Maya's Notebook

Finished October 4
Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende, read by Maria Cabezas

This novel goes back and forth between Maya's experience on a remote island of Chile, and the events of her life that led up to this time. It is a coming-of-age novel, but also a novel of sadness.
Maya led a happy life with her grandparents in San Francisco until the death of her grandfather starts her down a road into self-destruction.
Because of it moving back and forth in time, you already know that she survives this period of her life, and her time on the island allows her the time and space to reflect on that time and to learn from it. From rebellion, to drugs, to sexual abuse, to living on the street, to being involved with criminals, Maya's life sunk gradually from the middle class home in which she began. As she reflects on the decisions that took her to those depths, she also begins to see how those decisions affected other people in her life, and how the decisions she takes now also have an affect. She sees how people care for each other in this community and in her life overall, and begins to make more adult decisions that take others' interests into account.
I didn't like Maya and didn't feel a connection with her at all, something which tends to affect my enjoyment of a book.But this novel is very well-written and tells an interesting story.