Isabelle Allende is a poetic, masterful writer, and she has written a realistic mystery woven with some hallmark themes of teenage rebellion: drugs, sex, and betrayal. The consequences of Maya's teenage years land her on a remote island of Chile, the birthplace of her father and grandmother. The slow pace of island life and its inhabitants works it's magic, and as she begins to heal from the past, she uncovers the strength and beauty within herself. Maya's Notebook is a good read.