Deenie (1973) by Judy Blume

 

Deenie is a beautiful, if somewhat vain twelve year old whose mother desperately wants to become a model. The agents Deenie is sent to note she is a pretty girl, but there is something strange in the way she walks. She also isn't picked for the school cheerleading squad which really meant a lot more to her than modeling.

 

Deenie has a rather snotty attitude in the beginning of the book. She avoids looking at anyone who isn't beautiful, snubs a classmate who has an annoying girl crush on her, steers clear of a neighbor who was in a wreck which left her handicapped and doesn't want to hold hands with her gym partner who has eczema.  

 

Her mother is downright horrible. Besides pressuring Deenie into a modeling career, she has decided, from birth, that Deenie is the beautiful one and Deenie's older sister Helen is the smart one and treats them both accordingly. A huge disservice to both girls. Deenie isn't expected to make good grades like Helen and thinks being a model or a homemaker are her only career options.

 

Everything changes when the gym teacher notices Deenie has a problem with her posture. She calls her in for a scoliosis test (they didn't do this routinely for all the girls back in the 70's?). Deenie is sent to specialists who confirm the diagnosis. The mom, as you've probably guessed, acts like a total drama queen about the situation, and Deenie is upset to overhear her parents arguing about her condition.

 

There is a really weird segue where, distressed at hearing her parents fighting, Deenie runs up to her room and starts masturbating. Because this is a Judy Blume book, if you are reading this as a twelve year old there is going to be something you've never heard of before, such as periods or wet dreams. In Deenie, it's masturbation.

 

Deenie decides that having an operation to treat her scoliosis is the lesser of two evils, but her doctor recommends that she wear a Milwaukee brace for four years, until she's stopped growing. Ms. Blume must have done her research, because we get to see exactly what it's like to be fitted for a scoliosis brace.

 

a brace similar to one Deenie would have worn

While waiting for her brace to be made, Deenie works up the courage to send an anonymous question to the gym teacher about whether or not it's okay for her to masturbate. We get a very positive and open response with the teacher telling the girls that it's normal and not to worry about the strange superstitions they've heard about the subject (making you go blind, break out in pimples, going deformed). Deenie is relieved to know masturbation is not the cause of her scoliosis. 

 

The moment of truth arrives and Deenie receives her back brace. When she gets home, in a fit of hysteria, Deenie hacks off all her hair like her namesake in Splendor in the Grass. Reactions at school range from those who look at her pityingly and ask if she's been in an accident to those who can't even look at her at all. Deenie's crush, Buddy, is amazingly supportive for an adolescent boy and the brace doesn't stop Susan from copying her.

 

The book's conclusion finds Deenie a more mature, compassionate person. She makes friends with the girl with eczema and stops judging people based on their appearances. Deenie begs her father to let her go without her brace for her friend's party, but in the end she realizes that he was right and she should wear it all the time. There is a minor subplot involving Deenie's sister falling in love with their father's employee and their mother standing in the way of that. The mother doesn't really change much.



You Shouldn't Have To Say Good-bye (1982) by Patricia Hermes

 

Sarah feels lucky to have such a fun, happy mother. Her best friend Robin's mother is suffering from clinical depression and rarely leaves the house. This causes Robin to act out by engaging in risky behavior like walking on a ridge on Sarah's roof and planning to perform a dangerous stunt at the school gymnastics show.

 

Sarah's luck soon runs out when her mother becomes ill with advanced melanoma. Both Sarah and her parents go through periods of anger and denial. There comes a time when Sarah's mother is sure she can beat the cancer and the family has a Christmas party for all their friends.

 

The good times can't last, however, and Sarah's mother is rushed back to the hospital. Sarah tunes out what is happening by ignoring the ringing phone and going to Robin's house while her mother is being admitted. While at her friend's house, Sarah learns that Robin's mother not only suffers from depression, but from agoraphobia and other fears as well. (She seems to have some anxiety that Sarah is there...This author was pretty cutting edge. Another one of her early books mentioned the "fainting game" that kids play to get high.)

 

Because of the uncertainty she feels about her own parents not attending the gymnastics show, Sarah plans her own risky stunt (jumping from the top of the ropes to the trampoline), but the girls cancel their plans when both sets of parents show up in the audience at the last minute.

