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Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende - 2* - My Review

Maya Vidal is a troubled teenager from Berkeley. After the death of her beloved grandfather, she spirals into addiction and crime. Her grandmother eventually sends her to a remote island off the coast of Chile to escape a dangerous past. It is told through diary entries, and the narrative moves between past and present. It also delves into Chile’s history of human rights abuses under Pinochet's regime.

After reading many of Isabel Allende’s work, I was not prepared for this one. Allende’s normal fluid writing and storytelling is missing. It jumps from scene to scene without warning, which feels choppy, almost chaotic. I liked parts of it, mostly the segments set on the island, where Maya finds solace in its natural rhythms and the wisdom of the residents. However, parts of it are extremely brutal, including graphic descriptions of rapes, addictions, and drug-related violence.

I do not think we needed a thriller from Isabel Allende, and this is my least favorite of her books. I disliked both the structure and the over-the-top storyline. I do not think the notebook format worked at all. It reads very much as a novel, and not the way a diary would be written, especially by a teen. I imagine Maya’s journey is supposed to be optimistic, since she overcomes many challenges and self-destructive tendencies, and Allende is one of my favorite authors, but this book just didn’t work for me.

That’s unfortunate. It looks like she’s trying out a different genre or the YA market.

I don’t usually like diary and journal based novels either, unless the diary manages to fade out. I especially get annoyed with repetitive headings in audiobooks.

I think she was trying to appeal to the thriller market. I would not call it YA at all, even though it is technically a "coming of age" novel. I would definitely NOT recommend it to a YA reader. It contains too much abusive content, and it is extremely graphic - I know I wouldn't have wanted to read a detailed description of rape(s) back then (and even now it bothers me greatly).

I am not sure if this was pressure by her publisher to take advantage of current popular trends or just her idea of "something different" but I am very glad she has not stayed in this genre in more recent books.