My Tiki Girl

I'm a far-from-young adult but I do like to read YA novels now and then, and I finished this one in less than a day, just because I was eager to know how it turned out. I was rooting for Maggie and Dahlia because they are both enormously likeable characters, both dealing with very difficult circumstances and yet able to maintain a sense of humor and empathize with others. Yes, maybe I'd have liked a happier ending, but this is a REALISTIC ending. Ditto the main and supporting characters, very believable. Nobody's all good or all bad, they just have all-too-human flaws. And even if you're neither a teenager nor a lesbian, the feelings Maggie expresses will ring true, the equal parts elation and frustration when you love someone but can't say so, when you think it MIGHT be mutual but don't know quite how to be sure. Jennifer McMahon gets it, and she knows how to write it. You don't hear the author's voice, you hear MAGGIE's voice, and by the end of the book, Maggie seems like a friend you've known a long time. Now I am hoping that the very end of the book might leave room for a sequel. I'd certainly like to read the next chapter in Maggie's life.

Maggie Keller's life turned upside down the day she forgot Toto. In eighth grade, Maggie was cast as Dorothy, the lead in The Wizard of Oz. As her mom is driving her to rehearsal, Maggie shouts out that she forgot the stuffed dog at home. Her mom, without checking the traffic around them, turns the car around and causes an accident. Maggie was once the most popular girl in her class. But after the accident, she has a deformed leg, and considers herself the Frankenstein of the class. Her ex-best friend, Sukie, is the new #1 girl and has a new best friend, Heather. Maggie is on the fringes of school society now. When Dahlia Wainwright arrives at school, the two form their own exclusive freak club. Dahlia lives by her own rules, not caring what others think. Maggie tries to live that way ATA (after the accident.) Maggie is enamored with Dahlia's home life. Jonah, Dahlia's younger brother, thinks he's magical. And Dahlia's mom, Leah, weaves creative worlds with the dolls that she collects. Leah welcomes Maggie into their lives, dubbing her "LaSamba," the sad clown. Slowly, Maggie starts to question her feelings for Dahlia. A simple touch of Dahlia's hand causes sparks inside Maggie. Maggie has never felt like this before, certainly not with Sukie, and in hindsight, not with her old boyfriend, Albert. Soon, the school is hearing rumors about Maggie and Dahlia. For all Dahlia's talk of not caring, she has started to enjoy popularity, and doesn't want to disappear into the unknown again. The issues in MY TIKI GIRL are definitely for an older reader. Though there are no actual sex scenes in the story, the underlying context is very apparent and may be too much for a younger reader. Maggie struggles to come to terms with whom she is and who she is supposed to be. With a distant father at home, and unusual friends at school, Maggie must decide what it is she wants and go after it. Reviewed by: Jaglvr

Maggie Keller used to be popular - before the accident she thinks she caused, that killed her mother. Now she walks with a limp and has a scar - and is drawn to different people such as Dahlia, the strange new girl at school. Their volatile friendship involves a degree of romance and a lot of confusion in this story of first love and hardship, recommended for advanced teen readers.

I liked the book overall and would recommend it, but i thought the ending came a little fast. It was like a huge build up, then over. If you like her first two books, don't expect another one with this because it is very diffrent but it still worth the read if you like a book with a little quirk.