California Diaries #03: Maggie

by Ann M. Martin

Book Overview

In this latest installment in the intense, intimate series from the bestselling author of The Baby-Sitters Club, Maggie has always had the perfect house, the perfect grades, the perfect looks. But now... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0590298372
• ISBN13: 9780590298377
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.3" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 9 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 8

Customer Reviews

FANTASTIC - A MUST READ

Maggie California Diaries #3 is a great book and a must buy. For those who don't know, it's about 13-year-old Maggie Blume who is feeling immense pressure from her dad, who wants her to be involved in heaps of extracurricular activities and have no fun at all. Maggie's mum is an alcoholic and all she cares about is "where her next pair of shoes is coming from" (this is from the book). Maggie has one sibling, a younger brother named Zeke, who is okay but not the greatest brother in the world. Maggie herself is a perfectionist who wants everything - grades, family, looks, life - to be perfect. She is very hard on herself and this is taken from the book: "I got a 95 on the social studies test. I think i should have my head examined." See what i mean? Many reviews i have read of this book are saying that Maggie must be insane to think that 95 is a low mark or that she must be crazy to worry so much about everything. Well, that's not true. People are different and I myself am a perfectionist. i would like to say that after reading Maggie's diary i changed my ways but that's not true either - it's just who i am, and who Maggie is. Back to the book. I love it how Maggie expresses herself through poems and songs. Some of the songs in this book are TERRIFIC, especially Twistin' In The Wind, Hey Down There and War. Maggie is a great writer but cannot see it. That's a shame. In this particular book Maggie tries to break away from her perfect roots, but finds that it's not easy. You can see that by #8, Maggie Diary Two, that she hasn't changed - in fact, her perfectionism is worse. I thought the cover of this book was GREAT and the writing style was good. But i found two things wrong with the book - the back cover writing was a bit TOO teenage drama. I mean, CA Diaries is a teenage series but it's not your TYPICAL teenage series with who goes out with who and gossiping etc. CA Diaries deals with more serious issues than the latest couple at school: Abuse, depression, racism, friendship troubles, illness, pressure. (As you read more CA Diaries these things are featured). The back cover made Maggie's book sound very teen-drama oriented when it is DEFINETELY NOT. The other thing i found wrong with Maggie's book is that the ending wasn't as good as CA Diaries' Dawn #1 and Sunny #2. The ending was kind of rushed, in an effort to finish the book maybe. It was good, but not GREAT. But these things aside, Maggie #3 is a must-read. It's definetely a 5-star book even if the ending's not great and the back cover blurb is too teenish - because everything else is above standards. Fantastic, worth buying and a great read, you can't pass Maggie #3 up! Bye!

Real & Special!

This was a great book to introduce Maggie. It was cool how she was the only person w/a diary who wrote poems. You could really relate to her emotions. She was worried about so many things, but who could blame her? Her dad always trying to make her something she's not, her mother always getting drunk and not being around, and her little brother, Zeke (you know how little brothers are). If you're looking for a good book to read, this is it!

Love this series!

I love ALL the books in the series I own #1-14. Maggie is my second favorite character along with her best friend Amalia. Maggie is in 8th grade with her best-friends, Amalia, Sunny, Dawn, and Ducky. In this book she has to deal with her Mom's new drinking problem, her Dad being a famous movie producer and not being home all the time, her brother Zeke not wanting to go to tennis camp, and her "fat". Also Maggie sneaks out of one of her Dad's movie presentations and goes to the battle of the bands. She's in a band that her best-friend, Amalia, manages called Vanish. She's the lead singer, song writer, and keyboardest. In Maggie's journal it looks like anyother book since she has a laptop, but she writes her own poems.

Loved It

I love the Califrnia Diary books. They are so realistic! My favorite charicters are Dawn, Amalia, and Maggie. I have every single book of this series. When a new book comes out I'm sure to get it! This is a must read series!

all the CA Diaries are great!

This book was cool and i loved the lyrics!! Although i liked the ducky books the best.