Then Again, Maybe I Won't
Then Again, Maybe I Won't is a young adult novel written by Judy Blume. Intended for pre-teens and teenagers, the novel deals with puberty from a 1970s male perspective as well as the other trials of growing up. Judy Blume claimed that she was inspired to write the story following the success of her preceding novel "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." Given her earlier novel was about a girl entering puberty making the transition to womanhood, she decided to write one about a boy going through puberty and making  a transition to manhood. Plot summary. Twelve-year-old Tony Miglione lives with his hardworking extended family in a working-class neighborhood in Jersey City. After Tony's family experiences a major increase in wealth due to his father's successful sale of his electronics invention, the family relocates to an upper-class community in (fictional) Rosemont, New York. His mother becomes absorbed with climbing the social ladder in her new, wealthier neighborhood, while his maternal grandmother becomes angry and withdrawn when she is no longer allowed to cook for the family as she loves to do. Tony's older  brother, Ralph, a new father who was previously a well-respected junior high school teacher, gives up teaching to make more money working for Tony's father, causing Tony to feel that his brother is 'selling out'. Tony meets a neighbor, Joel Hoober, a boy his own age. While Joel's manners impress Mr. and Mrs. Miglione, Tony sees Joel's true colors in private: he secretly engages in misbehaviors such as prank calls, underage drinking, hiding issues of "Playboy" magazine under his bed, and shoplifting, and encourages Tony to participate as well. Joel also has an older sister, Lisa , who is 16 years old. Her bedroom window faces Tony's, and Tony soon notices that she does not bother to close her blinds when changing clothes; this leads Tony to ask his parents for a pair of binoculars for Christmas – "for birdwatching", he tells them. (Note: publishers seemed to feel this was an important plot point, as a number of variations of the cover art for this novel feature Tony holding a pair of binoculars.) Tony begins experiencing anxiety-related fainting spells; he is eventually admitted to the hospital after collapsing in class, and is later sent to therapy  after doctors determine the malady is not medical (although he is diagnosed with "nervous stomach", now called IBS). The therapy helps Tony learn new ways to deal with his problems. Joel is eventually caught stealing golf balls from a sporting goods store, and Tony refuses to stand up for him when they are stopped by security. Surprisingly, Joel is not angry at him and the two boys agree amicably to end their friendship when Joel is sent to a military academy; he explains to Tony that he acted out simply to see if he could get away with it. Tony 's mother (who tries to emulate everything the Hoobers do) considers sending Tony there too, until Tony's father intervenes and says this is a key decision that only Tony should make. Tony also overcomes his infatuation with Lisa and curtails watching her window after learning of her relationship with his youth group leader. In the final chapter, Tony is bicycling and talking to himself about his parents building a swimming pool and he is approaching his 14th birthday. Tony is also now more at ease with himself and the family changes, and had the courage to tell the therapist  he spied on Lisa. Tony thinks it would be best if he ceases his voyeuristic behavior for good, but finally says to himself 'Then again, maybe I won't.' Theme. While this novel is similar to aspects of "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.", it differs mainly in the secondary themes. While Margaret struggles with her issues of religion and being raised in an interfaith family, Tony Miglione struggles with the issues of his family's social status and to a lesser extent, American society. A similarity of both stories, aside from the physical maturity of both characters , is that Tony develops a crush on the eldest daughter of his next door neighbors, just as Margaret has feelings for her neighbor's friend. However, Tony also has to deal with the fact that she is three years older than he is, and, that if such a crush developed further, the age difference would be uncommon among boys he knows. Both stories also deal with moving from an urban area to the suburbs, but the reason behind the move for Tony's family is his father's success with his invention and desire to move to a wealthier community . Themes dealt with include the effects on Tony of losing the working-class life he had been used to in his Italian-American neighborhood in Jersey City, and being ill at ease in his new upper-class community. In addition, Tony's grandmother has been marginalized, as she loved to cook for the family in Jersey City but is told that this would be inappropriate in their new home. She confines herself to her room after the Migliones hire Maxine, a maid who takes advantage of the family's inexperience with their new lifestyle and essentially directs the household to  her tastes instead of taking orders from the family. Another slight theme touched upon is Tony regaining slight respect for the working class life his parents left behind. Tony and his friends are drinking milkshakes at a malt shop when Joel thinks it is cute to hide the tip inside a partially unconsumed milkshake glass, causing the waitress to make a scene and remark how Joel and his ilk know nothing of working for a living and that "your crummy coins buys me a loaf of bread; ever stop and think of that". Tony later remarks to himself he thought  for a long time how his spending money goes from his pocket to a supermarket in some low-income neighborhood. The penultimate chapter in the book deals with the consequences of Joel's immoral actions. Tony and Joel are at a sporting goods store where the employees catch Joel shoplifting golf balls and Tony refuses to aid Joel in lying. Tony anticipates that his parents will learn for themselves of Joel's true nature when they read tomorrow's newspaper and see Joel will be remanded to the juvenile facility, but is surprised when he learns the owner of the  sporting goods store declines to press charges against Joel for shoplifting. Joel's father then decides to enroll Joel in a military academy, which he believes will cure Joel of his "I will do what I want, when I want" attitude and deprive him of his pampered lifestyle at the Hoober home. Setting. The time frame of this story is evidently the late 1960s or early 1970s, as Tony's eldest brother, Vinnie, has been killed in action in the Vietnam War. Initially set in Jersey City, New Jersey, the family eventually moves to Rosemont, New York on Long Island . Other themes touched upon are how Tony's family seems to be knowingly and willingly distancing themselves from their Italian heritage as not many Italian-Americans live in Rosemont (evidence of this is shown when Tony's mother allows herself to be called "Carol" by Mrs. Hoober instead of Carmella, her true name). Another theme is how Tony's family is keeping up with the Joneses by emulating their next door neighbors, the Hoobers (although Tony's mother is clearly more concerned with social image than his father). Mr. Hoober is vice president of a pharmaceutical company and is apparently  extremely well compensated, which gives his wife the chance to spend her days playing golf and socializing. The Hoobers are representative of the "high-powered American family" and seem to believe the "American way" is about money, affluent living, social status and not much else. As a result, they do not seem to give much attention to the trouble-making son Joel, who has the idea he can get away with anything because nobody is watching over him or enforcing discipline.