I purchased this from the Pendleton Book Company in Pendleton, Oregon last week. I read it a lot as a kid but I'm not sure I'll want to now. We'll see.

I probably wouldn't actually have given this nine stars if this were my first time reading it...but there is a ton of childhood nostalgia wrapped up in this one. Now that I'm a Christian mother, I can see how much Judy Blume influenced me, opened doors that didn't need to be opened at my young age. I guess I sort of resent her for that. I don't get adults who purposefully take away kids' innocence. Seems abusive to me.

Anyway, back to 1988 or so... I always loved this story and that's saying something because I've never really been into the setting (American Southwest) and setting played a big part in this one. Weirdly, I was also obsessed with Barbara Kingsolver's The Bean Trees---similar setting. Anyway, I always felt for Davey. I thought it was pretty messed up that she had the worst experience of all the family members on the night her father died but no one thinks to get her help for months. She just sort of drifted, having to find healing in her own way. Blume makes that out to be ok. As a mother, I think that's a pretty messed up thing to do to your kid. At the time I read this, I was having my own issues with a self-absorbed mom so I guess that's why I found Davey relatable.

Reading this today, I figured out what's always bugged me about Judy Blume's writing (besides the crudeness)... She writes choppy thoughts. Like Dr. Seuss for teens. Trying to imagine her characters' conversations in my head makes them all sound really robotic.

Other annoying flaws that I didn't pick up on the first time include the "nowhere" character of Wolf. That went nowhere...what was the point of bringing in that character? I can't even see how he caused Davey to grow or change. Same with Jane, really. I mean, it gave Blume a chance to preach at her readers about the issue of teen alcoholism but we find that Davey has her own reasons for not drinking so why bring her in? Better yet...why not flesh these characters' stories out and make them a little more important to the storyline.

You know what? Now that I wrote all that out, I'm more annoyed than I was when I started. This book is getting seven stars instead. Ha!

I included this in a box of 80s/90s teen books I sold on eBay. Enjoy!

To the finder of this book:

This book is gift, no strings attached, from me to you. You may keep it forever, pass it along to a friend, or release it into the wild to be found by someone else.

If you are new to BookCrossing, welcome! Enjoy the site, the book, and the BookCrossing community. I hope you'll join us...it's free! If you do, please consider using me, elizardbreath, as your referring member. You can even remain anonymous if you wish!

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Thanks, and Happy BookCrossing! :)