 

The book reaches its tearful conclusion as Sarah's mother gets weaker and eventually dies on Christmas Eve. The dying scenes are quite emotional, with Sarah yelling in anger at what is happening and her parents equally upset. After her mother is gone, Sarah's father reveals that she had been writing in a diary for Sarah to read. An epilogue taking place a few months later finds Sarah reading the book and taking care of a new kitten.

 

Sarah's mother might have been a little more memorable had she not been quite so perfect, but the book was still pretty sad for a kids' book. 



Sixth-Grade Sleepover (1986) by Eve Bunting

 

Janey is both nervous and excited about her school reading club's upcoming co-ed sleepover. For one thing, she has been eyeing a boy in her class and the sleepover sounds like the perfect opportunity to get to know him better. The class cute girl, Sylvie, is also crushing on Blake, and without Janey there to make sure they don't get too close, she might lose her chance with him.

 

There's one thing stopping Janey from attending the sleepover: she's deathly afraid of the dark. Janey's fear started when she was a baby and had a sitter who would lock her in the closet when she was bad. Her parents tried sending her to a counselor, but it appears Janey wasn't ready to accept help and nothing changed.

 

After discussing the dilemma with her parents, it is decided that Janey's mother will call the school and suggest night lights be put up around the cafeteria where the sleepover will be taking place. However, after visiting the school at night, Janey decides the lights aren't enough and she'll just have to hide out in the restroom until morning.

 

It turns out that Janey isn't the only one with this plan. A strange new girl also takes refuge in a restroom stall and she and Janey bond over their respective problems. (Rosie can't read very well and just joined the club to make friends). The girls conclude that hiding from a bad situation can only make it worse. Janey hints that she'll take up counseling again and Rosie will get help with her reading. There is also some thing about the class rabbit, who was thought to be male, having bunnies in Janey's sleeping bag.

 

Throughout the book, there is an appreciative nod to the wonderfulness of reading. Several real titles are mentioned, the members of the Rabbit Reading Club appear to be the cool kids at school, the kids are in awe of their teachers because of their shared love of reading and books even help Janey get closer to Blake.    



Fifth Grade Magic (1982) by Beatrice Gormley

 

Gretchen is jealous of a long blond-haired classmate named Amy. Amy is Mrs. Sheppard's favorite student. She doesn't do stupid things like pass around a signed picture of the teacher drawn in an unflattering light.

 

 



 

Worst of all, Amy was chosen over Gretchen for the lead in Polly's Pies in Peril, the fifth grade spring play. No auditions were held for the play, so Gretchen didn't have the chance to show off the acting she'd been practicing with the other girls every day at recess.

 



 

While Gretchen is in her room crying over this turn of events, she remembers something Mrs. Sheppard always says about a fairy godmother not magically appearing to solve all your problems. Gretchen spontaneously calls out for her godmother, and a child sized fairy dressed in a too large uniform appears. After the obligatory initial shock, Gretchen explains her situation and asks Errora for help. The first order of business is to cut off Amy's hair. This, Errora says, will break the spell the girl has over the teacher and secure Gretchen the lead role in the play. The next day at school, Amy's hair is so short that she resembles class clown Dennis Boyd. Mrs. Sheppard is weirdly disapproving of the haircut, but she doesn't take away Amy's part in the play.

 

 

Errora's next attempt at getting Gretchen into the play is a little more invasive. She suggests that the girls switch bodies, a la Freaky Friday. The only problem is Amy doesn't know what's going on and her outbursts about being Amy trapped inside Gretchen's body have everyone thinking she's gone crazy. Also, Gretchen can't abide Amy's overbearing stage mother, who forces her daughter to audition for underwear commercials. Gretchen quickly rushes back home to reverse the spell.

 

 

Errora's last magic trick is to give poor Amy the chicken pox (Gretchen is her understudy). Unfortunately, Gretchen used her class photo for the spell and Errora got Amy and Dennis mixed up. Dennis, who didn't want to be in the play at all, had been assigned the role of the villan. With Dennis out sick, Mrs. Sheppard is forced to beg Gretchen to take over his part. Gretchen is hesitant at first because she'd really had her heart set on the lead, but she ends up doing a great job. In a clever twist, Errora turns out to be a child fairy who snuck out with her aunt's "injuctulator" (magic making device). This was one of my favorite books as a child. There is a sequel focusing on Amy (who turns out to be a very nice girl) called More Fifth Grade Magic.





