Absolutely Maybe (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Maybe (short for Maybelline, her mother’s favorite mascara brand) wears oversize men’s T-shirts, uses lots of black eye makeup, and rejects everything girly—which is probably a reaction to her mother’s charm school and impending seventh marriage. This latest husband-to-be is the worst yet, and when he attempts to rape Maybe (in a scene that is realistic but not explicit), she and her friend Ted decide to join their buddy Hollywood when he moves to California for film school. Maybe’s stated goal is finding her biological father, but as she runs out of money and hope, that goal changes to finding herself. Despite the heavy topics, this is a breezy read populated with friendly characters and sunny serendipity: Maybe is welcomed into the home of an ex-stepdad, Ted, finds work as an assistant to a movie star, and Hollywood aces his first film. When your starving protagonist spends her only five dollars on eyeliner, the intended audience is obvious; for those readers, Maybe’s ugly duckling–type transformation will be predictable but pleasing. Grades 7-10. --Daniel Kraus

Product Description

Meet Maybelline Mary Katherine Mary Ann Chestnut, named for two Miss Americas and her mother Chessy's favorite brand of mascara. Chessy teaches the students in her charm school her Seven Select Rules for Young Ladies, but she won't tell Maybe who her real father is -- or protect her from her latest scuzzball boyfriend. So Maybe hitches a ride to California with her friends Hollywood and Thammasat Tantipinichwong Schneider (aka Ted) -- and what she finds there is funny, sad, true, and inspiring . . . vintage Lisa Yee.

Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books; 1 edition (February 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439838444
• ISBN-13: 978-0439838443
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #347,028 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely delightful, October 1, 2008

By	Shevi "FantasyWeaver" (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

Absolutely Maybe was hard for me to put down once I picked it up. The characters in it are as colorful as Maybelline Chestnut's Kool-Aid-dyed hair, the drama high, and the humor prevalent from beginning to end. I fell in love with Maybe from the first page. She's an easy to root for underdog. Her tears became my tears, and her triumphs my joy.

At the beginning of the book, Maybe is stuck in an impossible situation. Her mother's latest fiancé attempts to rape Maybe, but Maybe's alcoholic mother takes his side over hers. School is no safe haven either, as her mother's doted on charm-school students ambush Maybe and beat her senseless in the girls' bathroom. So Maybe does the only thing she can under the circumstances: she runs away. Fortunately, she has two best friends to help her on her journey across the country to California, where Maybe discovers there's more to her than meets the eye.

The one weak spot for me in this book is the too-neat ending. I would not have been so forgiving of Maybe's mother, but I know there are other readers who will prefer the ending just the way it is.

In any case, if you like books that make you laugh and cry and fall in love with the heroine, you're going to absolutely love Absolutely Maybe.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well Written, But Has Problems, December 3, 2008

By	Chris (Montana) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

The book by Lisa Yee is well written and the first few chapters of the book were very engaging. But it falls away after the road trip begins.

The chapters are short so it is an easy, and fast read but... it's a little disconcerting when so many sentences begin with Maybe, and you have to remember that is the girl's name.

The book seems to gloss over Jakes attempted rape of Maybe, and Maybe doesn't seem to be phased by it, except to be properly disgusted. But she doesn't have any repercussions from the assault. I found that unrealistic.

She seems to sleep walk through the book and the horror of her life without showing appropriate emotions like sadness at her mother being perpetually disappointed in her, choosing her charm school girls over her own daughter, and the ultimate betrayal, believing her fiance over Maybelline about the attempted assault.

Maybe leaves home for California to find a father she never knew. And things fall unrealistically into place for the teens, like Sammy opening up his home for his former step daughter, and being able to find the man she believes is her father with just a first name--in LA!

The entire road trip seems to glorify running away from home with friends.

There is just too much missing here to make it a recommended read. It is not the kind of book that teaches kids anything good. Rather, it seems to fall into the overworked catagory of trying to make dysfunction chic. That's getting very old.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lisa Yee hits it right out of the park!, September 27, 2008

By	Grandma "Robin" (NH, USA) - See all my reviews

(What's this?)

Absolutely Maybe is an absolutely delightful novel that belongs on everyone's must read list. Far from a run-of-the-mill coming of age novel, Maybe is an entrancing character who dyes her hair with Kool-Aid, runs away to Hollywood and spends the summer working on a taco truck. As moving as Because of Winn-Dixie, Absolutely Maybe is an impossible to put down read. Expect to see this one on the book award nomination lists!

Note to parents: Suitable for ages 11 and up, no agendas.