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California Diaries #3
Maggie: Diary 1
Amalia Vargas knows she should feel lucky. She is the band manager for Vanish and her boyfriend is the guitarist, James, a sixteen-year-old high school junior.
James is so into her that he can’t stand for her to be with anyone else. That should be a good thing, but what seemed kind of sweet at first is suddenly getting annoying and even kind of scary.
James’s jealousy doesn’t just mean Amalia can’t see other guys. He doesn’t want her giving her attention to anyone: not her friends, her family, or even a toddler she’s visiting at a shelter.
When you’re thirteen, love can be tricky, but is this the kind of love that Amalia wants, and is it even love at all?
James is so into her that he can’t stand for her to be with anyone else. That should be a good thing, but what seemed kind of sweet at first is suddenly getting annoying and even kind of scary.
James’s jealousy doesn’t just mean Amalia can’t see other guys. He doesn’t want her giving her attention to anyone: not her friends, her family, or even a toddler she’s visiting at a shelter.
When you’re thirteen, love can be tricky, but is this the kind of love that Amalia wants, and is it even love at all?
139 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1997
26 people are currently reading
269 people want to read
About the author
Ann M. Martin
1,098 books3,046 followersAnn Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.
Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.
Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.
After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
May 31, 2024
This is a tough one. I'm not very invested in Maggie because I feel like we've barely met her before this book, and in addition to that her character is so different from the way she's described in earlier BSC books that she's unrecognizable. I did have some fun with this book, but it didn't feel like it had anything at all to do with the Babysitters Club series on characters or content, or much to do with the previous books in the California Diaries series, either. That said, my interest is piqued about the following books.
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August 17, 2024I picked this book up randomly at my library book store for free. I was intrigued to read something teen-esque that I have never heard of before. I have never read another California Diaries, and knew that some cues from the books could be from earlier in the series. Thankfully, there was only 2 ones before this. Yet I still felt I was missing more of Maggie's story (and Sunny's for that matter) reading this one.
Maggie clearly has intense perfectionist vibes and imposter syndrome. Her friends are also very, very, VERY positive about her. Like almost to an overwhelming fact. Like Maggie *is* actually perfect but she just doesn't think so. Which is laughable (her not thinking she's good enough) because of her "flunking grades" of... a 97%. I think she would have died 20 times over if she got the grades I was getting in school.
I was also concerned about the age gap between everyone. It was giving 'Eighth Grade' vibes with a 13 year old being around people who could drive. The 8th graders for some reason are moved into the high school building (this is 'Degrassi' coded), and therefore a 13 year old is mingling with a junior in high school (and this high schooler is also maybe flirting with her? YIKES). I would have felt even slightly better if she was a freshman in high school being around these 15-16 year olds.
I'm not sure if I would pick up this series again. Granted, this is also from 1997 and probably harder to come by than other more popular series about teenagers. So I'm probably not missing much.
Maggie clearly has intense perfectionist vibes and imposter syndrome. Her friends are also very, very, VERY positive about her. Like almost to an overwhelming fact. Like Maggie *is* actually perfect but she just doesn't think so. Which is laughable (her not thinking she's good enough) because of her "flunking grades" of... a 97%. I think she would have died 20 times over if she got the grades I was getting in school.
I was also concerned about the age gap between everyone. It was giving 'Eighth Grade' vibes with a 13 year old being around people who could drive. The 8th graders for some reason are moved into the high school building (this is 'Degrassi' coded), and therefore a 13 year old is mingling with a junior in high school (and this high schooler is also maybe flirting with her? YIKES). I would have felt even slightly better if she was a freshman in high school being around these 15-16 year olds.
I'm not sure if I would pick up this series again. Granted, this is also from 1997 and probably harder to come by than other more popular series about teenagers. So I'm probably not missing much.
