I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Chapter 30 Summary

  • Daddy Bailey invites Maya to spend the summer with him in southern California. Sounds nice, right? Wrong.
  • When she gets there, she meets her father's girlfriend Dolores, who is a bit disappointed that Maya is a tall, skinny teenager instead of a cute little kid. Dolores is also uptight and persnickety.
  • She and Maya don't get along very well, to say the least.
  • One day Daddy Bailey announces that he is going to take Maya along on one of his trips to Mexico to get groceries. Maya is psyched, Dolores is not.
  • When they arrive in Mexico, everyone is excited to see Daddy B. He's a total celeb.
  • Maya also sees a different side of her dad here. Before he was, you know, that guy. Now he's super chill.
  • It's fiesta time. Maya dances, eats pork rinds, and drinks Coke. Sounds like a pretty swell time. 
  • But after a while, she realizes she hasn't seen her dad, and she panics. Maybe he's sold her into slavery, she thinks. 
  • Gulp.
  • Okay, so he didn't sell her—turns out he's just drunk. After she finds him, he passes out in the car.
  • Maya panics again because she doesn't want to sleep in Mexico. Her solution? Drive home. 
  • Oh, the only problem is that she has never driven before, and doesn't even know how to turn on a car. Also, they are on a mountain. In Mexico. This may not be the best idea ever.
  • Unsurprisingly, Maya crashes into another car. The people in the car threaten to call the police until Daddy Bailey wakes up and, as usual, sorts everything out.
  • On the ride home, Maya is upset that her dad wasn't impressed with her awesome driving skills.