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Maya's Notebook (2011)

by Isabel Allende

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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1,1696616,928 (3.66)26
Fiction. Literature. HTML:

Maya's Notebook is a startling novel of suspense from New York Times bestselling author Isabel Allende.

This contemporary coming-of-age story centers upon Maya Vidal, a remarkable teenager abandoned by her parents. Maya grew up in a rambling old house in Berkeley with her grandmother Nini, whose formidable strength helped her build a new life after emigrating from Chile in 1973 with a young son, and her grandfather Popo, a gentle African-American astronomer.

When Popo dies, Maya goes off the rails. Along with a circle of girlfriends known as "the vampires," she turns to drugs, alcohol, and petty crimeâ??a downward spiral that eventually leads to Las Vegas and a dangerous underworld, with Maya caught between warring forces: a gang of assassins, the police, the FBI, and Interpol.

Her one chance for survival is Nini, who helps her escape to a remote island off the coast of Chile. In the care of her grandmother's old friend, Manuel Arias, and surrounded by strange new acquaintances, Maya begins to record her story in her notebook, as she tries to make sense of her past and unravel the mysteries of her family and her own life.… (more)

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» See also 26 mentions

English (50)  Spanish (11)  Dutch (3)  German (1)  All languages (65)
Showing 1-5 of 50 (next | show all)
While the idea of exile is an interesting one, and Maya's self-imposed exile seems mostly genuine, the book only goes so far in its exploration of the Chilean military coup in the 70s and its consequences, which is what I was anticipating from the very beginning. It just scratches the surface, and wraps up too conveniently in the end. I expected a lot more. ( )
  nogomu | Oct 19, 2023 |
I loved reading this book. Isabel Allende is amazing, and this was as good as it gets. ( )
  RickGeissal | Aug 16, 2023 |
This book consisted of two interweaving narratives: an earlier one showing how 19-year-old Maya fell into serious trouble, from alcohol and drug addiction to escape from a rehab hospital only to be sexually violated and enlisted in criminality; and a later one in which she goes into exile to a remote island in Chile to escape both the law and two dangerous criminals she had double-crossed.

I would have liked to have been able to identify more with Maya, but much about her attitude put me off. If only she could have been a little more vulnerable and a little less tough. But, of course, if she had fit my bill, she probably couldn't have fallen as far in the excrutiating way the novel seemed to require. All in all, though, a gripping, well-executed novel worth reading. ( )
  Cr00 | Apr 1, 2023 |
Isabel Allende wrote another fun page turner with a sometimes farfetched plot. Nineteen year old Maya Nidal tells the reader how she after the death of her beloved grandfather (Popo) descended into alcohol and drug abuse, prostitution, crime and eventually ended up being wanted by the criminal she worked with and the FBI. Her grandmother (Nini), who is originally from Chile hide her in the remotest corner she can think of on the tiny island of Chiloe with and old friend. The people she meets on the island, the communal life there heal her in way rehabs never could. Ev:eryone has a past to come to terms with. This is a warm and loving book. ( )
  Marietje.Halbertsma | Jan 9, 2022 |
This book was difficult to read at times when Maya describes the depths to which her addition lead her. Although there were some rather rough passages, I was engaged through-out the novel and enjoyed the unfolding of the different relations ships which she came from and the new ones she established while on her path. ( )
  AstridG | Nov 11, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 50 (next | show all)
The prioritising of story over voice suggests that it's not the aim of Maya's Notebook to plunge the reader into the grim existence of a real-life Maya; this is a tale of revelations and resolutions, and the plot is more answerable to its own turns than to the brutal possibilities of reality. Despite the observations about the number of young people lost to street violence, crime and slavery, or because of them, the driving force of this novel is ultimately resilience – the power of love and acceptance to face down terrible things.
added by ozzer | editThe Guardian, Emily Perkins (May 30, 2013)
 

» Add other authors (12 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Isabel Allendeprimary authorall editionscalculated
Degenaar, RikkieTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Juan, AnaCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Liverani ElenaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
McLean, AnneTranslator.secondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
-Mary Oliver, "The Summer Day"
Dedication
A los adolescentes de mi tribu: Alejandro, Andrea, Nicole, Sabrina, Aristotelis y Achilleas
For the teenagers of my tribe:
Alejandro, Andrea, Nicole, Sabrina, Aristotelis, and Achilleas
First words
A week ago my grandmother gave me a dry-eyed hug at the San Francisco airport and told me again that if I valued my life at all, I should not get in touch with anyone I knew until we could be sure my enemies were no longer looking for me.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Fiction. Literature. HTML:

Maya's Notebook is a startling novel of suspense from New York Times bestselling author Isabel Allende.

This contemporary coming-of-age story centers upon Maya Vidal, a remarkable teenager abandoned by her parents. Maya grew up in a rambling old house in Berkeley with her grandmother Nini, whose formidable strength helped her build a new life after emigrating from Chile in 1973 with a young son, and her grandfather Popo, a gentle African-American astronomer.

When Popo dies, Maya goes off the rails. Along with a circle of girlfriends known as "the vampires," she turns to drugs, alcohol, and petty crimeâ??a downward spiral that eventually leads to Las Vegas and a dangerous underworld, with Maya caught between warring forces: a gang of assassins, the police, the FBI, and Interpol.

Her one chance for survival is Nini, who helps her escape to a remote island off the coast of Chile. In the care of her grandmother's old friend, Manuel Arias, and surrounded by strange new acquaintances, Maya begins to record her story in her notebook, as she tries to make sense of her past and unravel the mysteries of her family and her own life.

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