March 25, 2024
Maggie's dad is a big-time movie producer, because these are the California Diaries. When Dawn and Sunny mention her in their diaries, Maggie is rebelling by aspiring to become a middle class veterinarian, but Maggie's stupid dad sends her off on a different path by telling her she needs more extracurriculars and she should join the school orchestra. Maggie tries, but you can't play piano in the orchestra, and the orchestra teacher offers her the instrument with the silliest name as an alternative.
Uninterested, Maggie wanders off to chat with that new girl, Amalia, who says that cool sophomore band Vanish is looking for backup vocals. Maggie auditions and assumes she's profoundly failed, which is something we should keep an eye on with Maggie and her terrifying perfectionism, but Maggie has a voice! and Rico doesn't want to do lead vocals if someone else is willing to do it, so Maggie is the lead singer of Vanish!
Maggie's dad does not approve. He tells her some utter nonsense about how if he'd gotten better grades in film school, he would be producing interesting, thoughtful films instead of schlocky action flicks.
The denouement occurs when Vanish has a Battle of the Bands show at the same time Maggie's dad's dumb action movie premier is happening. Maggie manages to attend both events because these books' deus et machina is Ducky with a car, but her parents notice that she skipped the actual movie-watching part of the premier and she's in trouble and her life is in shambles and she hasn't been eating a lot lately, has she? More to come.
Uninterested, Maggie wanders off to chat with that new girl, Amalia, who says that cool sophomore band Vanish is looking for backup vocals. Maggie auditions and assumes she's profoundly failed, which is something we should keep an eye on with Maggie and her terrifying perfectionism, but Maggie has a voice! and Rico doesn't want to do lead vocals if someone else is willing to do it, so Maggie is the lead singer of Vanish!
Maggie's dad does not approve. He tells her some utter nonsense about how if he'd gotten better grades in film school, he would be producing interesting, thoughtful films instead of schlocky action flicks.
The denouement occurs when Vanish has a Battle of the Bands show at the same time Maggie's dad's dumb action movie premier is happening. Maggie manages to attend both events because these books' deus et machina is Ducky with a car, but her parents notice that she skipped the actual movie-watching part of the premier and she's in trouble and her life is in shambles and she hasn't been eating a lot lately, has she? More to come.
November 13, 2022
this was kind of bad
January 9, 2024
Yippee more BSC(adjacent) books in the library! In this one, Maggie tries to be the perfect daughter to her Hollywood producer father, but eventually decides to let her inner punk rocker out.
May 2, 2009
Believe it or not, I actually read this Diary first. And this is like, the 3rd one is the series!!! lol, but that was because my sister had all these books hiden in her room somewhere, *rolls eyes* shes so odd. anyway, it actually made sence. Into the book, when Maggie plays "Hey, Down There" for her band, Vanish, you feel like your feet are...not touching the ground. It was a deep moment for me when I read that part because Maggie seriously realtes to the song is so many ways. So I could just imagine how she sang it for the Battle of the Bands. =) Maggle Rules
June 1, 2008
So Maggie basically is me, except with added singing abilities and a famous dad - family situation, position in school, identity among friends, tendency to capslock when excited...
This one really struck me. She's a great well-rounded character and I love her voice. Should probably track down her other two diaries for the hell of it...
This one really struck me. She's a great well-rounded character and I love her voice. Should probably track down her other two diaries for the hell of it...
October 27, 2021
I enjoy these books so much. Maggie is one of my favorite characters. From joining a rock band to skipping her dad's production night this is definitely a pre teen adventure ride you won't forget.
June 21, 2017
Of all the California Diaries books/characters, Maggie was really my least favorite. At least in this first journal of her's anyway, she just didn't resonate. Her plot got more interesting when they really dove into her eating disorder issues, but this book just didn't pack much of a punch. While her family issues are pretty messy, especially her mom's hinted at drinking problem, it didn't get into her issues deep enough. Though her Britney Spears-esque hair chopping off melt down WAS pretty good.
