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A review by panda_incognito
The Pain and the Great One by Judy Blume
4.0
This is the first Judy Blume book that I have ever read in my life. My mom is still deeply bitter about her experiences reading Judy Blume YA back in the 70s, and when my sister and I were young, she forbade us from reading this author's stuff. It might surprise some people that this didn't drive me straight to it, but I was an obedient child, and I was also a sensitive soul who preferred to avoid unnecessary trauma that I, too, would remember for decades afterwards.
However! Recently at work, one of my coworkers was talking about Judy Blume, and taking some of her books home for her daughter. It occurred to me how unusual and strange it is that I've never read anything by this author, and since I want to be a children's librarian, it makes sense for me to have at least passing familiarity with her works.
I thought that starting out with some forty-eight page chapter books would be pretty safe, and I enjoyed this one a lot. The first half of the story is from an older sister's perspective on why her brother is such a pain, and the second half of the story comes from the brother's perspective, as he complains about how great his sister thinks she is. It's hilarious, and I can see why people admire Judy Blume's writing, since she has such an eye for real-life situations and captures dialogue perfectly.
Some reviewers have complained that the parents in this book parent badly and set their children up for rivalry. I don't think that's true at all. Because this book contrasts the children's perspectives, you see how selective their observation is. They each pick up on grievances to the exclusion of the good things in their lives, and this is a hilarious early chapter book introduction to the concept of the unreliable narrator.
However! Recently at work, one of my coworkers was talking about Judy Blume, and taking some of her books home for her daughter. It occurred to me how unusual and strange it is that I've never read anything by this author, and since I want to be a children's librarian, it makes sense for me to have at least passing familiarity with her works.
I thought that starting out with some forty-eight page chapter books would be pretty safe, and I enjoyed this one a lot. The first half of the story is from an older sister's perspective on why her brother is such a pain, and the second half of the story comes from the brother's perspective, as he complains about how great his sister thinks she is. It's hilarious, and I can see why people admire Judy Blume's writing, since she has such an eye for real-life situations and captures dialogue perfectly.
Some reviewers have complained that the parents in this book parent badly and set their children up for rivalry. I don't think that's true at all. Because this book contrasts the children's perspectives, you see how selective their observation is. They each pick up on grievances to the exclusion of the good things in their lives, and this is a hilarious early chapter book introduction to the concept of the unreliable narrator.