Then Again, Maybe I Won't

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Judy received a B.S. in education from New York University in 1961, which named her a Distinguished Alumna in 1996, the same year the American Library Association honored her with the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement. Other recognitions include the Library of Congress Living Legends Award and the 2004 National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. This book is one of her most banned and challenged books since it's 1972 publication. I think this is for boys what Margret was for girls. Or attempted to be...was she successful? Then again, Maybe I won’t was banned mainly because the information included came to known as age restricted. Most of Judy Blume’s books are at the top of the challenged/banned list because topics of her books mainly focuses on adultery issues. The book dealt with controversial topics such as sexuality, masturbation etc. These are the topics that a parent wouldn’t want their childrens to be reading about. But why? These same children are eventually going to be exposed to bad words, real truths, and changes in their life so, why not now? “These critics among them, parents, librarians, book reviewers, liberal and conservative groups, and other authors call her books shallow, simplistic, unchallenging, poorly written even pandering, salacious, and trashy.” (unknown) Kathryn (Corky) Thomas– A tomboyish girl of Tony's age who has a crush on him, but receives little attention from him. Many readers have enjoyed her written words however, some have showed opposition to that. Some critics think her book is inappropriate for young audience and should not be read by them, the main reason blume wrote the book. She has received many praises from young audiences who thought they were not normal after going through some of the changes reflected in the book. Fortunately, they had someone who talked about these changes as they were important for these youngins to learn about. ‘Shame, shame, shame,’ declared author Junot Diaz, reading from one such letter.

I read this for a real-world book club; it took about two hours to breeze through. Strangely, it was published in 1971 when I would have been twelve years old, just like the boy in the story, but I never heard of it then and was only vaguely aware of the author's name until now. Carmella Miglione– Tony's mother, who eventually goes by the name Carol, much to Tony's dismay. She becomes self-absorbed with her social status once the family moves to Rosemont. Then Again, Maybe I Won't is actually one of the few Judy Blume novels from the 1970s that I did not read as a teenager (in the early 1980s). Yes, I did in fact remember signing Then Again, Maybe I Won't out of our school library, but then returned it mostly unread because at that time of my life (from about 1980 to 1984) I was just not all that interested in reading a novel for pleasure (and in fact any novel) that did not have a teenaged girl but instead a teenaged boy as a main protagonist (as I was personally at that time finding the boys in my class annoyingly immature and boring and could therefore also not imagine finding Then Again, Maybe I Won't either all that relatable or readable, since Tony Miglione, the main protagonist, indeed is a thirteen year old teenaged boy).This is about Tony hitting puberty just as his father gets a great work opportunity and they relocate from Jersey to New York and move up to the upper class world. Blume again is so cruel to the parents and I'm not sure if that's to highlight the child's perspective or if it's intentional to make parents aloof and just plain awful. But Tony's mom was truly painted in the worse light as she lets money rule her world and is suddenly self-conscious of everything but her son's feelings. In the final chapter, Tony is bicycling and talking to himself about his parents building a swimming pool and he is approaching his 14th birthday. Tony is also now more at ease with himself and the family changes, and he had the courage to tell the therapist he spied on Lisa. Tony thinks it would be best if he ceases his voyeuristic behavior for good, but finally says to himself 'Then again, maybe I won't.'

Tony's crush, Lisa, smokes cigarettes, and Tony tries to get her to quit by telling her about his grandmother, who had throat cancer and had her larynx removed — embellishing the story by mentioning that his grandmother smoked "like a fiend," although in truth she never smoked at all. It seems to work, as Lisa is so disgusted at the thought of losing her larynx that she swears off cigarettes right then and there, and Tony is pleased to think that he's responsible for her quitting smoking.