May 13, 2020
These really are great books for late middle/early high school. They are so angsty compared to baby sitters club books though ha ha! Two different versions of what being 13 can be. Most kids probably land somewhere in between. Maggie is a bit of a difficult read because she's such a perfectionist and the author wrote that really well. So she kind of reminded me of me at that age.
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March 21, 2021Read my recap at A Year with the BSC via Stoneybrook Forever: www.livethemovies.com/bsc-blog/califo...
September 3, 2022
3.5 stars
April 17, 2023
I will forever regret that I have no musical talent and didn't join a garage band when I was a teenager.
May 8, 2023
I think more parents should read YA novels. They help you connect to what it was like being a kid or a teenager, and the parents are usually great examples of what NOT to do.
August 26, 2024
Whoa. This was actually BRILLIANT. I get Maggie. I have friends who are just like Maggie--who cannot see "pretty good" and push themselves too hard. (P.S. hate Maggie's dad)
February 7, 2025
When I was younger, I felt so badly for Maggie. Then I grew up to be her. Whomp whomp.
January 20, 2018
Of all the California Diaries characters, Maggie was never my favorite (as a child, Sunny’s story always stuck with me the most, simply because of how horrifying it was)—upon reread, I don’t really have a favorite (though it might be Ducky), but I can easily say that Maggie is the one I relate to the most. She is such a tightly-wound mess of insecurity, anxiety, and low self-esteem, and she sounds a hell of a lot like my teenage self.
Of course, when I first read the books I didn’t recognize Maggie’s story for what it was—the story of a girl with a severe anxiety disorder that has her worrying and second-guessing herself at every moment, to the point where she no longer knows how to be happy. But the signs were all clear as day this time around, and I was really impressed by how realistically and subtly they were integrated into the story. Like a lot of stuff in the California Diaries books, it’s not a thing that most younger readers will fully appreciate or understand, but to an adult reader, they’re very satisfying.
In fact, there are a lot of satisfying things about Maggie, Diary 1. Obviously, Maggie’s anxiety is first and foremost what makes it succeed, but the way it concludes is also pretty fantastic. Though she realizes by the end of the novel that her self-criticism is debilitatingly powerful, her problems aren’t anywhere close to fixed—in fact, she actually goes to far worse places in later installments. But this is part of what stops this series from being too cookie-cutter and neat, and it reads more like life. The conflict between Maggie doing what she thinks is the “right, successful” path that will secure her family’s approval and recognizing her own desires and needs (which don’t lie along the same path) is a wonderfully relatable plot element. And I liked how Maggie’s father wasn’t portrayed as a ruthless, cold-hearted monster but someone with his own stressors and moments of humanity.
This is a very bite-sized book—I read it in about an hour, in one sitting—but it’s a good one that, like the rest of the California Diaries series, handles difficult topics in a way that is accessible to younger readers. The narrators are still written WAY too young—Maggie and her friends should be sophomores, at the very least—but if you can overlook that, or at least pretend in your head that they’re older, this is a pretty satisfying short novel. This series continues to impress me even as an adult—the books are rare overlooked gems that offer realistic glimpses into the teenage (not really the tween) psyche, and Maggie is a particularly strong example. Short, sharp, and satisfying.
3.25 stars.
Of course, when I first read the books I didn’t recognize Maggie’s story for what it was—the story of a girl with a severe anxiety disorder that has her worrying and second-guessing herself at every moment, to the point where she no longer knows how to be happy. But the signs were all clear as day this time around, and I was really impressed by how realistically and subtly they were integrated into the story. Like a lot of stuff in the California Diaries books, it’s not a thing that most younger readers will fully appreciate or understand, but to an adult reader, they’re very satisfying.
