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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying
challenging
slow-paced
absolutely unchecked bullying & no resolution????
I read this book as a kid and again more than 30 years later for 5th grade book club. More disturbing than I remember. Told from the perspective of one of the bullies (but not the ringleader). A book that all the kids in my book club related to on some level and resulted in some very thoughtful and engaging discussion about their own thoughts and experiences.
This is still so good. No other book that I have read puts the reader so subtly and comfortably in the role of bully and then pulls the rug out from under the reader's feet so well. It makes its point without being at all preachy, and I love that the ending isn't all sunshine and flowers.
Feeling an urge to reread Judy Blume's books. This was the first one I went to. Thirty or so years after reading it the first time, I was struck by how blatant and overt the bullying was in this story. Either I had forgotten, or my perspective has drastically changed. I don't remember being very bothered when I first read this back in fourth or fifth grade, but now I kept vacillating between a feeling of disgust at what Wendy, Caroline and Jill were doing to Linda, a feeling of frustration at the ignorant inaction by the adults (especially Jill's mom -- her teacher seemed clueless, but mom commented at the end in a way that leads you to believe she was aware of Jill's behavior and said nothing), and a wondering about how the world has changed in thirty or so years... If this happened now, it wouldn't be a little story about elementary kids -- it would be national news with pundits and such. Thanks, Ms. Blume, for making me think.
Reread an old classic...I have always been a fan of Judy Blume. I love how this one ends not all wrapped up in a neat bow, but with a point made all the same. Bullying is a problem that transcends generations, and while the type of bullying has changed, the sentiment is still prevalent. I love that Jill figures out how to stand up for herself, but I also feel sorry for Linda who never learns to stand up for herself. The reader is left to wonder whatever became of Linda? I hope that she learned at least to love herself...
Brilliantly written but hard to read. Hard to think we were so cruel back in those years.
As the chubby girl growing up, this book was my solace.
