Another one-day read, or more like half a day. I picked up this hardcover at the local library today around 12:30 and was home by 1 pm to start reading. I finished it by 5:30 pm. Judy Blume’s “Deenie” is a book that is recommended reading for the MasterClass I am taking. I didn’t even know it was a banned book when I checked it out at the library.
Ultimately, I was not a big fan of the story as a whole, but I understand it. Again, we lower ourselves to the level of the children and feel what they are feeling, and we can believe we are this child who is told she’s pretty over and over again, just to find out that she has scoliosis and has to wear a brace. I don’t know one child that would say this is cool or feel alright about it at first.
During the MasterClass, Judy doesn’t go into this book about the scoliosis aspect but from the aspect of the character and sex. Apparently, the book was banned because the tween masturbates many times throughout the book, treating it like a natural part of growing up. Judy tells us to look at our own lives quite often in the MasterClass. In my world, curiosity about sex was rampant, so maybe it is/was normal, or maybe not. Deenie never really finds out if she is normal or even if she was the only one of her friends to do it.
What I learned from Stephen King is that if it doesn’t move the story or enhance it, it should be left out. I do believe that those scenes were unnecessary in the bigger picture of the book. Overall, the book was okay… I liked “Blubber” and “Tiger Eyes” much more than “Deenie.”