The Vine: November 1, 2013
Submitted by Sarah D. Bunting on November 1, 2013 – 4:37 PM11 Comments
I am looking for a book I read about twenty years ago. I remember the main characters name being “Deidre,” and no one could pronounce it.
She was really awkward, had skinny legs and bad hair, and went to some party and made out with a guy in a basement.
There were some slightly explicit petting scenes that have stuck with me, and something about a white front gate.
It’s been driving me nuts!
Thanks,
Kate
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Tags: Ask The Readers popcult
Except for the skinny legs and bad hair, sounds like Deenie, by Judy Blume.
I was thinking the same thing as anonymous coward, but I think it would be hard to forget the back brace – it was pretty central to Deenie.
And the masturbating.
…Spoiler.
Could it be Where Has Deedie Wooster Been All These Years? I loved that book so much in late middle school/early high school! I remember being shocked by the petting scenes as well. I think Deedie specifically says early in the book that no one can pronounce her given name. Here’s a picture of the front cover: https://openlibrary.org/works/OL6094759W/Where_has_Deedie_Wooster_been_all_these_years
And a very short summary: http://www.amazon.com/Where-Deedie-Wooster-These-Years/dp/0385291337
I was hoping it was Deenie so for once I would know one of the Vine answers. Sigh…someday…
Oh my gosh! – Where Has Deedie Wooster Been All These Years – is actually a book I myself was thinking of writing to The Vine about. Except all I could remember is maybe the main character’s name began with D and she had horrible grammar (e.g. “would of” instead of “would’ve”). I’m not the OP but still needed to pop on and say THANK YOU!
Aaannnd now I have “Hey, Deanie” as performed by Shaun Cassidy some 36 years ago stuck in my head …
Also, as I recall, Deenie had excellent hair. I’m not sure what it says about me that I remember that detail and nothing about masturbating.
ROSE IS RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG THANK YOU!
I don’t know if Deenie specifically had excellent hair, but she was so pretty that her mom had big plans for her to be a teen model. But she did cut her hair off herself as an act of rebellion. And even though it’s irrelevant, since we’ve established it’s the wrong book, I feel compelled to share that I read Deenie a bunch of times when I was 9-10 years old, but I was such a rube that I had NO CLUE she was masturbating. Like, sometimes when I was upset or keyed up I would rub the nape of my neck with my thumb because it was soothing, so when she talked about “touching her special place” or whatever I seriously thought it was something like that. It wasn’t until I was 19, and cleaning out a box of books from my parents’ house, when I came across Deenie again, sat down to read it, and was like “Wait… is she…? Is this about… ? And I read this when I was how old?” And then I laughed for like an hour.
Morgan: That is EXACTLY what I thought she meant about the “special place.” Only I used to rub my forearm.