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A review by yuditk
Blubber by Judy Blume
1.0
I really don't know why Judy Blume felt like she should write this book. Yes, I read her reasoning in the note at the end of my book, but I still don't know what she was trying to accomplish. All that happens is one girl gets teased relentlessly by our main character and her class. Our main character is not the meanest of the girls, but she isn't nice either. There is really no reason for us as readers to like her. The adults in this story do nothing to help the child who is getting bullied, and although Blume discusses in her note that children should talk to adults, as far as we see, poor Linda never tells anyone about the abuse she is experiencing. The bullies in this story never get punished, and we are supposed to just believe that everyone lives happily ever after at the abupt ending.
Like other Blume books, Blubber does take us back into the 70s. Her books have not aged well in regards to many cultural things happening within. This may be my favorite thing about her books, I like to read about what it was like in the 70s at school and in the community. For example, the main character's mother is a chain smoker and this is openly discussed, on Halloween the kids are collecting money for charity while trick-or-treating, and students get weighed twice a year by the school nurse. These are just some of the references that seem to be just a little outdated.
As an adult I did not enjoy this book, but I also wouldn't ever recommend this to any child. No, I wouldn't have it banned as some people have wanted, I just don't see the value in this and feel that there are a lot better things to be reading.
Like other Blume books, Blubber does take us back into the 70s. Her books have not aged well in regards to many cultural things happening within. This may be my favorite thing about her books, I like to read about what it was like in the 70s at school and in the community. For example, the main character's mother is a chain smoker and this is openly discussed, on Halloween the kids are collecting money for charity while trick-or-treating, and students get weighed twice a year by the school nurse. These are just some of the references that seem to be just a little outdated.
As an adult I did not enjoy this book, but I also wouldn't ever recommend this to any child. No, I wouldn't have it banned as some people have wanted, I just don't see the value in this and feel that there are a lot better things to be reading.