Customer Reviews

Maya Running

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2 star:		(1)
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Wendy Lamb Books, 2005. Born in India and raised in Manitoba, Maya struggles to find her identity as the only brown-skinned kid in school. When her beautiful cousin, Pinky, arrives from India bearing a statue of the god Ganesh and proceeds to steal the boy Maya wants, Maya prays to Ganesh to remove all of her obstacles-with unintended consequences. A unique story with a dream-like quality that shows a young girl embracing her culture and learning about herself.

A respected literary figure once proposed the question, "Why must all the good things belong to the past?" With her debut novel, Maya Running, author Anjali Banerjee places that somber notion squarely where it belongs - at the end of the emotional queue alongside disheartened, dispirited and despondent.

Although published by Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House created to appeal to children and young adults, Maya Running has a great deal to offer those of us not in Generation Y. Baby boomers (like me) and Gen Xers (like my grown children) can find pleasure and profit in this charming novel. Think The Color Purple by Alice Walker or The Bluest Eyes by Tony Morrison then add a touch of sweet and dash of late twentieth century savvy, and you get the story of Maya Mukherjee, a Canadian born girl of Indian descent searching for her identity.

From first page to last, I was enchanted with Ms. Banerjee's original and unique narrative voice, the delectable unification of teenage humor, hope, awe and envy. Her characters are clearly drawn and the relationships effectively established. When I read the book, Maya's challenges and successes strolled pleasantly beside me, unhurried and unforced, a testament to Ms. Banerjee's workmanlike pacing of story, plot and dialogue.

All good things do not have to belong to the past. Maya Running reminds old folks that no matter how packaged or marketed, there's still plenty of simple joy in the here and now. Remember the last time your rode in a limousine with the windows down?

William Schroder
Author of Cousins of Color
www.cousinsofcolor.com

I've been dying to read this book based on the reveiws.. When I saw it in the library, you can imagine that I grabbed it of the shelf ! Usually, I get too excited about books, and they turn out to be dissappointing.. But this was definetly worth it !! I love Maya's character and the whole plot that follows. I saw Ganesh in a new way, due to the way he talked to Maya and by his hungry actions, which was also very interesting ! Being Indian myself, I could relate to this book very well. This book was not only funny, but it gives a good lesson near the end.. This has to be my favorite book of all time !

I read this book and felt like it was unauthentic. I would not recommend this book to a friend or for an elementary school curriculum. It would give them a completely unreal depiction of India and Indians. I lived in India for 5 years so I have a pretty good idea of what life there compared to here is like. The whole Ganesha part of the book was just confusing and weird, and didn't really make sense. Overall, the book was a sluggish read, and had a pretty bad storyline. It was interesting at times though, so I gave it 2 stars.

I loved this book! I'm an adult, but even so I raced through this story. Maya is a wonderful, spunky character, who's warm, funny, and very real. I would follow her through a thousand more adventures. The writing is vivid and beautiful, full of metaphors and colorful descriptions. I'm looking forward to Anjali Banerjee's next book!