Billy Henkle

Mia Winchell has synesthesia, the mingling of perceptions whereby a person can see sounds, smell colors, or taste shapes. Forced to reveal her condition, she must look to herself to develop an understanding and appreciation of her gift in this coming-of-age novel.

Her beloved cat, Mango, seems more tired and sluggish every day. And then Mango dies. Mia’s heartbroken. She blames herself for being too preoccupied with her condition and not focusing enough on her cat.

The plot focuses on Mia Winchell, a thirteen-year-old girl living with synesthesia, a jumbling of the senses. Words and sounds appear to have color for Mia….A Mango-Shaped Space.

Billy HenkleJenna DavisMia WinchellDr. RandolphAdam

Mia Winchell

Mia named him Mango because that’s what color she sees when she hears him breathe. Mia and her grandfather were very close and she found Mango near his grave on the day of his funeral.

First Person (Central) Before we learn anything about Mia’s boundary-blurring colors and sounds, we hear what it’s like for her to deal with it when doing multiplication.

Is there going to be a sequel to A Mango-Shaped Space, Every Soul a Star, or Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life? A. Alas, no. But I slipped the characters from those three books into The Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase.

A Mango-Shaped Space

Mia struggles to overcome adversity and be accepted by everyone, hoping that her peers will overlook the fact that she’s different. Some people think her synesthesia is really interesting, while others make fun of her for it and think that she’s making it up for attention.

A neurologist; the one who tells Mia about synesthesia. Why is Mia afraid of her secret being revealed? She worries that kids at school will make fun of her.

Mia’s secret involves Pearl’s real father in ‘Little Fires Everywhere. ‘ Elena goes to Mia’s parents’ house and discovers that her name is actually Mia Wright. We later find out that Mia’s brother, Warren, died in a car accident — thus her name change.

When Elena first meets Mia and realizes they’re short on cash, she offers Mia a job working for her family. Mia is instantly offended because she’s an artist and already has her hands full, but after realizing Pearl spends a lot of her time at the Richardson household, she takes Elena’s offer.

First off, Pearl is biologically Mia’s daughter. A teenage Mia (played now by Tiffany Boone), her parents, and her brother, Warren — he of the eventual surname inspiration — sit down to dinner.

For five episodes we’ve seen Mia have nightmares about a man on the subway (played by Grey’s Anatomy’s Jesse Williams), and in Episode 5 Mia told Pearl that she met Pearl’s dad on the subway.

In the show: Mia’s childhood home. After Elena’s tense visit, Mia tells Pearl the truth about her birth father and mother, and Mia’s late brother. They pack up their things and leave. Per Pearl’s suggestion, Mia drives to her parents’ house, where she grew up, so Pearl can meet her grandparents for the first time.

Mia lost her virginity to Lucas (then 14) when she was 13 years old, and consequently, became pregnant. Their first relationship came to an end when Lucas left Mia after learning that she was pregnant, leaving her to deal with the pregnancy, and child on her own.

Mia is the first person in Degrassi: The Next Generation to actually keep and raise her child. (Spike’s pregnancy was throughout Degrassi Junior High, Manny got an abortion, and Jenna and Liberty gave their babies up for adoption.) The second was Vanessa.

Personal life. Bronfman met British rapper M.I.A. in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York in 2008. They became engaged and M.I.A gave birth to their son, Ikhyd Edgar Arular Bronfman, on February 13, 2009.