Destroying things is much easier than making them.”- Hunger games. The novel “Then again, Maybe I won’t” is a work of young adult fiction about teens experiencing puberty and understanding the different parts of sexuality. This novel was written in 1971 by Judy Blume and was published by the Macmillans. The book is about a boy’s transition from puberty to manhood and dealt with many various aspects of growing up. Then again, maybe I won’t should not be banned because the book consists of ideas and concepts important for the growing teens to understand, in a place where it’s a shame to talk about intimacy. Reading from Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, he led the crowd in a rousing call of the classic line, ‘We must, we must, we must increase our bust!’ (Sara Antil) Judy Blume’s books are a way to let the readers know about unknown teenage issues that a person hardly thinks of. Her book faced challenges also because of the time period it was published in. The 70s era was not open to these ideas because the country was underdeveloped and had strict traditions and cultures which didn’t allow such things. Real Women Have Curves: Tony believes it. His earlier disgust with Corky is that he "can't stand skinny girls" and finds Lisa Hoober attractive with her beauty and how her body is "all curves". To a lesser extent, he disagrees with his father's assessment that Angie, Ralph's wife, has fat legs and Tony thinks she has nice legs. But it wasn't just because I knew my parents wouldn't approve—it was also the general tone of Blume's books. I remember a lot of youth-focused books in that era were based in the real world and featured protagonists in urban settings (especially New York or New Jersey); in families that were in some way dysfunctional; enduring problems at school and navigating adolescence; dealing with class and race issues. I was growing up in a rural, agricultural small town in the Midwest, part of a loving family, and stories like these seemed to have nothing to do with me. Somehow my literary imagination didn't extend to putting myself into these settings. I didn't care for the slightly gritty, urban realism. Perhaps that's one reason I tended to choose fantasy stories for my childhood reading. Narnia, Prydain, and Middle-Earth were a lot more appealing to me than a present-day lower-middle-class neighborhood in New Jersey.

After moving to Long Island, Tony frequently spies on Lisa and watches her change clothes. For Christmas, Tony asks for binoculars under the guise of a newfound interest in bird watching. In reality, he wants to get a better view of Lisa. He has wet dreams involving her and fears his parents or the housekeeper will know. Dad tries to have a sex talk with Tony, in which Tony informs Dad he’s knows how babies are made. Dad asks Tony if he’s sure the friend who told him gave him the right information. Tony says yes, and Dad is satisfied. Dad assures Tony, unconvincingly, that he’s there to answer any questions the boy has. He gives Tony a book called Basic Facts About Sex. A gym teacher tells the boys about wet dreams, which he calls nocturnal emissions.Saya juga merasa relate dengan kacamata naif si protagonis dalam mengkritisi orang tuanya serta kakaknya yang terseret ke dalam budaya pansos. Dalam versi Indonesia, novel ini agaknya dekat dengan film Orang Kaya Baru. I know I keep gushing about Judy Blume but once again she proves to be one of the best young adult novelists ever. I loved that this story--told from the POV of the male lead Tony--is just a strong a reflection of the juinior high years as "Are There God---It's Me Margaret." Another theme touched upon is Tony regaining respect for the working class life his parents left behind. For example, Tony and his friends are drinking milkshakes at a malt shop when Joel thinks it is cute to hide the tip inside a partially unconsumed milkshake glass, causing the waitress to make a scene and remark that "your crummy coins buys me a loaf of bread; ever stop and think of that". This causes Tony to reflect on the differences between where he was raised and where he is now.

Bizarre Taste in Food: Tony Miglione certainly thinks that his new friend Joel has bizarre taste in food; as he says, "He likes some strange sandwiches." His favorite is salami, tomato and mayonnaise, and his second favorite is onion slices on buttered whole wheat bread.This is the story of Tony Miglione, a thirteen year old boy from Jersey City. His family is used to living a modest lifestyle until his father sells an invention and makes quite a bit of money! The family moves to a Long Island town called Rosemont and discovers a lifestyle filled with all of life's creature comforts, and more! The love of money might be the root of all evil, as the bible says, or it might not be, but greed and entitlement were what most interested me when I started telling this story. I’m just as interested in these topics today. There are still many kids like Tony, kids who are trying to figure out where they belong in the world. I think there always will be. I gave Tony the stomach pains I had when I was young. I had a lot of anxieties, too. But his puberty–well, I talked to a number of guys and then I just let my imagination do the rest. Joel repeatedly shoplifts in front of Tony, and Tony wrestles with his conscience about whether to report the boy. On top of everything else, Tony’s hormonal changes plague him. He starts having wet dreams and getting erections, even in class. Overwhelmed with unanswered questions and unspoken concerns, Tony begins to have stress-induced stomach problems. Joel also has an older sister, Lisa, who is 16 years old and beautiful. Her bedroom window faces Tony's, and Tony soon notices that she does not bother to close her blinds when dressing and undressing; this leads Tony to ask his parents for a pair of binoculars for Christmas – "for birdwatching", he tells them. Tony experiences his first wet dream about her. However, Tony also has to deal with the fact that she is three years older than he is, and, that if such a crush developed further, the age difference would be uncommon among boys he knows. Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Joel is good at acting like an upright respectable polite boy, but he's actually a delinquent.