Jurado 1

Kaylee Jurado
Deards
AP Spanish, Period 3
10 February 2016
Mayas Notebook Summary
Born in Berkeley, California, Maya Vidal was raised by her grandparents, her Nini and
Popo, and is now 19 years old. Ninis real name is, Nidia, she is originally from Chile but
emigrated to Canada with her only son, after her first husband was killed and Chile changed to a
dictatorship. After living in Canada for a little while, Nini met Popo and they immediately fell in
love. They soon moved out to Berkeley, California where Popo already lived. Mayas parents
names are Andy Vidal and Marta Otter. Andy is a pilot and Marta is a Danish air hostess, they
married because Marta became pregnant and quickly regretted it. After Maya was born Marta
dropped her newborn baby off at her in laws house and ran back into a taxi cab. A week later
divorce and custody papers were delivered to Nini and Popos house. Maya saw her mother once
after when she was eight years old and never again. Nini raised Maya the Chilean way, food and
affection in abundance, clear rules, and occasional spankings. Nini and Popo taught Maya many
different things, they traveled all over the words together, and learned about all different cultures.
Maya and her Popos relationship was a special one, he taught her about the stars and they would
spend hours playing make believe, until Nini would moan and groan.
Maya lived with her grandparents for many years until her father remarried and made
Maya move in with him and his new wife Susan. The house was remotely close to Nini and
Popos so Maya still spent majority of her time there. When Maya was 16 her Popo died from
cancer. Maya and Nini became very depressed and could hardly function. Maya turned to drugs,
drinking, and stealing. She became friends with two other girls, Sarah and Debbie. The trio
called themselves the vampires and stole and went to raves together.
One night Maya, high and drunk, went to ride her bike home from a rave and was hit by a
car. This opened Ninis eyes and Maya was sent to a facility for addicts in Oregon in the middle
of nowhere. After spending some time there Maya decided to escape. She ran for miles until she
came across a road and was picked up a by a trucker. The trucker was going to Las Vegas and
would take Maya that far and she was supposed to find a way to make it back to Berkeley. As
nightfall came the trucker stopped at a motel and said they were going to spend the night there

Jurado 2
and that Maya had to repay him for the ride. That night he drugged and raped Maya. That
morning they got back into the truck and drove until they reached Las Vegas.
Maya was later approached by a man named Brandon Leeman, he quickly had Maya start
to work for him. He distributed drugs to people in hotels and all other sorts of places, Maya
would deliver them and take the money from customers. Leeman had two men working for him,
Chino and Joe Martin, they quickly began to turn on him. Leeman eventually turns Maya to the
world of counterfeit money.
One day Leeman drops Maya off at the gym, and while she sits in the sauna, she
contemplates on whether or not she should contact her Nini. Maya doesn't want to get her Nini
involved in all of these horrible things she has gotten herself into, but Maya needs help and a
way out. Suddenly Freddy, the fourteen year old drug addict who lives with and works for
Leeman, bursts into the sauna to tell Maya that Chino and Joe Martin have killed Leeman.
The time after Leemans death Maya spent her time doing even more drugs and drinking,
she left Chino and Joe Martin. One day they found Maya, gagged her, and tied her up, back at the
old building they all lived in. They told her if she didn't tell them everything they needed to
know they would break all of the bones in her body and then they left to her to go make some
deliveries. Freddy then came and freed Maya and took her to a nurses house who had previously
helped Freddy when he was injured. The nurse, Olympia, and her husband helped Maya through
her withdrawal and tended to her wounds until about a week later when Maya was ready to call
her Nini. Eleven hours after they called Nini arrived in Las Vegas to take Maya home.
After spending roughly a month in a rehabilitation center Nini helps Maya escape, so she
can avoid being persecuted by the FBI. Nini decided to send Maya to the only safe place she
could think of, her homeland, Chile. Maya was put on a plane and sent to live in Chile with an
old friend of her Ninis, Manuel Arias, so she could escape the police, the FBI, and the gang of
assassins. Manuel is an old man in his seventies, hes a very quiet, and reserved writer. Manuel
was a political prisoner and has a very dark and secretive past. Manuel has decided to live the
rest of his life out writing on the small island of Chiloe. On the island, Maya learns about the
culture, language, and people of Chiloe.
During the year that Maya spends on the island, she is cut off from almost all outside
world communication so she can maintain her whereabouts unknown, although she does receive
a few emails that are written in code from her Nini and her Ninis friend Mike OKelley. Maya

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spends her time filling her journal with her thoughts and reading Manuels books. Maya also
does work for Manuel around the house and helps a woman named Blanca down at the islands
school. At the school Maya teaches the students English, the basics of computers, and she is also
the coach of the soccer teams. Blanca is and has been in love with Manuel since she was a young
girl, Manuel too is in love with her as far as Maya can tell, but Manuel doesn't want to fall in
love with someone and make that commitment to someone when he knows he could die anytime.
One day Maya meets a young man named, Daniel Goodrich, hes a tourist from Seattle.
Even though he only stays on the island for nine days, Maya quickly falls in love with him.
Manuel takes a business trip to Santiago to leave Maya and Daniel alone for three days.
During that time Maya tells Daniel all about her childhood, her grandparents, her stay in Oregon,
and her time she spent in Las Vegas. They share so many things with each other, Maya has never
felt this way about a man before. The time comes for Daniel to leave and they exchange emails,
Manuel advises against emailing him because he fears the government is snooping in
everybodys personal business and nothing is secret. Maya refuses to listen and emails Daniel a
ridiculous number of times before he even makes it back to Seattle.
Maya learned a lot about Manuel Arias and what happened to him in his past. Maya
learned that he was in a camp and was tortured and then exiled to the island. Maya also learned
that Manuel was her real grandfather and thats why he had taken her in. This tightened Maya
and Manuels relationship.
Maya invited Daniel to come to Chiloe for Christmas over email and she was shocked
when he emailed back saying that the valued their friendship but he did not love her. This broke
Mayas heart and she relapsed. Maya drunkenly, destroyed Manuels house. She broke the
computer, the bookshelves, and completely trashed the house. When Manuel arrived home that
evening, he wasn't angry, he calmed Maya down and helped her. Days later a police officer that
Maya had dealt with before, Officer Arana, arrived in Chiloe wanting answers from Maya.
Officer Arana was a sneaky and dirty officer who just wanted money. Officer Arana threatened
Maya and there was a struggle and that's all she remembers until she woke up in a hospital bed.
Officer Arana fell to his death during the struggle. Now that Officer Arana is dead, as well as
Chino and Joe Martin, who were burned alive in a car, Maya can now return home. Nini and
Mayas father came to Chile and were reunited with Maya and Manuel. They all spent Christmas
together and spoke about Mayas future.