Calling Maggie May by Anonymous Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: June23rd, 2015
A dark and edgy first-person cautionary tale about how one girl’s seemingly minor choices quickly spiraled into a life as a sex worker in the tradition of Go Ask Alice and Lucy in the Sky.My thoughts:
She had a normal life, until one small decision changed everything. Suddenly, there were new possibilities and new experiences.
But not all of those experiences were good.
Read her shocking story in the diary she left behind.
Um what did I just read???? This book was a complete mess, but that editors note has totally left me speechless!
First why is this book titled Calling Maggie May? Was that the main characters real name?? This is really bugging the poo out of me! We never learn the main characters real name so I have no idea if that's her name or not so I am left just wondering why in the world this book has this title. I could see it being Justine since that's her call girl name, but Maggie May????
This isn't the only thing that didn't work for me. The whole book fell really flat. I liked the idea of using a journal type entry for a book like this, but my goodness the main characters voice was so incredibly whiny! Yes I get that she was pressured at home and turned to the wrong kind of friend for help, but she was insecure and okay I'm going to say it stupid. Yes she was stupid, she saw her crush trying to force himself on her friend but she still wanted to be with him. Her first actual interaction with this guy was when she had to stop him from hurting her friend so it's not like that had some horrible torrid love affair. Nope she saw first hand what a jerk he was without any emotional connection tied in and still wanted him to like her. That wasn't all either. She lost her virginity to the first guy she had a true date with and thought that war normal. She even knew he wasn't going to be around the next day...again not so smart. I just don't get it. The way she thought about prostitution honestly scared me for teenagers who read this. It's like she accepted it. She didn't like it most of the time, but she just thought it was no big deal. WTH?! That's why I am calling her stupid. She wasn't naive she knew what she was getting herself into and her choices just weren't smart. She even said at one point she wished she had a terrible story to share with the other "workers" because hers wasn't tragic like theirs. Who says that??!! In a way I felt like she glorified what she was doing and that's just not okay with me.
I also didn't find the story realistic in the slightest. Everybody she came in contact with was niceish. Even the guys that were yelling at her didn't touch her or abuse her. Even the woman who ran the brothel was nice in a way. I mean she said you could leave when you wanted and no she didn't put the girls first, but she wasn't abusive like in other books I've read. Everyone just seemed too nice for this type of book and it felt wrong and a little disrespectful to other stories.
What really bothered me though was when the main characters pretty much said being on a street corner was better than working at a fast food place. She even compared them and said they were similar! Umm no I don't think so. When I read that my brain totally lost it and I thought this girl needs to go to therapy.
Okay so this editors note what can I even say about it. I'm not sure if this story is based on a real story or not, I am leaning toward not but I really don't know to be honest. I thought for sure it was all made up, but the editors note made me question that. If it is real then I am completely flabbergasted at that ending. I mean WTH?! I am going to look into this more because if that was the actual ending I need more info. For everything to be on the nicer side of dark that note just didn't make any sense to me.
I know I was harsh in this review and if this is a true story I am truly sorry for calling her stupid. I just can't believe this is real. If you are looking for a dark story dealing with these issues I say look elsewhere. This story doesn't even come close to the dark world I've read about and honestly might give some the wrong impression. This was definitely not a great book for me.
0 snowflakes
Thanks for the heads up. I will not be reading this one. I'm so over stupid protagonists, and I didn't read about another one, it would be too soon. Sorry this sucked.
ReplyDeleteSo I just finished reading this book today. I've been really curious as to if this is a true story or not. I tried to do some digging, but most likely if this is based off a true story, all the names in the diary have been changed. The only info I could come across was when I tried lookin into the murder of 'Maggie May' or whatever her real name is. I found a small article about a man who was found and taken to prison for murdering someone in the 'Jungle' (the murder taking place in September 2008 and his arrest happened in December 2008. I am really upset I can't find any info on the actual year this diary would have been written if it were real. I just feel like too much info is missing for it to be true. Why would she stop writing if it was all real and what happened to Ada???
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