Ready or Not (1953) by Mary Stolz + Giveaway



Mary Stolz was quite a prolific author back in the day, though she never reached the popularity level of Judy Blume or Norma Klein. In this, one of her earlier books, Stolz explores what it's like to be young, poor and in love.

Morgan (named after Morgan la Fay, but still seems like a modern name for 1953) is sixteen years old and lives with her widowed father and younger brother and sister in a cramped NYC apartment. The family moves every year or so when the father is able to find cheaper digs to better support his children. When her mother died three years ago, Morgan took over her role and runs the house as meticulously as she can on such a tight budget.

When Morgan's nine year old brother Ned asks to have dinner unsupervised at his college age friend's home, Morgan agrees, but only after a brief meeting with said friend. Don't tell me these were the good old days, people. This was after the Albert Fish murders. But I'll cut Morgan some slack since she is young and naïve. Morgan is unimpressed with Tom (Ned's friend) at first, although she notes that he is handsome. She has always had fantasies about a fictional boy named Colin sweeping her off her feet. She is also concerned that Tom is patronizing the family by befriending a boy from the wrong side of the tracks.

However, one day Tom's mother invites Morgan and her siblings over for doughnuts and it is love at second sight for Morgan. We learn that Tom, besides his habit of befriending little boys in parks, is a guy who cares deeply about issues such as war and the unfairness between social classes. Morgan, while intelligent, is more of a simple-minded kind of gal who's main concerns are what she's going to make her family for dinner and what movie she'll see with her friends.

Morgan and Tom's relationship progresses despite their differences. You'd think that, given the year the book was published, their courting would be very chaste, but the subject of waiting for sex until marriage is actually dealt with briefly. I'm not sure if the author intended the romance to be the most important part of this book, though, because there's not much to it. Morgan displays some unwarranted insecurities a few times and then Tom goes away to camp (presumably as a counselor) while Morgan gets a job in a cafeteria. They write letters, but because Tom will be going to college and then into the Army, their future together isn't set in stone.

While the novel is chiefly about Morgan, we also get peeks into the other characters' minds. We explore the problems of Morgan's father, a subway employee who would rather be a poet and Verna, Morgan's friend who must deal with an emotionally abusive father. A lot of time is also spent on younger sister Julie's growing pains. (Dark and brooding Julie, if she had been a few years older, would have been a better match for Tom than Morgan, in my opinion).

I'm offering the book I just recapped plus another surprise juvenile vintage book as a giveaway. All you have to do is be the first to email me (kchandler0@live.com) with your name and shipping address. Don't be shy. This blog doesn't get very many visitors currently, so odds are you'll win! I have too many books as it is, so if this giveaway gets any response there will be a few more in the future.

Too Much Trouble aka Tink in a Tangle (1984) by Dorothy Haas

 

Tink is a creative kid who is always getting ideas, most of which only come to trouble. She blames this on her red hair. Her mother is a beautician and is also the reason I have known from a young age that pink is death on red heads. An elderly neighbor refers to Tink as the "Daughter of the Harvest Moon." Tink finds a old book that tells of superstitions to bring luck and other things. For example, seeing twins is supposed to bring good fortune. Tink decides to combat her red hair curse by practicing what she reads in the book.

 



 

One of Tink's ideas is to make a home beauty salon for her friends while her mother is away at work. An annoying girl named Jane Ellen invites herself in on the fun and Tink accidentally gives her a very bad, very real haircut. Jane Ellen hardly reacts gracefully to the mishap. She accuses Tink of wanting to make Jane's hair ugly like hers. However, Tink's mother teaches Tink to be the bigger person and makes Tink invite Jane Ellen to McDonald's as an apology. This results in Jane Ellen thinking she and Tink are best friends. More bad luck.

 

Tink reads that dancing with a broom will bring good luck. She chooses the largest broom she can think of: the janitor's broom at school. She gets in trouble again. Tink has all her friends use some of the suggestions in the book and they all have bad outcomes. Tink's self worth begins to suffer as she reviews all the trouble she has caused. In the end, the principal and Tink's mother reaffirm her belief in herself and reassure her that they appreciate her just the way she is. Tink is signed up for dance lessons, where she is required to wear pink leotards and dance slippers. She also gets to see the harvest moon.

 

Stay tuned, because in my next post I'll be featuring a free giveaway of two of my old books. 

