Bound To Stay Bound

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School Library Journal - 03/01/2003 Gr 5-8-Mia, 13, has always seen colors in sounds, numbers, and letters, a fact she has kept secret since the day she discovered that other people don't have this ability. Then she discovers that she has a rare condition called synesthesia, which means that the visual cortex in her brain is activated when she hears something. From then on, she leads a kind of double life-she eagerly attends research gatherings with other synesthetes and devours information about the condition, but continues to struggle at school, where her inadvertent pairing of particular colors with numbers and words makes math and French almost impossible to figure out. Her gradual abandonment of her frustrating school life in favor of the compelling world of fellow synesthetes and the unique things only they can experience seems quite logical, although readers may feel like shaking some sense into her. Finally, and rather abruptly, her extreme guilt at her beloved cat Mango's illness and death brings her back down to earth and she begins to work on some of the relationships she let crumble. Mia's voice is believable and her description of the vivid world she experiences, filled with slashes, blurs, and streaks of color, is fascinating. Not all of the many characters are necessary to the story, and some of the plot elements go unresolved, but Mia's unique way of experiencing the world is intriguing.-Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information. - Copyright 2003 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Bulletin for the Center... - 06/01/2003 At thirteen, Mia’s accustomed to her synesthesia, experiencing sounds and words as visual effects (“The color of the leaf is exactly the same color as Jenna’s name—a bright, shimmering shade of green with some yellow highlights”), and she’s also practiced in keeping it a secret in order to avoid the ridicule she once encountered after sharing the truth about herself with classmates. Increasing trouble with math class leads her finally to confess the truth to her family, however, and to her best friend; as her worried family searches for an explanation, Mia begins to connect with other synesthetes and to find out more about herself. Mia’s narration convincingly and engagingly describes her experience of the world, using such detail that some young readers may wish they too converted their sensory input into visual images, and her relief at finding understanding sharers of that experience is credibly portrayed. Overall, however, the novel never makes a credible case for this experience as a problem, and since that’s where the narrative draws its tension (in addition to a unremarkable side plot about the death of Mia’s cat, Mango), the result is an interesting depiction that never evolves into a compelling story in its own right. Alternative ways of experiencing the world are sufficiently absorbing, though, that young readers may wish to enter Mia’s world just to share her viewpoint. - Copyright 2003 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.

Booklist - 04/01/2003 This contemporary novel does for synesthesia what Terry Hesser's Kissing Doorknobs (1998) does for obsessive-compulsive disorder: the lively personal story demystifies a fascinating condition. For 13-year-old Mia Winchell, the world has always been filled with a wonderful, if sometimes dizzying, sensory onslaught--numbers, letters, words, and sounds all cause her to see a distinct array of colors. She keeps her unusual condition a secret until eighth grade, but then her color visions make math and Spanish impossibly confusing, and she must go to her parents and a doctor for help. However, this is more than a docu-novel. Mass beautifully integrates information about synesthesia with Mia's coming-of-age story, which includes her break with her best friend, her grief over her grandfather's death, and the loss of her beloved pet. The episode where Mia fabricates an illness to try out acupuncture for the color visions it produces is marvelously done, showing Mia's eagerness for new experiences even as it describes a synesthete's vision. References to a comprehensive Web site and bibliography about synesthesia are included. - Copyright 2003 Booklist.

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