Reviews

This is one of those books that seems like everybody read it when they were in their early teens. I never did but here we are, a decade later and I finally read it.

Judy Blume has a gift for crafting relatable stoties for youth that can be passed down from generation to generation and still be equally relatable.

stephreadsalot1's review against another edition

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3.0

I read this book because it is part of the Gilmore Girls reading list. I guess you don't get as much out of this as an adult as you would as a tween/teen. The story was still enjoyable and was a very quick read. I would recommend it to young girls.

the_bookish_kat's review against another edition

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4.5

I first read Deenie when I was eleven on a school trip to France. I haven’t read it since so it was lovely to read it again essentially for the first time. I loved this book, which is about a young girl called Deenie who has to adjust to life with a back brace after being diagnosed with scoliosis. I loved the way that Blume wrote about Deenie’s frustration and how she adjusts to her new life. I also liked how it ended a bit open-ended, but also optimistically. Even though it’s less than 200 pages, the story didn’t feel rushed or incomplete and all the characters were fleshed out. I’d highly recommend reading this book.

groovyjenni's review against another edition

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3.0

So, I am very aware that Deenie is an older book from the 70s. I tried to take this into consideration as I was reading this book. It follows the life of Deenie, a seventh grader who wants to make the cheerleading squad and who doesn't like modeling--in spite of her mother pushing her toward it. The themes within this book are aligned with many young adult, coming of age types of tales. This book has also garnered its way onto the banned books list several times in the past due to mentioning topics such as menstruating, sexuality, and masturbation. As a twenty something year old adult, these themes were not controversial for me to read. However, if I were in my early teens and the beginning stages of puberty, I can see how such a novel could be banned as it would cause disruption for a young girl (or boy) to read.

Deenie's mother is a hovercraft mom. She wants Deenie to be a model. Deenie doesn't need to focus on her grades in school, since she has a pretty face. And all this pressure on Deenie makes her feel small at times. Deenie's mother is constantly harping her about standing up straight, believing that Deenie does it simply to aggravate her. However, it is nothing Deenie is intentionally doing. Instead, Deenie finds herself going to several doctors until she gets a diagnosis: adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

This diagnosis leads to much discomfort for Deenie. She has to be fitted for a brace to straighten the curvature in her back, suffers from skin rashes due to the brace, and feels much scrutiny from her peers about her brace. Understandably, she is distraught over the fact that she has to wear this brace. The doctors have told her that she is going to have to wear the brace for at least four years to correct the curvature of her spine. This news all coupled with the teenage angst and drama in her life becomes overwhelming to her and it soon strains on the entire family.

Deenie’s father is forced to make cuts at his job in order to pay medical bills from Deenie’s scoliosis. Deenie needed new clothes that would fit around her brace with comfort and even then, the brace continually tears into her clothes.

Overall, I give this book a 2.5 star rating out of 5. I think when it was first released, it was most likely a very popular and powerful book. Yet, the themes in it don’t transcend as much as some other books in the genre can do. What I did enjoy about the book was how Blume tackled the topic of illness. Deenie feels like it is something she has done that has caused the scoliosis, when really it was all out of her control and had to do with genetics. Blume handles the doctor scenes with great ease and believability.

bungadinding's review against another edition

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3.0

Bukunya tipis juga. Kalau nggak salah dibaca maraton & kelar di hari yang sama kayak Are You There God It's Me Margaret.

Dari segi ide cerita sebenarnya aku lebih suka Deenie, unik ngangkat tentang anak yang menderita skoliosis. Baru tau juga pas baca kalau penderita skoliosis harus pakai penyangga badan yang bisa sampai tahunan, sampai tulangnya bener lagi. Seumur-umur belum pernah sih ketemu langsung sama orang yang pakai penyangga kayak gini, apa cara pengobatan jaman sekarang udah beda kali ya :-? Suka ngeliat proses gimana Deenie, yang sebelumnya lebih mementingkan penampilan, terpaksa menghadapi situasi ini. Ternyata dia malah jadi bisa memandang dirinya sendiri dan orang-orang lain di sekitarnya lebih dalam daripada yang tampak di luarnya.

Unfortunately I got some bitter comments for Deenie's mother, but I think I'd just keep them myself.

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