Maya's Notebook

By: Isabel Allende

Narrated by: Maria Cabezas

Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

Neglected by her parents, 19-year-old Maya Nidal has grown up in Berkeley with her grandparents. Her grandmother Nini is a force of nature, a woman whose formidable strength helped her build a new life after emigrating from Chile in 1973. Popo, Maya's grandfather, is a gentle man whose solid, comforting presence helps calm the turbulence of Maya's adolescence.

When Popo dies of cancer, Maya goes completely off the rails, turning to drugs, alcohol, and petty crime in a downward spiral that eventually bottoms out in Las Vegas. Lost in a dangerous underworld, she is caught in the cross­hairs of warring forces. Her one chance for survival is Nini, who helps her escape to a remote island off the coast of Chile. Here Maya tries to make sense of the past, unravels mysterious truths about life and about her family, and embarks on her greatest adventure: The journey into her own soul.

©2013 Isabel Allende (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers

Not Allende's Usual Standard

I usually love Allende's novels and was eager to listen to her latest work. It's okay, but it certainly doesn't match her usual standard. The story just isn't that interesting, and I'm surprised that she produced something so predictable and average. Maya's Notebook has received rave reviews on Amazon, and I'm left wondering what they read that I didn't. Dull and disappointing.

A little slow

A little too many details abt Chile, characters interesting but not riveting like in Ripper n The Island under the sea.

I loved it! Maya is crazy lucky easy to love!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Already have! its a good story!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Maya's Notebook?

Vegas, Vegas was crazy Maya doesn't know how lucky she is to not have fallen to bigger pray. I think the moment I would remember is when she retells when she was in a homeless shelter and steals from a lady with a child... she took her last $5 to get a fix.

Have you listened to any of Maria Cabezas’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

yes, I think she portrayed Mayas character perfectly.

If you could take any character from Maya's Notebook out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I would have loved to meet Maya's popo as she calls him, He was tall dark and handsome He married her grandmother he was an astronomer a professor in uc berkeley, He accepted her grandmothers chilean culture with out giving up his. I love the way the meet, Nidia Visal has bras ball!

great story!!

I enjoy this story. I felt bad for Maya at times and at times I wanted to slap her. The narrator was easy to understand. I wanted her to have a more Latino accent but she did a great job. The resolution was super quick and I wanted to know a little more of the aftermath. I loved the plot!

Amazing.

The beginning of the story was a bit of a drag.after that, the rest of the story was amazing. I enjoyed the narrator very much. As the story ended, I was happy to not have stopped listening. Definitely worth listening to. The characters seemed so real to me as I was listening. 👌👌👌👍👍👍

Performance not up to usual quality

Any additional comments?

The narrator paused at strange places in some sentences, sounding as if this was the first time she was seeing the sentence. I think these sections should have been re-recorded.

A good story

Huge fan of Allende... different kind of story I’m used to from her, still I enjoyed this new style ...

some dark moments

this was was low to start but I really enjoyed the book. I liked that everything was wrapped up

Slow pace, bland voice

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I love Isabel Allende and found some of her other books truly compelling. Perhaps it's not the book but the narrator that makes this one appear lifeless. If it was available with another narrator I might give it another try

Would you be willing to try another book from Isabel Allende? Why or why not?

Yes, definitely I have read some of her books and loved them.

Would you be willing to try another one of Maria Cabezas’s performances?

No - I just couldn't listen for long without my attention drifting away - there is no depth / modulation to her reading

Was Maya's Notebook worth the listening time?

Not really

Keep Going Gets Better

Good story tho nothing like the ones that came before. A bit of a mystery to the end but more a story of a young American who has has to fight to keep going on. Good endings make all things better for me.