My Name is Mina

By: David Almond

Narrated by: Charlie Sanderson

There's an empty notebook lying on the table in the moonlight. It's been there for an age. I keep on saying that I'll write a journal. So I'll start right here, right now. I open the book and write the very first words: My name is Mina and I love the night. Then what shall I write I can't just write that this happened then this happened then this happened to boring infinitum. I'll let my journal grow just like the mind does, just like a tree or a beast does, just like life does. Why should a book tell a tale in a dull straight line

And so Mina writes and writes in her notebook, and here is her journal, Mina's life in Mina's own words: her stories and dreams, experiences and thoughts, her scribblings and nonsense, poems and songs. Her vivid account of her vivid life.

In this stunning audio book, David Almond revisits Mina before she has met Michael, before she has met Skellig.

Shortlisted for the 2012 Carnegie Medal.

(P) Hodder Children's Books 2011©2010 David Almond

Critic reviews

A wonderful book. It is joyous. Thank you, David Almond; I cannot remember when a book filled me with such claminosity. (Marcus Sedgewick)

A skillful, affecting and impassioned book.

A celebration of the richness of the everyday world and to read it is to feel uplifted.

A rare and beautiful novel.

A pitch-perfect prequel to Skellig. A gloriously rich, multi-layered novel.

A poignant, heart-warming novel fuelled by Almond's generosity of spirit and his endorsement of childhood's individuality and quirkiness.

Another gem from this award-winning author.

A sensational meditation on creativity and the power of words. A must for any budding writer.

Almond's chatty, informal and unique writing is different from anything you have read by him before.

Almond promotes and celebrates freedom for children and their thinking in this lyrical book about growing up.

A joyous celebration of what it means to be young and alive and enquiring.

A truly remarkable book. A extraordinary masterpiece.

One of the stand-out novels of the year.

Intensely moving, this is a profoundly uplifting expression of joy, imagination and consciousness. Absolutely brilliant

Skellig Sequel Stands Alone

Any additional comments?

Mina lives with her mother and she loves sitting in the tree in her front yard. The view from her tree is “extra-ordinary”! Sometimes there are baby birds and other beautiful and amazing things she can see from the tree, but most of all, Mina loves the night.

Even though Mina bubbles with optimism and joy, her life has not been easy. Her grandfather who used to send her treasures from his travels has given her his last gift, she has a lot of trouble fitting in at school; finding friends and living up to teachers’ expectations, and she misses her dear dad who died. Mina is trying to figure out how to be herself and still find a place in the world around her; luckily her surroundings are brimming with surprising possibilities.

If you like books about young people who have trouble fitting in, you might also enjoy Deliver Us From Normal, by Kate Klise, or Anything but Typical, by Nora Raleigh Baskin, or Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli.

This is the companion book to Skellig, by David Almond, if you are home you can watch this youtube book trailer about Skellig.

A Delightful Study of Words and Character

Would you listen to My Name Is Mina again? Why?

Yes!
Sanderson's voice is superb as MINA. When I picked up a hardcopy of the the book I found I couldn't read it without hearing her voice in my head. Her voice made funny lines funnier and touching lines more touching...

What other book might you compare My Name Is Mina to and why?

Skellig - same author and characters
Okay for Now - Gary D. Schmidt - which is also about a boy struggling to find out who he is.

Which scene was your favorite?

The poem about school!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both - laugh and cry...and cry laughing...

Any additional comments?

Too many wonderful bits to count.
She's a delightful character...delightfully portrayed. I didn't want the story to end.