After I read my first Judy Blume book ‘Are you there, God? It’s Me, Margaret’, I thought I will get other Judy Blume books which are similar and read them. I discovered that she had written around eleven books for older children (early and late teenagers) which covered interesting topics. I wanted to read all of them 🙂 So I went and got seven of them from the bookstore. I read five of them in the past couple of weeks. Here is what I think.
Then Again, Maybe I won’t
This book is about a boy called Tony, who lives in a small town, and whose father is an electrician trying to take care of his family and make ends meet and whose brother is a teacher. His brother’s wife is also studying to become a teacher to support their family. She suddenly becomes pregnant. Tony’s father starts working hard in his basement and invents a new product. He sells it to a big corporation in New York and moves his family to New York to a luxurious house. Tony is not sure whether he will like it, because he has always been a smalltown boy. After moving to the new house, Tony makes new friends who are rich, but they have their own flaws and interesting eccentricities. He misses his old smalltown friends for a while, but he moves on after a while.
I found ‘Then Again, Maybe I won’t’ an interesting book on growing up, from a boy’s perspective. (Thanks to Kelly from KellyVision and Mrs.B from The Literary Stew for recommending it :)) It is also about what happens when a poor family becomes rich overnight – what are the consequences of it at home and what kind of pleasant and unpleasant transformations happen. The whole of our modern civilization is based on working towards a better income and a better lifestyle and sometimes we don’t realize the kind of sacrifices we make for that and the beautiful things that we lose because they slip between the cracks of the transformation and sometimes we don’t even realize that we have lost them. In this story, some of the interesting changes that happen are that Tony’s mom becomes a ‘high-society’ mom after they move to New York – she goes out for shopping, gets a cook to work at home, wants her kids to hangout with rich kids, wants her husband to get a better car, wants Tony to learn the piano – and Tony resents this most of the time. Tony’s brother, who is a teacher, leaves his dream job of teaching in a school and joins his dad’s company, because the pay there is more and so his family’s financial future will be better as a result. How many times have we seen people give up their dream jobs or their dream lives, because something else offers more money? How many times have we done something like this ourselves? Tony feels sad when this happens. I felt sad too. Another interesting change that the story describes is that Tony’s grandma who always managed the kitchen at home and made delicious food, is ejected out of the kitchen after a new cook is hired at home. She resents it deeply and sticks to her room and refuses to come out even for dinner. Of course, there are lots of nice things that are also depicted in the story because of the change in the financial status of the family – Tony gets new friends who are sophisticated and rich, he gets a new bicycle which is really cool and he gets pocket money to spend on things that he likes.
I liked ‘Then Again, Maybe I Won’t’ very much. I was quite impressed by the way Judy Blume described the life of a boy while growing up, as accurately as she had described the life of a girl in ‘Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret’. Three cheers to her. I wish I had read this book when I was in school. I think I would have loved it.
Some of my favourite passages from the book :
Playing basketball
When I’m playing basketball I don’t think of anything else. Not Lisa or school work or my family. I concentrate on the ball and getting it into the basket. Basketball makes me feel good. I wish we didn’t have two teams. I wish I could be in there all the time.
(Comment : When I read this I remembered what Steffi Graf said many years ago during the peak of her career, when someone asked her what she thought of her dream match. She described her dream match thus – she would like to play on a grass court – probably Wimbledon Centre Court – with Martina Navratilova. There should be no scoreboard, there should be no record of points won or lost and there shouldn’t be any winner or loser. She and Martina should just keep playing. I loved that reply – it was a great tribute to Martina by one of her great rivals.)
Playing the piano
‘It’s really neat,’ I said. ‘But nobody here plays the piano.’
‘Not yet,’ my mother said, putting an arm around my shoulder.
I knew what was coming. Piano lessons for me. Sometimes I wish we didn’t have so much money. How can I tell them I don’t want piano lessons? How can I tell them I can’t even clap my hands in time to music. I don’t even sing in the shower – I’m that bad!
‘Kids are pretty expensive. Especially when you want to give them everything.’ Ralph and Angie gave each other a secret smile.
I thought, maybe that’s the trouble. Maybe kids don’t always want you to give them everything.
