Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Oct 2011
272 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
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.
Award-winning author David Almond reintroduces readers to the perceptive, sensitive Mina before the events of Skellig in this lyrical and fantastical work. My Name is Mina is not only a pleasure to read, it is an intimate and enlightening look at a character whose open mind and heart have much to teach us about life, love, and the mysteries that surround us.
"Starred Review. Almond gives readers a vivid picture of the joyfully free-form workings of Mina's mind and her mixed emotions about being an isolated child... this novel will inspire children to let their imaginations soar." - Publishers Weekly
"A fascinating, if breathless ramble through the cosmos." - Kirkus Reviews
"Starred Review. This book stands very much alone, but the sense of wonder that pervades the smallest details of everyday life remains familiar." - Booklist
"...My Name Is Mina is a wonderful book in its own right, perhaps an even better one than Skellig. It is joyous." - The Guardian (UK)
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
David Almond, in his own words:
I was born in Newcastle and I grew up in a big Catholic family in
Felling-on-Tyne. I had four sisters and a brother and lots of relatives in the
streets nearby. My dad had been in Burma during the war. He and my mum married
in the late 40s. Dad became an office manager in an engineering factory. Mum was
a shorthand typist until she had the children. We moved several times when I was
a child, but always within Felling.
Felling had been a coal mining town, but by the time I remember anything the
pits were all closed. The river at the foot of the town was lined with
warehouses and shipyards. At the summit was a wild area we called the Heather
Hills. I loved playing football in the fields above the town, camping out with
my friends, ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to David Almond's Website
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