Sadist Teacher: Deenie’s sewing teacher, Miss Wabash, who is “100 years old and very mean.” When Deenie had forgotten an assignment because she had gotten fitted into and was getting acclimated to her Milwaukee Brace over the weekend, Miss Wabash is unsympathetic. Not only does she consider Deenie’s excuse invalid, but she also says that she will only give half credit if Deenie does make up the assignment. This is the craziest, scariest time. It makes the eighties look like nothing compared to what’s going on now, because it’s coming from the government, it’s coming from legislators,” Blume says. “We live in a state with a governor who is just making everything really dreadful,” she says, when asked what she might say to the people in power. “I have a lot to say about this governor. I don’t know that saying it to him would make any difference at all.” She adds that it’s not just Ron DeSantis, but a wider U.S. problem. “Elected officials who are drunk with power and using their power in an evil way.”

Judy Blume’s time has come. Again - The Globe and Mail Judy Blume’s time has come. Again - The Globe and Mail

The brace looks like the one Dr. Kliner showed us three weeks earlier. It's the ugliest thing I ever saw. Find sources: "Deenie"– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( October 2015) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Never My Fault: Thelma thinks she knows what's best in regards to her daughters (i.e. what she wants them to be) and will point fingers at everyone else when things don't go her way, from her husband to her daughters themselves. When Deenie gets diagnosed with scoliosis and Helen has a crush on the young man working at her father's garage, she goes hysterical and wails that all she wanted was the best for her daughters. Judy is a longtime advocate of intellectual freedom. Finding herself at the center of an organized book banning campaign in the 1980's she began to reach out to other writers, as well as teachers and librarians, who were under fire. Since then, she has worked tirelessly with the National Coalition Against Censorship to protect the freedom to read. She is the editor of Places I Never Meant To Be, Original Stories by Censored Writers. When Deenie visits the hospital and is then X-rayed, her comments reflected my own experience as a child, from her hatred of the gown you have to wear to the feeling of time stretching out as you wait to be seen. While a minor point, this is admirable and shows the level of thought Blume put into the novel.When Deenie finds out that she has scoliosis, she’s scared. When she sees the brace for the first time, she wants to scream. That week] I touched my special place practically every night. It was the only way I could fall asleep and besides, it felt good" [p.79 in the 2005 Laurel-Leaf edition] and "Usually I take showers and get in and out as fast as possible. But the hot water [in the bathtub] was very relaxing and soon I began to enjoy it. I reached down and touched my special place with the washcloth. I rubbed and rubbed until I got that good feeling" [p.129]. Still today.... I will always remember this title and the letter I received from Judy Blume. I related to the character with her struggles.

Deenie – Judy Blume on the Web

Beyond that, yes, Deenie is diagnosed with scoliosis, and her reaction to being “different” does feel authentic and her newfound compassion for others with differences is inspiring (Deenie was once a real sh*t when it came to the kids in the “handicapped” room). Stage Mom: Deenie is blessed with not one, but two examples of this trope — her actual mother and "Aunt" Rae, who isn't Deenie's blood relative, but rather a close friend of her mother's — whose attitudes toward Deenie's scoliosis and its implications for her modeling career make her situation that much harder to take (both of them implying that Deenie herself is to blame for developing scoliosis). Deenie is relieved towards the end of the book when she realizes she probably won't become a model because of the brace and adds she never really wanted to be one anyway; it was all her mother's idea. Film review: Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret is true to the book’s heart, but also its own (mostly) wonderful thing

I really enjoyed the author's notes at the end and Judy Blume explaining how she came about writing the story. She explained that she feels this story is more about "parental expectations." For sure that was another "issue" played out throughout the book especially between Deenie, her sister, Helen and her mother. The writing is as good as always, but, as far as Judy Blume books go, the connection to the characters seemed off, and the topic felt somewhat contrived. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. When I arrived, breathless, late on a Sunday after that long scenic drive, I learned the dreadful news: Blume regularly works at the bookstore on Sundays and yes, she had been in that day. I had missed her. I would never have ambushed her for an interview, but it would have been great to just say hello. When I finally got to interview her – a month later, over Zoom – and told her a (very condensed) version of this story – she seemed genuinely dismayed. “Oh I’m so sorry!” she said. “Did I know you were coming?”

Deenie (Literature) - TV Tropes Deenie (Literature) - TV Tropes

Deenie's mom has two daughters: the pretty one (Deenie) and the smart one (her older sister, Helen). That is who they are and their mom tells everyone that. The interesting thing is that it takes Deenie and Helen forever to be like, "Wait--that doesn't mean that Helen is ugly or that Deenie is stupid." (And honestly, it's so weird to see that dynamic play out. Helen has to get perfect grades but as long as Deenie doesn't fail, she doesn't get in trouble.) I can connect Deenie to many teenagers or pree teens at our school, and their insecurities. I can understand how Deenie did not even want her friends to know about her brace.Showing Deenie’s initial distaste towards people with disabilities and injuries is useful only up until a certain point, beyond which it felt highly superfluous. In all honesty, these comments were enough to make me question recommending the book. The heartfelt message of its conclusion, when juxtaposed against this hateful start, is diminished, especially for young readers living with scoliosis who would have to wade through the early hurtful comments before they come to see Deenie’s journey unfold.

Deenie | Book by Judy Blume | Official Publisher Page | Simon Deenie | Book by Judy Blume | Official Publisher Page | Simon

Rachel McAdams as Barbara Simon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon in Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. Dana Hawley/Lionsgate An important topic is that of parents exhorting their children to take up professions that the parents feel that are suited for them, whether or not the children are amenable to the idea. Thelma justifies her insistence that Deenie pursue a modeling career and that Helen become a doctor or lawyer by saying that she just "wanted better" for her children. This is your usual cautionary tale, of not being needlessly judgmental, because one day it could happen to you, mixed with a heavy dose of little girls can be anything they want, so stop pushing them into ready-made boxes. And on that note, let's hear three cheers for Helen, Deenie's older sister: the brains and empathy of the family.Blume would teach me a lot over the years, but her books weren’t merely instructive. They took middle-grade lit – and with Forever – young-adult lit to a new level. Deenie' sales soar". The Galveston Daily News. 10 September 1985. p.9 . Retrieved 9 May 2017– via newspapers.com. Author Judy Blume points to a poster for the film adaptation of her groundbreaking young adult book. ROB O'NEAL/AFP/Getty Images Well, friends it's hard to believe but a year has gone by and this is my last book for my personal childhood challenge re-read.