Banerjee, Anjali. Maya running.BANERJEE, Anjali. Maya running. Random House, Wendy Lamb. 209p. c2005. 0-385-74656-3. $15.95. J This is the first novel by Banerjee, and it is a delightful one. She creates the character of Maya Mukherjee, and places her in Manitoba in 1978, as the only Southeast Asian in her middle school. Maya's parents are highly educated, loving, and understanding--they are talking about moving to California, which would mean the family's situation would change drastically dras·tic adj. 1. Severe or radical in nature; extreme: the drastic measure of amputating the entire leg; drastic social change brought about by the French Revolution. 2. . Maya doesn't want to go, especially since she is attracted to Jamie Klassen, a handsome boy at school, who is wild and troubled. She can't really process her own Indian heritage and how it influences her life. Enter her cousin, Pinky, who comes for a visit from India, bringing with her a small Hindu elephant elephant, largest living land mammal, found in tropical regions of Africa and Asia. Elephants have massive bodies and heads, thick, pillarlike legs, and broad, short padded feet, with toes bearing heavy, hooflike nails. god who grants wishes and speaks directly to Maya. The little god Ganesh changes Maya's life entirely by letting her see what life would be like if all "obstacles to her happiness were removed." So, when we get what we want, are we truly happy? Maya at first is ecstatic ec·stat·ic adj. 1. Marked by or expressing ecstasy. 2. Being in a state of ecstasy; joyful or enraptured. [French extatique, from Greek ekstatikos, from ; Jamie likes her, her parents decide not to move, she can understand Bengali, she loses her awkwardness and learns to dance, she has a closet filled with beautiful clothes, her hated braces See curly brace. are off her teeth ... you get the picture. This journey to find out what she truly does want, now that her immediate wishes have been granted, takes her to India, where she meets her extended family, is reunited "Reunited" was a #1 hit in the United States in 1979 by the Washington, D.C.-based group Peaches & Herb. Preceded by "Heart of Glass" by Blondie Billboard Hot 100 number one single May 5 1979 Succeeded by "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer with Pinky, and slowly feels more integrated, not just different. All told, it is a wonderful story that could be about any young person trying to figure out who he or she is; and how an adolescent can emerge from a nurturing family, part of that family, but also an individual. Perfect for multicultural mul·ti·cul·tur·al adj. 1. Of, relating to, or including several cultures. 2. Of or relating to a social or educational theory that encourages interest in many cultures within a society rather than in only a mainstream culture. collections. Claire Rosser, KLIATT J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion