Our First Book Appreciation: Mosquitoes Don’t Bite Me
Category: Book Look
by Dr. Pendred Noyce, a YA Novel
At Diverse STEM Books, the target qualities for the ideal book are in our name. We look for books that are notable in all three of these areas:
(1) Diverse: meaningful representation and diversity in characters, authors, and major themes
(2) STEM: substantial, in-depth content in science, math, engineering, medicine, and/or technology
(3) Books (Quality): engaging and relevant stories that real people will enjoy reading
By this formula, Mosquitoes Don’t Bite Me might be the perfect YA STEM book. It scores high in all three of those target qualities.
I am excited to share Mosquitoes Don’t Bite Me (MSBM) with you as our first YA selection because it goes so much further in those three areas than many books touted as “STEM-themed” or “educational” that might mention science or technology topics, but only in a superficial way.
By contrast, readers of MDBM will come away with a new appreciation for the way science is practiced in the real world, as well as a healthy dose of content knowledge that is relevant to 21st-century scientific research and practice.
This Book Covers So Much Ground
This story, unlike some YA lit, is the furthest thing from didactic, and it’s not boring for a minute. In fact, the story takes place on two continents, and the protagonist Nala is actually in physical peril for an extended time. The author presents this scenario, might I add, in a way that is both gripping for this adult reader as well as not overly disturbing for its intended middle school audience.
In fact, in just under 160 pages – quite an average-length for a YA title – this book combines:
1. Repeated exposure to a variety of scientific material throughout the book on topics including:
- Biomedical research
- Genetics and inheritance
- Disease, infection, and parasitism
- Insect life cycles
- Drug discovery and pharmacology
- Integrity and fraud in research
- Scientific authority and mentorship
- Science and society interactions
2. Diversity and representation in several ways:
- Race in both American and African contexts
- Mixed-raced families
- Disability and self-advocacy
- Equity and the Global South
- Empowered female lead characters
- Cultural differences across the world
- Non-traditional families as a source of strength
3. A page-turning plot: the main character faces physical peril and has to negotiate, both literally and figuratively, her own safety. Even for readers who aren’t interested in the science or social justice themes, the book is a page-turner based on the action alone.
And if all of that weren’t enough,
4. An authenticity that teens will respond to, which is especially important in YA lit specifically: the characters are genuine, fully-realized, and imperfect, and the author doesn’t pull any punches in presenting real-world problems as they really are, nor does she contrive magical solutions out of thin air.
Nothing about the book is formulaic. It’s rare for me as an adult to read a YA book that really keeps me guessing until the end. There are some predictable parts, but even those are handled with an unexpected way that still rings true.
Author Background
In many ways, the book is a reflection of some of the personal and professional experience of author Pendred Noyce. As a doctor of tropical medicine, Noyce brings an expertise in malaria, which is at the heart of the story. Half the book is set in Kenya, homeland of the protagonist’s father, and the other half in North Carolina, where her mother lives.
Unlike her protagonist, author Noyce is not mixed race, nor a woman of color. However, she brings authenticity in the spaces that her characters inhabit, which brings depth and fidelity to her writing. In her medical life, she has worked on the very issues, both scientific and ethical, that are central to the story. And in her personal life, she has family from Kenya. You can feel the Noyce’s respect for the people, places, and topics she covers. She is credible and so are her characters.
Authenticity & Complex Perspectives
There is a fine shading to the characters and situations in the book. Noyce permeates the pages of her book with a confidence that her readers, whether middle schoolers or adults, will appreciate. As an author, Noyce assumes her readers are up to the task of parsing the complexities of her characters’ world and developing an appreciation for those realities. She respects her readers as much as she does her characters.
The authenticity was one of the things I appreciated most about this book. The story all along was not easy to predict, and neither was the ending. Her characters experience personal growth in areas like responding to failure, finding your voice, taking responsibility for your actions, and making hard choices in a real-world context.
That said, I did find the resolution gratifying. There’s beauty in that personal growth over neat and tidy endings. This was a book that stayed on my mind long after finishing it, not least because it will be a benchmark for other YA books that successfully integrate themes of science, representation, and excellent story-telling.
