Deenie by Judy Blume

I recently read the book Deenie by Judy Blume.  In the book, the main character named Deenie, wants to be a model. But then, the doctor tells her that she needs a Milwaukee Brace (a big clunky back brace that people used to straighten their backs in the ‘60s and  ‘70s.  Deenie has scoliosis, a condition where your spine is crooked.  Throughout the book, Deenie’s attitude towards modeling, the brace, and new friends changes.

            In the beginning, Deenie’s mother keeps on pushing her to be a fashion model when she grows up, but Deenie secretly doesn’t want to be one.  Also, in her gym class there is a girl named Barbara who has a blotchy skin condition (every time she gets nervous, her skin gets red and itchy).  All the girls stay away from her, and think that she’s contagious. “Her real name is Barbara Curtis but I named her the Creeping Crud because she’s got this disgusting rash all over her. It’s supposed to be some kind of allergy but who wants to take the chance of finding out by touching her?” (page 30).  Deenie is really mean and untrusting towards Barbara and she reminds me of the typical mean popular girl in movies and books.

            Then, in the middle of the book, Deenie’s gym teacher notices that Deenie walks in a strange way.  So she is sent to many doctors when finally, they diagnose her with scoliosis.  She has an S curve which means that her spine is curved in the shape of an S.  This is what Deenie thinks when she first sees the brace (page 68): “I wanted to scream, Forget it… I’m never going to wear that thing.  Everyone will know.  Everyone!  But the words just wouldn’t come out.” This shows that Deenie really cares about who will judge her by her brace and what people will think of her.  Also, Deenie is starting to warm up to Barbara. She also starts dating her crush, Buddy Brader, even though all he really only likes her for her looks (not her personality).

            In the end, Deenie learns to live with her brace, and final accepts the fact that there is nothing she can do about it. She also stops judging people based on their looks and she and Barbara become really good friends.  Also, Deenie dumps Buddy because they have never really had an actual conversation together. Deenie basically becomes a stronger person.

            I think that Deenie’s brace made her a better person on the whole.  She finally realizes that even if people don’t look drop dead gorgeous, you should still accept them and be friends with them based on their personality.