Blubber
‘Blubber’ is about Jill and her life at school. Jill is part of a gang of friends in school, which has the star of the class, Wendy, in it. Wendy keeps bullying the weaker and shy students in the class and Jill along with the rest of the gang join in that. The girl who is bullied most of the time is Linda, who is pudgy. But, once, Jill does the unthinkable – she defies Wendy and she tries to be fair to Linda. Jill pays the price for her defiance. She discovers that she has been ejected out of the ‘in-group’ overnight and has become an outcast, while Linda is part of Wendy’s closest circle now. Now everyone in the class bullies Jill. Luckily Jill gets support from Tracy who is her best friend in school, and she manages to tide over this crisis.
‘Blubber’ is an interesting book because it is about bullying and anyone who has been bullied in school, because they were pudgy, or they had buck teeth or they were wearing spectacles or their eyes looked different or their dress sense wasn’t considered fashionable or they were from a different ethnicity or spoke a different language at home or practised a different religion, will be able to identify with this book. But for some reason, I didn’t like the book. Looking at it from a neutral perspective, I think Judy Blume does quite a wonderful job in depicting how things are at school and focussing on the bullying aspect of life in school. So, I was surprised that I didn’t like the book much – most probably because I didn’t like most of the characters in the book. Even the heroine and narrator, Jill, is a bully and keeps taunting the less fortunate in her class, till she gets a taste of her own medicine. The only character who was nice was Tracy, Jill’s best friend.
My strange reaction to the book, made me ponder on the reasons behind why we like a particular book. Is it because we like the story? Or is it because we like the characters? Or is it because we like the author’s prose? Or is it because we like the realistic way in which the author has depicted the scenes in the story? Or is it because we could see ourselves in one of the characters in the story? I remember reading in a book called ‘The Story of Art’ by E.H.Gombrich about the Renaissance painter Albrecht Dürer’s painting of his mother. You can find this painting here – Portrait of the artist’s mother at the age of 63. The painting shows his mother in old age with lots of wrinkles – ‘it is a tender and unflinching study’ as Wikipedia puts it. Gombrich while talking about this painting, asks the question – what is regarded as beautiful in art? Should the subject of a painting be beautiful or should the painter’s skill be wonderful? It is an interesting question. Most of us respond to the beauty of the subject and unfortunately the painter’s genius gets relegated to the background. Many of us who are not art connoisseurs but are general art fans, wouldn’t look at the portrait of Albrecht Dürer’s mother a second time, but we will keep gazing and admiring Dürer’s another painting ‘Young Hare’, or Giovanni Sassoferrato’s ‘Madonna and Child’. I keep wondering why this is so. After pondering on this for quite a while, I feel that we initially respond to the subject of a painting and it determines whether we like a painting or not. But later, after experiencing art for a while, we learn to respond to the painter’s genius, and the beauty or otherwise of the subject of a painting gets relegated to the background, and we immerse ourselves into the soul of the painting and are able to respond to the painter’s vision. Some people are able to do it from their first instance of experiencing art. So, I don’t know whether this is a natural skill or something which is acquired by experience, though to me, this is something which has happened over the years by experience. When I thought about my response to ‘Blubber’, I remembered Gombrich’s discussion on Dürer’s painting of his mother.
What do you think about this? Do you think you respond to the beauty or elegance of the subject in a work or art or do you respond to the artist’s vision? Do you respond to the goodness or otherwise of characters in a book or do you respond to the vision and prose of the writer?
It’s Not the End of the World
Karen has a brother and a younger sister. Her parents frequently keep quarrelling. One evening her dad walks out of home and doesn’t come back the whole night. Then strange things start happening at home. Karen discovers that her parents are separating. She tries different ways of getting them back and making them like each other again. But, unfortunately, every attempt of hers, fails. Her dad moves to a new apartment and introduces Karen to one of his neighbours. This neighbour is divorced from her husband and has a daughter called Val. Karen and Val become friends and Val shares her knowledge and experience on what it means to be the child of a single mom. Karen gradually realizes that despite her best intentions and actions her parents are not going to get back together. She also realizes that her parents love her but they don’t love each other any more.
