Scan barcode
ricksilva's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Judy Blume was at the height of her popularity around the time I was the target age for her writing, but I never actually read any of her books as a kid. So here I am extremely late to the Judy Blume party.
This is more of a collection of vignettes than a novel, told from the point of view of nine-year-old Peter, but centered on the mayhem caused by his toddler-brother Fudge. Peter an his family live in Midtown Manhattan, with a very 1970s vibe (right down to the references to muggers and drug-pushers in Central Park, not to mention the pre-gentrification cost of living).
Long-suffering Peter has to constantly be the bigger brother as his frazzled and only-sometimes-competent parents struggle to keep up with the walking disaster that is Fudge. From throwing temper tantrums at the shoe store to getting lost at the movie theater to messing with Peter's schoolwork (and a truly epic climactic bit of mischief in the last chapter), Fudge is an unstoppable force of chaos.
Peter comes off as quite reasonable in all of this, although his parents each get in some good moments. The author does a nice job with balancing the outrageous with the realistic, and it's good to see that the mom and dad occasionally admit their mistakes and do right by Peter.
The New York flavor is fun, giving this a nice bit of nostalgic vibe at this point.
This is more of a collection of vignettes than a novel, told from the point of view of nine-year-old Peter, but centered on the mayhem caused by his toddler-brother Fudge. Peter an his family live in Midtown Manhattan, with a very 1970s vibe (right down to the references to muggers and drug-pushers in Central Park, not to mention the pre-gentrification cost of living).
Long-suffering Peter has to constantly be the bigger brother as his frazzled and only-sometimes-competent parents struggle to keep up with the walking disaster that is Fudge. From throwing temper tantrums at the shoe store to getting lost at the movie theater to messing with Peter's schoolwork (and a truly epic climactic bit of mischief in the last chapter), Fudge is an unstoppable force of chaos.
Peter comes off as quite reasonable in all of this, although his parents each get in some good moments. The author does a nice job with balancing the outrageous with the realistic, and it's good to see that the mom and dad occasionally admit their mistakes and do right by Peter.
The New York flavor is fun, giving this a nice bit of nostalgic vibe at this point.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Drug abuse
More...