Overcoming Obstacles In A Mango Shaped Space By Wendy Mass

The theme of the novel A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass is that there is always a way to overcome obstacles. The main character, Mia Winchell overcomes her synesthesia, the mingling of the senses. She thought she was just like everyone else until an incident at school made her realize she was different. Mia meets a doctor who could potentially help her work around the things she sees. Letters have colors making Mia a good speller, but numbers are hard for her so she’s bad at math. She has kept her secret from everyone and when she finally told her best friend, she was mad at her for keeping the secret. Her friend was so mad so she told everyone. The whole school now knows about Mia’s condition, it’s just a matter of time until Mia finds out if they will think its cool or make fun of her.

Mia has already overcame a few and one was telling her parents about what she sees. On page 58 Mia says to her mother and father “Numbers really do have colors for me.” They don’t believe her at first, but then she describes it and her parents are astonished. The author used this aha moment to show how this will change things. This will change things because her mom will try to help her and fix the problem. Mia will see doctors and they will tell her things that make her realize being different isn’t bad. Mia’s look on what’s happening to her will influence how she overcomes it, but she knows she will have to take it one step at a