I enjoyed reading ‘It’s Not the End of the World’ though the story was a bit sad. It looks at separation and divorce from a child’s point of view. One of the interesting thing I liked about the book is how Karen grades each day at the end of the day – starting from ‘A+’ for one of the best ever days and ‘C-‘ for a worst ever day. I think that is an interesting concept. I should start grading my days – I think it will be an interesting experience J
Some of my favourite lines from the book :
Children can’t understand
‘Karen…there are some things that are very hard for children to understand.’
That’s what people say when they can’t explain something to you. I don’t believe it. I can understand anything they can understand.
Just As Long As We’re Together
‘Just As Long As We’re Together’ also tackles separation and divorce. It is told from the point of view of Stephanie. Stephanie’s best friend is Rachel. Rachel is tall, beautiful and is a perfectionist – she excels in music, debate and in academics. Then at the start of a new academic year, Stephanie becomes friends with a new neighbour called Alison, who also joins the school in which Stephanie is studying in. Alison is the adopted child of a famous actress called Gena. Rachel reluctantly accepts the arrival of Alison, but it leads to a few sparks and tense moments among the three friends. Stephanie’s father travels on business quite often and Stephanie notices that recently he is away most of the time. When he comes back home during festival times, Stephanie’s father takes her and her brother out for dinner, while her mother keeps away. Stephanie doesn’t think too much about it until she discovers by accident that her parents are not getting along well with each other and are undergoing a trial separation. She is shocked when she learns that. She also hides it from her friends. How Stephanie learns to accept reality and how she comes out of her shell and talks about it with her friends and how her friends react to it form the rest of the story. While telling Stephanie’s story, the book also talks about the growing up of the three friends, about what they think about boys, about the issues that Rachel and Alison have to deal with, about Alison’s own reaction when her mom becomes pregnant and the secrets that the three friends hide from each other.
I loved ‘Just As Long As We’re Together’. I think it is one of my favourite Judy Blume books till now. The way Blume constructs the story like an artist and the lovely scenes which make up the story, delighted me very much. It deals with the same theme as ‘It’s Not the End of the World’ but it is difficult to compare them because these two stories are told so differently. I liked both of them, but I found ‘Just As Long As We’re Together’ a little bit more interesting, a little bit more complex, a little bit more sophisticated (check the ‘walking’ scene below). The development of characters is perfect, I liked most of the characters in the story and the scenes which take the reader through the story are beautifully constructed, elegantly written, delightfully told. I think this is a book that I would like to read again sometime.
Some of my favourite passages from the book :
Learning Vs Grades
If Mom and Dad were in a debate and the subject was grades, Mom would say that what you actually learn is more important than the grades you get. Dad would argue that grades are an indication of what you’ve learned and how you handle responsibility. If I had to choose sides I’d choose Mom’s.
Crush
Jeremy Dragon came back for a second brownie, then a third. Alison handed him the brownies and I took his money. That way we each got to touch him three times.
“I’ll walk you home”
Later, I walked Rachel home…The houses at Palfrey’s Pond are scattered all around, not lined up in a row like on a normal street. They’re supposed to look old, like the houses in a colonial village. Rachel’s is on the other side of the pond. When we got there she said, ‘Now I’ll walk you home.’
I looked at her and we both laughed.
When we got back to my house I said, ‘Now I’ll walk you.’
Then Rachel walked me home.
Then I walked her.
Then she walked me.
We managed to walk each other home nine times before Mom called me inside.
Here’s to you, Rachel Robinson
‘Here’s to you, Rachel Robinson’ is the sequel to ‘Just As Long As We’re Together’. It continues the story from Rachel’s point of view and most of the characters who were there in the earlier book make an appearance here. But because the point of view has changed, the story looks different. Some of the characters appear to be different when compared to how they we imagined them to be after reading the earlier book. We realize that Rachel is not as perfect as it seemed earlier. She has her own problems, her brother Charlie seems to be a problem kid and has just been expelled from school and her sister has issues of her own. Her parents have issues of their own, though her mom is promoted to become a judge. Though I liked this book, I felt that the story and the characters had lost their sheen in this book. I also felt that though the author had given a glimpse into Charlie’s character, it is just a tantalizing glimpse. I would have loved to read more about Charlie, because Charlie is interesting, rebellious and wise. However, I enjoyed reading this book, nevertheless.