In fact, there are a lot of satisfying things about Maggie, Diary 1. Obviously, Maggie’s anxiety is first and foremost what makes it succeed, but the way it concludes is also pretty fantastic. Though she realizes by the end of the novel that her self-criticism is debilitatingly powerful, her problems aren’t anywhere close to fixed—in fact, she actually goes to far worse places in later installments. But this is part of what stops this series from being too cookie-cutter and neat, and it reads more like life. The conflict between Maggie doing what she thinks is the “right, successful” path that will secure her family’s approval and recognizing her own desires and needs (which don’t lie along the same path) is a wonderfully relatable plot element. And I liked how Maggie’s father wasn’t portrayed as a ruthless, cold-hearted monster but someone with his own stressors and moments of humanity.
This is a very bite-sized book—I read it in about an hour, in one sitting—but it’s a good one that, like the rest of the California Diaries series, handles difficult topics in a way that is accessible to younger readers. The narrators are still written WAY too young—Maggie and her friends should be sophomores, at the very least—but if you can overlook that, or at least pretend in your head that they’re older, this is a pretty satisfying short novel. This series continues to impress me even as an adult—the books are rare overlooked gems that offer realistic glimpses into the teenage (not really the tween) psyche, and Maggie is a particularly strong example. Short, sharp, and satisfying.
3.25 stars.
September 7, 2010
I read this book initally several years ago. It's part of a series that I never managed to find all the books to. Well just recently I found several of the missing books, so I decided to reread the ones I'd already read combined with the ones I hadn't. As I mentioned in my quick synapsis of the first book in the series DAWN, it's from the same author who wrote the Babysitters Club books. And even those these feature characters from teh BSC books, these are decidedly NOT the same books. They're about Dawn and her friends, now that Dawn has moved back to CA to live with her dad. They're written in diary format (thus the fact that they're referred to as the California Diaries). Each book (there are 15 books in total, 3 diaries for each character) is written from 1 of 5 different characters POV (Dawn - who's experiencing a lot of change with the move, her parents divorce and the fact that her dad is remarried and expecting; Sunny - Dawn's best friend, who's mother is dying of lung cancer; Maggie - another best friend who is struggling with living up to her parents expectations to be perfect, Amalia - a new friend, who if I recall from my first reading, has overly possessive boyfriend problems; and Ducky - I've only read one of the Ducky books, but my first instinct with Ducky is why is he hanging out with 13 y/o's and then I think he might be gay. But I'm not sure if that might be a bit too series for the type of book this is. We'll see what happens.
I just finished the 3rd of the books, and while I enjoyed it, it's not great. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate that for a 13 y/o this could be life changing. Someone "gets" what they're going through. No one's life is perfect. I'll probably do a super review once I get further into the series (or once I find the elusive last book), but for now, I'm just working my way through the books. I'll start book 4: Amalia latter tonight.
I just finished the 3rd of the books, and while I enjoyed it, it's not great. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate that for a 13 y/o this could be life changing. Someone "gets" what they're going through. No one's life is perfect. I'll probably do a super review once I get further into the series (or once I find the elusive last book), but for now, I'm just working my way through the books. I'll start book 4: Amalia latter tonight.
November 7, 2024
I barely remember meeting Maggie in the BSC books. I don't remember any of the girls from this series honestly because I think I was losing interest in the books by the time Dawn moved back to California. I know I read Dawn on the Coast fairly recently but really don't remember much about it. Anyway Maggie is the perfect daughter of a high powered movie mogul. Her mother is worried about keeping up appearances her younger brother Zeke is annoying as are most younger siblings myself included no doubt. She plays piano, gets good grades and has grown out of her goth/punk phase to her mother's relief. But Maggie loves writing poetry and song lyrics. I didn't really read many of said lyrics and poems which is why I knocked off a star for this book. There is a band called Vanish that Maggie is interested in and she starts hanging out with Amalia who's involved with the band. She gets talked into trying out as a backup singer and ends up lead vocalist and has a few of her songs played by the band. Bit conflict arises when Maggie is expected to attend a big premiere with her family on the same night as Battle of the Bands in which they are competing. Now Maggie is trying to figure out how to manage both with some help from her friends. This was not a bad book. Maggie seems much older than 13 here so it was a bit of a shock when her dad pointed that out. But overall it was a pretty decent entry in the series.
