Deenie

This Judy Blume book was not on my radar as a tween/teen so it was interesting reading it as an adult. Deenie is a young girl with aspirations to be a model. These aspirations are fueled by her mother, who refers to Deenie as the pretty one and Deenie's sister Helen as the brain. She is experiencing a lot of the emotional changes and milestones that many seventh graders face; maturing bodies, interest in boys, etc. Deenie gets hit with the double whammy of not making the cheerleading squad and the modeling audition. Her phys. ed. teacher notices her posture seems off and Deenie is soon diagnosed with scoliosis and has to wear a corrective back brace. I always thought Judy Blume excelled at getting inside young girls heads and writing about their deepest thoughts and fears. Even as an adult I could relate to Deenie's struggle to remain normal in the face of a life-changing event. Times have changed and scoliosis is no longer treated with back braces described in this book but you can easily replace it with dental headgear or glasses and it would still resonate. I would recommend this book for readers ages 10-14 either entering upper elementary or middle school.

i found the storyline very linear, with little that was unexpected. The major characters were similarly two dimensional. Not amazing, not atrocious.

Deenie by Judy Blume; (3*)Deenie is an adolescent who, like most young girls, wants to be popular and well liked at school. She turns out for the 7th grade cheer squad, is making new friends in a new school, she is just getting interested in boys, etc.Her mother, who has always called her the pretty one and her elder sister the smart one, insists on taking her to modeling auditions. On one of these trips the lady at the ad agency observes that there is something about Deenie's posture or the way she stands and walks. Soon her physical education teacher makes the same observations and speaks with Deenie's parents. It is decided that she should see the doctor.Her physician is in agreement and soon she is seeing orthopedist specialists who deal with spinal abnormalities. She is diagnosed with scoliosis and fitted for a Milwaukee brace, which she hates at first. But this story is about Deenie maturing through this medical ordeal and coming to terms with what she must do to get better. The book is very well written and is my first Judy Blume though I bought all of her books when my own girls were pre-teens and they read and reread them so this author comes highly recommended to me. I plan to read more of Blume.

Originally written in 1973 there are some parts of the story that feel dated but overall the story accurate for today. Deenie is an aspiring model who learns she has scoliosis. I was so worried about this character, I found myself listening to the audio book in the car, on lunch and even in the morning before work. Readers will empathize with how Deenie handles the challenges of being visibly and physically different from their peers.

Deenie is a teenager whose mother insists she become a model. Deenie does not want to disappoint her mom, so she attends all the interviews with the modeling agencies. The agent tells her that someyhing is not right about her posture. When she tries out for cheerleading, the coach tells her the same thing about her posture. When she goes to the doctor, she finds out that she scoliosis. The story focuses mainly on how Deenie has to deal with wearing a brace for her condition. She has to worry about how her friends and her life will change while she wears the brace. Recommended for grades 5-8

Narrated by Kim Mai Guest. Deenie is an aspiring teen model but a diagnosis of scoliosis puts an end to her plans. As she sees doctors and specialists, is fitted for a brace, and eventually begins wearing the brace, Deenie goes through anger, frustration, and finally, acceptance of her condition. Guest voices the teens very well…probably one of the few books I’ve heard where the teens really sound like teens. She also does a good job expressing emotional drama, especially that of Deenie's mother.

One of those teen classics I'd never read. Deenie is believably shallow--a product of her mother's obsession with Deenie's modeling--and her changes over the course of the book are swift (it's only 144 pages) but satisfying. She's largely unlikeable at first, but by the end she's a very sympathetic character. I'm confused as to what Blume is "saying" with the Buddy storyline, though--basically Deenie's scoliosis brace keeps him from feeling her up, and that's all right with both parties?Like most other Judy Blume books, it's marketed towards tweens, but some individual sexual content may raise some objections from parents of younger tweens.

It was a great book.One of the best books I have read.It shows.determination and that disability can't stop you from your dream.

I loved this book! It was one of the best books i have read. It shows lots about being different with a disability.

Deenie is about a 13-year old girl who has a pretty good life, apart from her overbearing mother. But when she tries out for cheerleading, her gym teacher notices something: Deenie’s hips are uneven. After seeing several doctors and specialists, she is diagnosed with scoliosis. Deenie now has to wear a Milwaukee Brace until she completes her growth spurt around age 17. She is devastated. When she gets her brace, we see Deenie go through the 5 stages of grief as they pertain to her condition. She angrily cuts off her hair at one point, but eventually accepts that her brace is part of her life now. Deenie actually deals with this fairly well compared to the adults in her life. Her mother is a stage mom who drags her to modeling agencies in hopes of getting her signed, and she has the most trouble accepting her daughter’s fate. Her father and older sister are much more realistic and supportive, although Deenie’s medical care affects both of them in ways they hadn’t anticipated. Deenie’s school principal decides that Deenie is crippled now, and tries to get her to ride the short bus to school. But Deenie’s friends are made of sterner stuff than the adults. They don’t reject her because of the change in her life.

Deenie is a complex, and often unlikable character--Blume is very, very honest in her portrayal of this thirteen year old girl, who spends much of the novel bemoaning her life and talking about how ugly people gross her out. But it's this honesty that carries the novel--the sheer, sad accuracy of this working class family and of Deenie's middle school peer group are what make these novels much, much better than (say) the Babysitter's Club. Oh, and you'll learn plenty about scoliosis, too.

When I was in junior high, it was determined that my scoliosis was severe enough for me to have to wear a brace (this was back in the late '70s/early '80s). I must have read this book a dozen times in the few years I had to wear it (I was done growing early compared to other kids). It was a huge comfort to me. (I later ended up having surgery for my scoliosis as the brace prevented it from getting worse but didn't help it any.)

A thirteen-year-old girl seemingly destined for a modeling career finds she has a deformation of the spine called scoliosis

One that I always remembered from my childhood, reread since my daughter was reading it. It was comforting to revisit Deenie's worries about her back brace and her struggle to fit in and accept herself.