Waiting on Wednesday #16: Kids of Appetite

"Waiting On Wednesday" is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Because... This Author's Debut Novel was Amazing

Kids of Appetite by David Arnold

Release Date: Sept. 20, 2016

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Goodreads Summary: In the Hackensack Police Department, Vic Benucci is being questioned in interrogation room #3. Mad, the Stoic Beauty with an intoxicating punk cut, is in room #2. They’re both explaining how they found themselves wrapped up in a grisly murder. But in order to tell that story, they have to go way back…

It all started when Vic’s dad died. Vic has a rare neurological disorder—characterized by facial paralysis—which makes it hard for him to relate to others, as he can appear affectless and unfriendly. His dad was his best friend—in losing him, Vic lost a piece of himself. Even now, two years later, he can’t bring himself to touch his father’s urn.

But one cold December day, Vic falls in with a mysterious and alluring band of kids that wanders his New Jersey neighborhood: Coco, the spunky orphan from Queens; Baz and Nzuzi, Congolese brothers with murky pasts; and Mad, the girl who changes everything. Vic finds himself connecting to this ragtag group, and along with his newfound friendship comes the courage to open his father’s urn, the discovery of the message inside, and the epic journey it sparks.

What are you waiting on?

A Straight to the Point Review: Mosquitoland by David Arnold

Mosquitoland by David Arnold (March 3, 2015)
352 pages
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Source:I snagged a free ARC copy at ALA Midwinter 2015. This didn't affect my honest review.
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon
My Rating:

Goodreads Synopsis: "I am a collection of oddities, a circus of neurons and electrons: my heart is the ringmaster, my soul is the trapeze artist, and the world is my audience. It sounds strange because it is, and it is, because I am strange."

After the sudden collapse of her family, Mim Malone is dragged from her home in northern Ohio to the "wastelands" of Mississippi, where she lives in a medicated milieu with her dad and new stepmom. Before the dust has a chance to settle, she learns her mother is sick back in Cleveland.

So she ditches her new life and hops aboard a northbound Greyhound bus to her real home and her real mother, meeting a quirky cast of fellow travelers along the way. But 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.

Told in an unforgettable, kaleidoscopic voice, "Mosquitoland" is a modern American odyssey, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.

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MY REVIEW

Mosquitoland is like nothing I've read before. You simply must read it.

Here is why...

Mim is one of the most unique and memorable characters I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I love her. She along with the people she meets on her journey are each in their own way rich, lively, real, strong, and memorable.

The writing in Mosquitoland is one of a kind. It. Is. Beautiful.

Mim goes on one hell of a journey that you need to witness. It's full of surprises, good and bad.

Mosquitoland is more than just a book. Read it and you will see what I am talking about. I can't even put it into words.

The Bottom Line: Mosquitoland is perfection. It is a MUST read.