With his extraordinary debut for young people, Skellig, David Almond introduced the title character--perhaps human, perhaps angel, perhaps a mixture of the two--who was living in the garage at young Michael's new home. The boy soon recognizes a kindred spirit in his neighbor Mina McKee and enlists her help in tending to Skellig.
My Name Is Mina begins before Michael moves in across the street, and it takes the form of captivating nine-year-old Mina's journal. She confides the events that have shaped her, the ideas she contemplates as she perches high in her tree, her thoughts about the closed mining tunnel that compels her like Persephone to the underground. While many of the motifs reverberate between Skellig and My Name Is Mina, each novel stands entirely on its own.
The book begins with Mina's conflict with her teacher Mrs. Scullery about Mina's writing, and the situation comes to a climax when Mina must write a timed essay. "Did William Blake do writing tasks just because somebody else told him to?... And what about Shakespeare?" So Mina writes a brilliant Edward Lear–esque page of nonsense, and Mrs. Scullery calls her "an utter bloody disgrace!" in front of the whole school. That's when Mrs. McKee decides that the kitchen table may be a more fitting desk for her uniquely gifted daughter.
For Mina, the characters from books and poetry are as alive as the words of her beloved William Blake. Her bravery in seeking her own truth inspires others to find theirs. --Jennifer M. Brown, children's editor, Shelf Awareness
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