June 14, 2010
Because she writes the babysitter's club series, I figured this may be an easy read for some of my 7th grade girls. I couldn't get into it, and I'm 3/4 finished. The protagonist is really into singing, is an over-achiever, goal-oriented, and totally rich. She writes and revises her own songs throughout, which was kind of cool, but really, nothing sparked my interest. Blah, blah. I don't even know to whom I'd recommend it, so I guess I'll get rid of it and make room on my shelves for something I can get excited about. When I'm excited, the kids get excited. That's what I've learned.
Update: Well, there are a lot of good reviews from what seems to be teens for this one....I'll just keep it there hoping that some day it'll find a good match.
Update: Well, there are a lot of good reviews from what seems to be teens for this one....I'll just keep it there hoping that some day it'll find a good match.
January 3, 2015
I will never understand parents that control their kids. I just...don't get it. Maybe it's because of my family, but I just can't understand a person that thinks a child is a robot, something to control. You can't. You can't choose a damn thing for them, once they can start moving. Which is before their born.
That is a lesson that the main character and her family have to learn. Maggie learned to let go, live, and be herself, the person no one can control but herself. It was nice, and I hope she'll continue to do that.
That is a lesson that the main character and her family have to learn. Maggie learned to let go, live, and be herself, the person no one can control but herself. It was nice, and I hope she'll continue to do that.
February 10, 2016
This novel is about a girl named Maggie who is an incredible student, getting extremely high grades. She's close to what would be considered a "perfect daughter" in almost every way.
Yet she worries about getting good grades and whether or not she has the ability to do various things. She has a chance to become a lead singer for a small band but self-doubt and her father's opposition causes her problems.
It's a fairly short book and somewhat limited in scope but still interesting.
Yet she worries about getting good grades and whether or not she has the ability to do various things. She has a chance to become a lead singer for a small band but self-doubt and her father's opposition causes her problems.
It's a fairly short book and somewhat limited in scope but still interesting.
May 19, 2009
This book is the third book in the California Diaries series by Ann M. Martin.
In this book Maggie is pressured about her grades. He dad is working on a new movie and is very stressed out about that. Maggie joins a garage band and is the lead singer. She cuts her hair and changes her clothes. Her band gets second place in the battle of the bands.
In this book Maggie is pressured about her grades. He dad is working on a new movie and is very stressed out about that. Maggie joins a garage band and is the lead singer. She cuts her hair and changes her clothes. Her band gets second place in the battle of the bands.
August 3, 2010
Maggie is not one of my favorite characters in the series but her story is wonderful. I loved how some of her entries where songs and poems while the rest was typed out but there were just too many little things with her personality that just made me dislike her in general.
May 5, 2011
I didn't love this book as well as the Dawn book. However, I do love reading a diary. It was interesting to read about someone who has a famous dad and imagine what the may be like. I also think this book is a good set up for Maggie's next diary.
August 11, 2012
Not a very good book. I found it hard to side with the protagonist. On a side note, the font was big and it hurt my eyes (I don't mean to sound snobby).
I used to love the Baby-sitters Club, but I'm not a fan of this book.
I used to love the Baby-sitters Club, but I'm not a fan of this book.
May 24, 2011
THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING AND EXITING I LOVED IT
January 31, 2022
Borrowed from library.
FS: "Monday 7/13 2:30pm. Breakfast: small bowl of cornflakes with skim milk, black coffee (no sugar)."
LS:
FS: "Monday 7/13 2:30pm. Breakfast: small bowl of cornflakes with skim milk, black coffee (no sugar)."
LS:
August 28, 2014
I loved i think it's a perfect book that is a sort of a life of tennager they think ever their going throgh is the worst in the world.
April 25, 2020
Read this practically on repeat when I was a kid
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews