Absolutely Maybe
by Lisa Yee

    ABSOLUTELY MAYBE by Lisa Yee
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  2/1/09
    Publisher:  Arthur A. Levine
    Reviewed by:  Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky"
    Rating:  5 Stars


    ABSOLUTELY MAYBE by Lisa Yee is due out in February 2009.  It is her first YA/teen novel - and readers will
    not want to miss it.

    The main character is Maybelline, "Maybe" to her friends.  She is currently living above her mother's Charm School.  
    She is surrounded by glamour and future pageant hopefuls, but she feels anything but glamorous.  Depending on the
    day, Maybe's hair color might be red, green, or blue, thanks to endless boxes of unsweetened jello.  Her baggy
    black T-shirts, goth eyeliner, and dark lipstick have her mother frantic.  That is, when her mother isn't busy trawling
    for her next husband.

    Maybe's best friends, Ted and Hollywood, are the only things that keep her going.  Their support helps her tolerate
    her mother's boyfriends-turned-step-fathers, until the most recent, Jake, makes an attempt to turn Maybe into more
    than an innocent step-daughter.  When her mother sides with her pervert husband-to-be, Maybe decides it is time to
    follow through on her lifelong dream to find her mysterious biological father.  

    Ted and Hollywood join in the adventure as they head to L.A. in search of all their dreams.  

    Their arrival in California is followed by terrific opportunities for Ted and Hollywood, but not so much for Maybe.  
    After weeks of living homeless, she finally searches out her mother's husband #2/#4, the only one who made Maybe
    feel anyone ever cared for her.  At least now she has a place to call home while she continues her search for the
    father she never knew.

    Yee’s characters draw readers right into their lives.  You'll find something to like about all of them, and they'll make
    you anxious to turn to the next page and sad when you arrive at the last one.  There are humorous escapades mixed
    with sensitive, sentimental scenes as Maybe’s story is revealed.  

    I can only hope that Maybe returns someday to let readers know about the next chapter in her awesome life.