are so interesting, particularly the thoughts of the amazing Mina, you cannot fill a whole book with just thoughts and feelings.
So, overall, I enjoyed this book, but wanted more action, and more adventure.
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