cover image MAYA RUNNING

MAYA RUNNING

Anjali Banerjee, . . Random/Lamb, $15.95 (209pp) ISBN 978-0-385-74656-4

Thirteen-year-old Maya is caught between the white, racist world of 1970s Manitoba and her Indian family and traditions. "I am Nowhere Girl in my Nowhere Land" she says, echoing the Beatles song. Nevertheless, she does have friends, dreams of being a writer and even captures the attentions of local bad boy Jamie. But when her cousin Pinky arrives, stunning in her saris and even more so in borrowed Levis, she steals everyone's admiration, including Jamie's. Maya pleads to a statue of the Indian God, Ganesh, who helps her by "remov[ing] obstacles,... removing illusions" and plunging her into a world where she becomes the beauty and the center of everyone's affections. This jarring move into the fantasy realm doesn't really work, but it does pick up the pace; Maya journeys to India where readers become privy to the very different sights, sounds and smells of trains, homes and bazaars. In a fairly predictable ending, Maya realizes her self-centeredness and, as Ganesh predicts, "sees the truth" of her life: that she can embrace the uniqueness of her double identity and carve out her own path as an aspiring writer. An often touching debut novel that should appeal to readers who have ever felt torn between two cultures. Ages 12-up. (Feb.)