Fatso Jean, the Ice Cream Queen (1990) by Maryann Macdonald

 

There were plenty of children's book in the 50s and 60s designed to make fat kids feel bad about themselves. Here is a later such book. The author actually refers to Jean as "Fatso Jean," the name the nine year old earned in the ice cream truck line one day. A boy named Frankie makes up a song about how she loves ice cream and would burst a seam if she breathed.

 

 

Jean doesn't wear cute clothes like the skinny kids because all the clothes in the "Largette Shop" are ugly and navy blue. Her family tries to intervene and suggest activities, but Fatso Jean is lazy and would rather lie around waiting on the ice cream man.

 

Because of the other kids' bullying, Jean decides to go on a crash diet. Her eventual success with this approach is hindered by her low self-esteem, in this book called her 'Inside Voice.' Jean finally breaks her fast and gains back the weight.

 

 

 

An elderly neighbor gives Jean a huge pink bike that belonged to his daughter in the 50's. Jean doesn't ride very well, so she practices in a vacant lot with her mother. She then asks Mr. Greenbaum if she can paint the bike white so it won't be so embarrassing to ride in front of the other kids. Enter the Mean Team - Frankie, Elliott and Crystal. After calling her fat and laughing at her bike, they invite her along to Flagpole Hill, where the more advanced riders practice tricks. Of course, Jean crashes and wrecks her bike.

 

Jean's next endeavor is to practice diving until she's as good as Crystal. This doesn't work out either. She does find out that a mentally challenged boy she knows needs money to make it to the Special Olympics. Jean makes a brief try at baseball, but the Mean Team shows up again with another one of their rhythmical insults.

 

 

This turns Jean to ice cream again. While in the grocery store buying supplies, she runs in to Jimmy, the boy in need of funds for the Special Olympics.

 

Jean perfects her ice cream recipes, but her parents finally tell her she has to stop. Jean takes the remaining ice cream over to Mr. Greenbaum's and comes up with a plan...make the ice cream over at his house and sell it with the profits going toward Jean's tuition at Kamp Klutzo, a fat camp she reads about in the newspaper.

 

Jean uses the name the kids used to taunt her with, "Fatso Jean the Ice Cream Queen," as her business name, and begins selling the ice cream without her parents' knowledge. While out selling one day, she discovers Jimmy, who has a new job cleaning up the park, has been giving Frankie money in exchange for help with his batting. Jean tries to defend Jimmy because he needs the money for the Special Olympics, but the author makes it look like Jean is in the wrong for trying to keep Jimmy from being taken advantage of and that he is giving his money away out of pride.

 

Jean decides to try to double her sales to cover the cost for Jimmy's needs and her Kamp Klutzo deposit. I find it a little unrealistic that several businesses would allow a nine year old to cater their events, but that's what happens. Jean explains to her parents that she and Mr. Greenbaum are conducting "secret experiments" together which they take to mean she has a new healthy hobby. Then, just as things are going well, Jean and her ice cream wagon are hit by the Mean Team on their bikes while trying to save them from being hit by the ice cream truck.

 

 

 

Jean lands in the hospital with a broken arm, dashing all dreams of Kamp Klutzo. The Mean Team come to visit and apologize for hitting her. "Maybe the Mean Team wasn't that mean after all. Crystal and Elliott, anyway. Maybe she had never given them much of a chance." Uh, yes they are. They bullied her consistently throughout the book. Crystal offers to help make ice cream and Elliot says he'll make the deliveries. Jean says he'll have to paint "Fatso Jean" on his bike. "But you're not really that fat anymore," Elliott objects. "It was true. Her legs didn't look like tree trunks anymore. Her stomach didn't stick out like a watermelon." Now that Jean isn't fat anymore, it's okay for the Mean Team to be nice to her. Everyone is surprised that Jean was working to help Jimmy. Because she was fat, they all assumed she was greedy (which she was really supposed to be in the beginning of the book...how? I'm not sure. Having an emotional eating problem isn't the same as being selfish). Frankie invites Jean to be on his baseball team.

 

While it's nice to see a story about a child losing weight by playing (instead of being put on an exercise regime), there are still so many things wrong with this book. As a kid, I remember thinking how terrible and awesome the Mean Team were and how lucky Jean was to get into their good graces at the end. I would've had Jean make some new friends and gain some confidence in herself as a person as she was losing weight.