Maya

Jean Free, a library consultant, is a retired public-school teacher and
librarian in Whitby, Ontario.

Based on the television series, the Degrassi books generally extend and
develop the TV programs, and deal with topics of interest to
intermediate students.

In Snake, Susin Nielsen tells the story of Grade 9 student Archie
(Snake) Simpson’s struggle with his beloved brother Glenn’s
homosexuality. When Glenn comes home from university and tells his
parents he is gay, they banish him from their home. Gradually, Snake
comes to terms with Glenn’s lifestyle and matures as he realizes who
his brother is. Nielsen handles this difficult topic with taste and
sensitivity.

In Kathryn Ellis’s Maya, the 16-year-old heroine is confined to a
wheelchair because of spina bifida. Both Maya and her best friend,
Caitlin, make a pact to spend the summer obtaining (i) jobs, (ii)
driver’s licences, and (iii) their first boyfriends. Complications
arise: Caitlin fails her driver’s test and is pressured by her
boyfriend to have sex before she is ready, while Maya is sexually
harassed by her boss. Unfortunately, Ellis’s teenagers live in an
idealized world where it’s easy to get a job, where almost everyone is
understanding of handicapped people, and where problems in the workplace
are dealt with quickly.

Catherine Dunphy’s more realistic BLT follows a summer in the life of
black basketball star Bryant Lester Thomas (BLT) as he tries to keep up
with his affluent teammates; is tempted to steal a bike to buy presents
for his new girlfriend, Olive; and struggles to find a job. BLT is
filled with authentic dialogue and topics of concern to teenagers.

The Degrassi series, though rather idealized and middle-class in its
values, is appealing to young teens because of its subject matter:
developing sexuality, insecurity, life in high school, and growing up in
the 1990s. The series makes for light, topical reading.