Some of my favourite passages from the book :
The Beautiful World of Music
I took my flute out of its case, sat at my music stand and began to play a Handel sonata. Music takes me someplace else. To a world where I feel safe and happy. Sometimes I make mistakes but I can fix them. Sometimes I don’t get exactly the sound I want, but I can find it if I keep trying. With music it’s up to me. With music I’m in control.
On Beauty
Mom isn’t beautiful like Alison’s mother but she is very put together. She wears classic clothes and her hair is always perfect, whether it’s loose or tied back. She says grooming is more important than looks. I hope that’s true because when Mom was young she was awkward – too tall like me – and had a serious case of acne, like Jess.
Have you read any of these books? What do you think about them?
You are a new Blume fan it seems! I’m glad to hear you are enjoying her books so much. I love your discussion on why we like what we do. I really don’t know why I connect to some books and characters and not others, I can never find a good reason!
Yes, I am loving Judy Blume’s books, Amy! I wish I had discovered them when I was in school. Glad to know that you liked the passage on why we like what we do. It is sometimes difficult to describe why, as you have said.
I’ve read a lot of Blume as a kid but none of these so I’m excited to read all this! Also, the walking the friend home back and forth reminded me about one of my closest friends (we’re still close.) In high school, we’d take turns walking each other to each other’s car and wouldn’t stop til time made us stop.
Thank you SO much for blogging this.
Hope you enjoy discovering some of Blume’s books that you haven’t read, Linda. Glad to know that you could identify with the walking-the-friend-home-back-and-forth scene 🙂 It is wonderful that you did it yourself with your close friend.
I haven’t read any of these books yet Vishy! 😦 Did you buy all these books? I am intrigued with your thought of grading our days…hmm…I guess I would fail most days than not!
Hope you get to read Judy Blume books, Soul! They are really wonderful! If you are in the mood to read children’s / teen literature, these days, I can lend some of Blume’s books to you. Yes, I bought them. I thought you must be feeling the afterglow of your Chinese adventures and so your days must still be near the ‘A+’ grade 🙂
Haha, the A+ grade vanished as soon as I left Chinese shores! B+ these days would be good..:-) I have a list to borrow from you 🙂
I enjoyed reading your Judy Blume reviews, they are very thorough. 🙂 It’s great when we get so into an author that we want to read all or at least a lot of what they have published. Sometimes it’s the story and sometimes the characters and sometimes everything about that book fits together so nicely with ourselves that reading is all you want to do.
Glad to know that you liked the reviews, Delia. I loved your comment 🙂 Yes, I want to read all the Judy Blume books – atleast the ones she wrote for teenagers and above.
I haven’t done that in a long while – just read loads of books by the same author in a short space of time. I like the idea, though, and might try it soon. I tend to get distracted by all the new authors I want to discover, but sometimes it’s good to stick to one thing at a time!
I used to be like that – read all books by one author and then go on to the next one. Then I started reading exploring different genres and found it nearly impossible to read all books by one author. I tried following the old formula with Judy Blume books and I enjoyed it 🙂 Hope you get to try this with one of your recent favourite authors 🙂
What a great Judy Blume binge! You’re probably an expert now 🙂 I do like the quotes you posted, and the first book especially so I might give her a try after all!
I have got a few more Judy Blume books to read still 🙂 Hope you get to read her books and like them. Would love to hear your thoughts whenever you get around to reading Blume’s books.
I *loved* “Just As Long As We’re Together” when I was a kid. I remembered the plot only vaguely until reading this post, and I couldn’t tell you why exactly I liked it so much, but I owned a copy and definitely read and re-read it. I think you’re right that it’s a little more complex than some of Blume’s other books.
Glad to know that you loved ‘Just As Long As We’re Together’, Heather 🙂 I loved it and it is one of Blume’s books that I want to read again. Nice to meet another Blume fan 🙂
I have to say, I hadn’t heard of Judy Blume till I read this post – call it ignorance on my part! But seeing as how you’ve reviewed about a dozen of her books in one post, I’m going to take this as a strong recommendation and read her work! I like how thorough your reviews are; but I skimmed through them for fear of spoilers! I’ll re-visit this when I’ve read something by her, and if I am (possibly) as big a fan as you are! Thanks for the great post 🙂
Glad to know that you liked my review, Priya 🙂 Hope you get to read Judy Blume’s books. They are really awesome! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, whenever you get to read one of Judy Blume’s books.