Maya's Notebook by Isabel Allende

A week ago my grandmother gave me a dry-eyed hug at the San Francisco airport and told me again that if I valued my life at all, I should not get in touch with anyone I knew until we could be sure my enemies were no longer looking for me.

So this line is what we mean by raising questions - several in fact. Who are these enemies and how murderously insane are they if she has to fly away? What did she do? And why isn't grandma crying? I mean, a dry-eyed hug sounds like a snub coming from grandma.

The next line is curiouser still:

My Nini is paranoid, as residents of the People's Independent Republic of Berkeley tend to be, persecuted as they are by government and extraterrestrials...

More questions: Is this some futuristic dystopian tale? Or is this a clever witticism? Either way, it intrigues and is out of the ordinary. The story begins without delay, as character, setting and tone are established. These first two sentences work their butts off and most people (I'd hope) wouldn't have the will power to stop reading.

First thing said:

"You're going to have time to get bored, Maya."

Verdict: Cool (I want more)

Sincerely,
Rudy Globird

PS: See Theo? I can give a four-star rating.