Then Again, Maybe I Won’t

The story

Ever since his dad got rich from an invention and his family moved to a wealthy neighborhood on Long Island, Tony Miglione’s life has been tumed upside down. For starters, there’s his new friend Joel, who shoplifts. Then there’s Joel’s sixteen-year-old sister, Lisa, who gets undressed every night without pulling down her shades. And there’s Grandma, who won’t come down from her bedroom. On top of all his other worries, Tony has questions about growing up…. Why couldn’t things have stayed the same?

Judy says

When I finished writing Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, I decided it would be interesting to try out life as a twelve-year-old boy. I was curious about what might happen to a close-knit family who have always struggled to make ends meet, if suddenly they strike it rich.

It was a complicated book to write. I had trouble pulling the story together. But thanks to my patient, talented editor, Dick Jackson, it all worked out.

Title

I didn’t have one, so I took the last line of the book.

Dedication

To my amazing editor Dick Jackson.

“Judy Blume is on target. Her understanding of young people is sympathetic and psychologically sound; her skill engages the reader in human drama.”

–The New York Times Book Review