The Girl in the Plastic Cage by Marilyn Levy

She now understands what it is like to be different and has far more empathy towards others. In the closing chapters of the novel the tone shifts rather dramatically, with Deenie having developed a new understanding for the problems faced by other young people. The way she thinks and feels about those who are disabled or have even relatively minor health issues, especially prior to her own diagnosis, made me uncomfortable. She isn’t sympathetic, at least not at first, with her mean-spirited and bitter internal thoughts about other children. The idea of wearing a bulky brace for most of each day horrifies Deenie, although eventually she agrees to do it.Īlthough the change in Deenie’s life as a result of her diagnosis with scoliosis is something I can certainly sympathize with, I found her character problematic. And, more horrifyingly, she is going to have to wear a brace.

Visits to a doctor lead to hospital trips, to X-Rays and the news that her spine has grown twisted. After all, she hadn’t noticed that anything was wrong. More excited about cheerleading than her potential career, Deenie is shocked when someone suggests she may have a problem with her back. The eponymous lead of the novel, Deenie, is destined to be a model. A drawn-out search, both online and offline, revealed just one novel for young people that featured a protagonist with scoliosis: Judy Blume’s Deenie. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is not uncommon, yet fictional depictions of the condition are rare.

The Girl in the Plastic Cage by Marilyn Levy