Being Bindy [Paperback]

Alyssa Brugman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2005

Bindy, aged 15, has known her best friend Janie since they were babies and they've been inseparable ever since. But now the unthinkable has happened - Janie's attaching herself to a different crowd at school and she's acting as if she doesn't want to know Bindy any more. The new crowd is loud, bitchy, interested in boys and clothes, rebellious, daring. All the things Bindy isn't. Added to which, things aren't great at home. Bindy's mother who left the family years ago is now trying to forge a closer relationship with her children. Bindy's brother doesn't want to know - which leaves Bindy stuck in the middle. And Bindy's dad has started dating Janie's mum. This is a book about being yourself, even if other people think you should be someone different. It's also about how to renegotiate the relationships around you when circumstances change.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 6-9–Australian eighth-grader Belinda is in for a very rough time. First, her best friend, Janey, dumps her for a supposedly cool, more mature girl. Janeys new crowd dresses provocatively, smokes pot, and is downright mean. As if the situation werent difficult enough, Bindys father begins to date Janeys mother, and, from this point on, things only get nastier between the two ex-friends. In addition, Bindys relationship with her own mother is strained. Brugmans novel is filled with moments of grief, embarrassment, and humiliation. These experiences mirror those of anyone who has ever felt left out, been bullied, or had to cope with the difficulties of a new family life. But Bindy does have supporters, including her father, her brother, and two new friends. It is these people, and her own realizations about who she is and where she belongs, that allow for her growth and amazing, if not somewhat slightly unrealistic, benevolence at the end of the book. Through straightforward, easily accessible writing, Brugman perfectly captures early teen life and the harsh politics that accompany it.–Tracy Karbel, Glenside Public Library District, Glendale Heights, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-8. For readers less mature than those targeted in Brugman's Walking Naked and Finding Grace (both 2004), this amiable Australian novel reveals that the minefields of middle-school girlhood are the same the world over. At the start of year eight, Bindy's longtime best friend, Janey, rejects her as "boring and dumb," precipitating a series of schoolyard trials that are complicated by a new romance between Bindy's father and Janey's mother. Though Brugman never portrays Bindy as unappealingly victimized or babyish, she sharply articulates the social upheavals common to the early teen years, incorporating some salty Australian slang ("bitch-breathed, spiteful little slutbucket"). She also authentically explores tensions surrounding divorce, parental dating, and the prospect of blended families. The conclusion feels rushed and unconvincingly rosy, but this will still resonate with readers who--even if they haven't emitted a fart in yoga class--can relate to mortified Bindy's wish to "astrally project to another dimension." Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 198 pages
• Publisher: Faber Childrens (May 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571227058
• ISBN-13: 978-0571227051
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,198,964 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Unique among novels highlighting early adolescent issues, January 4, 2006

By 

Gary H. Cassel "Flamingnet Teen Book Reviews" (Baltimore, MD, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Being Bindy (Paperback)

Belinda Grubb, called Bindy, doesn't want to face changes; she wants her life to stay as it is with her best frienf Jane Madden, her dad, and brother Kyle. 8th grade starts out to be the ultimate test for Bindy; should she accept Janey's new popular friends and conform to their "cool" habits or stay behind while everything changes around her? Every aspect of her adolescent life changes quickly: her mom seems to care more for her boyfriend than parenting; school becomes unbearable when Janey and Hannah, a rich girl who thinks abbreviations are SVC (so very chic), taunt her for being a baby; and her father and Janey's mother start going out. The stress grows until Being Bindy reaches a climax with Janey passing around Bindy's underwear during a school assembly by Bindy and her brother Kyle. Can the girls get over their differences and remain best friends? Only time will tell when one is in eighth grade.

Alyssa Brugman's Being Bindy is unique among novels highlighting early adolescent issues because of the author's Australian influence and references throughout the novel. This shows how teens around the world are so similar yet have different educational systems. The book is a quick read and enjoyable because of the author's simple style and approach. I doubt Being Bindy will be a best seller, however, because of its similarity to other books aimed at young adolescents such as the Alice books by Phyllis Naylor and because it doesn't seem as captivating as The Princess Diaries for instance. I really liked the Australian references; it was something new and a great exposure to other world societies.

Reviewed by a student reviewer for Flamingnet Book Reviews
www.flamingnet.com
Preteen, teen, and young adult book reviews and recommendations