Product Description

When Deenie sees the brace for the first time, she wants to scream, Forget it... I'm never going to wear that thing.  Everyone will know.  Everyone!



But the words won't come out.  And Deenie, beautiful Deenie, who everyone says should be a model, is stuck wearing a brace from her neck to her hips.  For four years-or longer.  How will she ever face the hard times ahead?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #48713 in Books
• Published on: 1991-10-01
• Released on: 1991-09-01
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 144 pages

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

From the Publisher
When Deenie sees the brace for the first time, she wants to scream, Forget it... I'm never going to wear that thing. Everyone will know. Everyone!

But the words won't come out. And Deenie, beautiful Deenie, who everyone says should be a model, is stuck wearing a brace from her neck to her hips. For four years-or longer. How will she ever face the hard times ahead?

Inside Flap Copy
When Deenie sees the brace for the first time, she wants to scream, Forget it... I'm never going to wear that thing.  Everyone will know.  Everyone!



But the words won't come out.  And Deenie, beautiful Deenie, who everyone says should be a model, is stuck wearing a brace from her neck to her hips.  For four years-or longer.  How will she ever face the hard times ahead?

Customer Reviews

A heartwarming tale of love and well Deenie (Deenie by Judy Blume)
Deenie was an awesome book by Judy Blume because it had regular teenage feelings but more importantly, Deenie had scoliosis, which is the curve of the spine. She must wear a Millwakee brace for 4 years to correct her curve. I have scoliosis too, and I was glad to see a famous author had written about it. It was a very heartwarming book and you really got to know Deenie. I would defenitly recomend it for readers of all ages who need a little inspiration in their lives.

P.S. It's a very quick and easy read, but still has a rich plot and juicy descriptions.Deenie

An excellent young adult story with a strong message
Deenie is a beautiful seventh grader whose mother desperately wants her to be a model. Deenie doesn't really know if she wants to be a model, but goes along with her mother's wishes so as not to rock the boat. Whenever she goes on modeling interviews, they seem to always comment about her posture, which makes her mother angry. Deenie promises that she will begin working on her posture. When her school gym teacher notices that Deenie's posture is a problem, she notifies Deenie's parents who take her to a specialist. It turns out that Deenie has adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and that she will have to wear a brace to correct it. So much for her modeling career.

In the tradition of most Judy Blume books, Deenie tackles many issues that teenage girls face. Deenie's mother is constantly harping on her looks and the hopes that she had for Deenie to become a successful model, whether Deenie wanted to or not. She is a typical stage mom who puts both of her daughters into very specific roles: Helen is the brains, Deenie is the beauty. When things don't work out the way that she plans, she takes her frustration out on Deenie. In turn, Deenie wonders if the disease is her fault.

Deenie also has to deal with the issue of being self-conscious about something that is really outside of her control. At the beginning of the novel she focuses on others' deformities: a girl with eczema, which Deenie refers to as "creeping crud," is avoided because of her red and flaky skin; Deenie never makes eye contact with a woman who has a hunchback until her own spine malformation is noticed. Deenie is a story about growing up and maturing, and the change in Deenie from start to finish is evident.

Unfortunately, for some, Judy Blume also tackles teenage sexuality in this novel, which has caused it to be one of the most challenged works of young adult fiction. Personally, I felt the references were mild at best, and completely appropriate. Deenie mentions touching herself as a way of feeling better when things spiral out of control. The subject of teenage masturbation is handled with tact and elegance, and I think people just make more out of it than they should.

As a whole, Deenie was an excellent book, and one I never got a chance to read when I was younger. I'm glad I picked it up now, and can honestly say that it has a lot of good messages for young adults. If you can look past the mild sexual references to the heart of the story, a young girl who has to learn to look past exteriors to see inner beauty--including her own--I think you'll enjoy this story.

It's a great book!!!
Do you like to read realistic fiction books? Well, if you do, just keep on reading to find out...
This book is about a girl named Deenie. Her passion was cheerleading. Unfortunally, when she went for cheerleading try outs, she did not make it onto the squad. Deenie felt very disappointed. After her mom, Ma', wanted her to be a model, she refused. Finally, when her mom convinced her to try out to be a model, Deenie felt content that she had an opportunity to be a model. But when she was going to try out to modeling, the teacher said that there was something funny about her posture. Deenie felt as if her world were falling apart. When she discovered that she needed to wear a brace because she had a crooked spine, she felt horrible. She had never worried about how she looked before...
How would she ever face the hard times ahead?
The character I most admired was Deenie. She was decent. When she didn't get to be on the cheerleading squad and her friend Janet did. She didn't say: "I wish you had never been in the cheerleading squad", she just felt proud of her friend Janet. Another character I admired was Janet. She was really kind to Deenie when she was stuck wearing a brace.
I think the author's style was to reveal what it is like to have a disease like scholiosis. When I read the Author's note it said that she had met a girl that had the same problem as Deenie.
I think this was a good book. I like to read books that teach you a lesson. This book taught me that it doesn't matter how you are on the outside, how you look. It just matters how you are on the inside.
I recommend this book to my friends, since they like to read realistic fiction stories too.