Naming Maya (04) by Krishnaswami, Uma [Hardcover (2004)]

by Krishnaswami

Naming Maya (04) by Krishnaswami, Uma [Hardcover (2004)]

Genres: Middle Grade, Cultural, India, Coming Of Age, Family, Young Adult, Fiction

Hardcover

First published April 6, 2004

Reviews

[Kavitha Rath · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a delicate a moving exploration into how a young adolescent girl of Indian immigrants in the USA deals with her parents' divorce. There are few texts that deal with this subject for children/young adults, let alone any that focus on the experience of a South Asian community, where divorce remains taboo and stigmatized. I particularly enjoyed this book, as the author took me back to Madras (Chennai) where I lived as a teenager. She brings little details to life - the taste of cloyingly sweet lime soda (Limca), clouds of dust raised by overcrowded buses, yellow stray dogs hovering about tea stalls, the taste of uniquely South Indian vegetarian dishes, drinking tender coconut directly through a straw, the overwhelming smell of disinfectant in hospitals. As the majority of texts of any kind featuring Indian diaspora feature characters from North India, it was extremely refreshing to see Tamil words and expressions being spoken and used. I felt more deeply connected to my own experience growing up in the US as a child of immigrants from India myself. There are also some very common tropes that kids like me are familiar with - kids getting their school uniforms tailored, parents traveling to India to handle the houses and affairs of grandparents who have passed away, relatives and cousins you haven't seen in years coming in and out of the house when you visit. I really like how this book didn't deal with conflict of cultural identity per se, but rather interactions a second-generation individual has with India. I wished that the mother-daughter relationship was more fleshed out, as it seemed hastily concluded towards the end, as did the plot line with the eccentric housekeeper/cook Mami and her health challenges. The relationship families have with their service providers is a close and often conflicting one as a result of class, and that could have been fleshed out more, perhaps not painted in such a rosy light. However, I think the author deals with complicated subject matter (divorce, getting older, death of grandparents, wide gaps in time away from home and relatives) very tactfully and appropriately for a young age reader group.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This middle grade novel pulled me in. I felt like I was walking the streets of India and was in Maya's house while I was reading. This story has a great emotional plotline and a very realistic climax. Krishnaswami reaches deep into the heart of what real kids feel.

Written in first person, present tense, this is a good example of how to write in present tense.
It deals with issues of belonging and shows an illness of an elderly friend.
Great book.

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Maya and her recently divorced mother return to India to sell her thatha's (grandfather) house, she learns more about herself and her mother than she could have imagined. "I am beginning to see that the stories of people's lives are like the ocean waves Sumati and I watched at the beach, lapping endless shoes constantly moving, changing. This summer I feel filled to overflowing with Mami's stories, because of how alive they are, how deep and dark and scary-beautiful," p. 136.

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Krishnaswami is a master of tangible and sensory detail, bringing India from being just a place on the map to a real environment. The story is intricately woven with threads of familial relationships, memories, and stories, covering topics of divorce, mother/daughter relationships, cultural differences, growing old, and Alzheimers.

[Nicolewinter2011 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Publisher:Farrar Straus Gioux
Year: 2004
Interest Level: 4-6
Reading Level: 4-6

This novel is a great novel for pre-teen girls. While girls who come from multicultural backgrounds might be able to appreciate a little more, I think many girls will find aspects with which they connect. The main character, Maya, goes to India with her mother and learns more about who she is and her family's history. Part of the emotional backdrop of this story is how she handles her parents' divorce, but it is not as much a focus as her learning about her mother's family's roots. She learns how to integrate with her Indian cultural background. She speaks of being seen as Indian when in the United States and being "American" when in India. I think some children who are second or third generation in the U.S. will be able to relate. The ending was a little cheesy and abrupt for me, but I'm not sure how I would prefer it to end. Tamil and Hindi words are mixed into the text. Most can be inferred, but there is also a glossary at the end of the book to explain what they mean. I preferred to try to infer their meaning and then check the glossary at the end. Because I think this book appeals more to girls than boys, I would not recommend it for a read aloud. It could be a good book for a reading group/literature circle, in which students can choose with a brief book talk to introduce the book. As discussed in class, it may not have interest at first without some enticing words from a teacher.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was not as gripping as I thought it would be, but the description of life in modern day India was interesting, and I liked the characters. Maya and her mother spend the summer in India trying to sell her grandparents' house. Maya makes friends and meets many relatives she'd never met before. She also learns a lot about her parents' past, giving her insight into why they ultimately divorced. The title of the book refers to the fact that Maya was given 2 names, one, Maya, by her mother's side of the family, and the other, Preeta, by her father's side of the family, symbolic of the split that was ultimately to come in the marriage. The character old Mami, slowly succumbing to Alzheimer's, also symbolized the problems between the 2 families, caught between the present and the past. The novel didn't end as I hoped it would (I wanted to see Maya and her mother move into her grandparents' house and not sell it). However, I enjoyed it nonetheless.

[Abby]

Aztec, New Mexico is very...special...from its misguided name to its annual UFO conference. It has your basic contingent of old grumpy ranchers and oilmen, but also more than its fair share of eccentrics. And it has Uma Krishnaswami, who is not just a local yokel but a talented and professional producer of children's literature. Needless to say, I have idolized her growing up. Your basic San Juan County rock star.

Naming Maya is a highly enjoyable middle grade novel, readable and well-matched to its target age group. The story is streamlined and artistic, although it seems a little truncated in the climax--the problems with pacing and characters come so far towards the end that they took me by surprise. It has good lines and a stunning setting in modern India. An overall recommend.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maya and her mother travel back to India to sell her grandfather's house. Maya isn't super excited about spending most of her summer in India, but quickly makes friends with her cousin and spends time with the housekeeper who has worked with the family for generations, Kamala Mami. It takes Maya's friendship with the housekeeper to discover that Kamala Mami has secrets and is in need of help.
This was short and sweet, but the characters didn't seem very developed, including Maya. Under the theme of American teenager going to India with her family, I thought Monsoon Summer was much better. This could be recommended to a young teen who isn't looking for a romance, even if it is in the subplot context. Fairly forgettable.

[Salsabrarian]

Maya and her mother are spending part of their summer in Chennai, India, where her mother is selling her father's house. Maya holds resentment against her mother for many things unspoken, including her parents' recent divorce, family issues and the fact that she doesn't feel her mother is there for her. It is her cousin Sumati and old family friend, the elderly Kamala Mami, who help her find the way to confront her mother.

[Debbie Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did a very good job showing emotions and mindset of a child torn between cultures and also showing conflict between traditions and economic change in India. Also show how many problems faced in America are also the same in other parts of the world -something we often forget.

[Jane]

Maya and her mother return to India to prepare the homestead for sale. Story of Mami, sort of housekeeper, and her decline into dementia, Maya's relatives in India and the sadness of her parents' divorce.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it well enough: it culminated nicely in the end, but it did take a little too long to get to the point. Will be an interesting discussion at book club this weekend.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, a peek into Tamil culture in India. Modern, child's perspective of an older adult perhaps having Alzheimer's.