My Name is Mina

By David Almond

My Name is Mina is about a small girl called Mina; the book actually doesn’t have much of a plot other than her life. Her life in a way is the plot; her thoughts observations, memories and dreams are the book itself.

My favourite character was probably Steepy, I’m not sure whether I liked Mina much. I liked her more towards the end of the book but I thought she was too reserved and too set in her opinions and observations to see other ideas and less complex ideas that are easier to think about. I thought she was a bit ignorant but that can be expected because of her age. However I do think she had some very interesting thoughts. This book is very thought provoking and although it does not have much plot I did enjoy it. It also makes you think of things far greater than everyday thoughts but the problem was I thought the ideas were too advanced and complex for such a young child to understand. ‘Weird’ children might indeed be that complex but it is not a general theory so I doubt it.

I think this book is quite hard to get into but once you do it as an interesting read. It wasn’t exactly a gripping story; the only thing that motivates you to read on is the interest in Mina’s thoughts. You had to do a lot of guessing and even at the end there are still things you have to guess. But I thought the ending was good; it could easily be cause for a sequel but it still had finality to it.

I think this book could easily be a reflection of the author’s thoughts and observations. If so this book is a very deep insight into is mind. I think in one way it is, after having read a few of his other books they all have similar characters in a way, or at east characters similar in the way their mind thinks; their logic. I would recommend this book to anyone that has insightful/unusual thoughts about anything in life.

Jenna Yr8