Middle
school is an awkward time for most teenage girls. But Deenie isn't a
typical teenage girl. She is gorgeous. In fact, her mom wants her to be a
model and fully believes Deenie has the face to make it happen. These
things make Deenie very sure of superiority when it comes to physical
attributes, and Deenie isn't particularly kind to her peers who are
different. She steers clear of a classmate with what she calls the
"creeping crud" and avoids her neighbor who is handicapped. She knows
she'd just die if she was like them.
...Until she discovers that
she has scoliosis. And that the only way to help her spine is to wear a
brace. Mortified, Deenie tries to find a way to escape the hideousness
of it all. But there is no other way. And so Deenie must look inside
herself to find strength, and look into the hearts of others to find
their true beauty. And she may just end up not being a model after
all...
***This was on my to-read list because it's one of
those well-known pre-teen/teen novels, but I'd never read it. I can
totally see the appeal to a 5th to 8th grade girl. Some of the things
written are things I can imagine having written in my journal at that
age. It was a tolerable read for me as an adult, too, although there
were some aspects of the novel with which I don't agree.
