The Cat Ate My Gymsuit
by Paula Danziger
published
March 23rd 2006
(first published 1974)
by Puffin
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binding
Paperback, 160 pages
isbn
0142406546
(isbn13: 9780142406540)
description
Marcy Lewis is bored by school, she knows she's never going to be thin, and her family life's a nightmare. Then Marcy meets Ms. Finney, an English tea...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 431)
Read in February, 2008
I'm currently revisiting some 70s/80s young adult novels I either read when I was a "young adult" or totally missed out when I was in the target demographic. Cat Ate My Gymsuit falls into the latter category. This review put me on a quest to find it at my local thrift. Gymsuit screams 1974, the year of its first printing but still stands up in our current retrogress...more
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I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed and related to The Cat Ate My Gymsuit, although I saw Marcy’s insecurities through different eyes than when I first read the book as a middle schooler. I felt a tenderness towards Marcy, a sort of recognition, since I too suffered those crippling teen anxieties and got through them thanks to nurturing relationships with teachers and friends. I also found myself relating more directly to Ms. Finney and Marcy’s mother as peers rather than...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
middle schoolers
I re-read this for the first time since I was a kid. I'm not a fan of Danziger's writing style but I love the story. Marcy Lewis is a smart but overweight/average-looking 13-year-old (thus making her teaseworthy bait since this is middle school) with a shy mother and an overbearing, sexist Dad. She gets a new English teacher in school who really teaches her -- not only English, but to think for herself and to think kindly of others. Unfortunately, this is the early 70s and this teacher is a ...more
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Read in August, 2007
i'm rereading this, and it's still just as good. though, i will say this. i have an old edition, and it's got this picture of a red-headed awkward looking girl on the front. she's heavyset, wearing bad glasses, and she's got kind of a sweetly ironic look on her face.
the cover above (the newer one) seems to totally ignore the fact that the main character of this book, on the first page, calls herself a blimp. that she has wire rimmed glasses, and mousy hair, and is afraid she will alway...more
the cover above (the newer one) seems to totally ignore the fact that the main character of this book, on the first page, calls herself a blimp. that she has wire rimmed glasses, and mousy hair, and is afraid she will alway...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
those who came of age when hippies were still strange
One of my students had been working his way through this book and liked the narrator a lot, but was having difficulty with the general plot of the book. I read it in an hour and enjoyed it, but understood why he had difficulty -- this is an older YA book, based in the early 70s and focused upon the emerging counter culture and its effect on the mainstream culture -- all through the eyes of a dumpy girl with little self-confidence and a dysfunctional family. Heavy on the inference and on cultural...more
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Read in July, 2006
Man oh man, this is dated. I remembered loving it as a kid, so I picked up the audio at the library. The production is excellent, but the book's become a period piece. Women's libbers, Ms. vs. Miss, kids who smoke "grass", and crying mothers everywhere. The moral is much more apparent to my jaded adult eye, and the preaching shows. Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, it was a good book. There are certainly parts which are timeless, still valid, but I recommend reading something current inst...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
a friend
marcy lewis is bored by school, she knows she's never going to be thin, and she is dead sure she'll never hhave a date.Life home is n't great either, since her father bosses her and her mother around.Then along come Ms.Finney,an english teacher who'll try anything in the classroom and actually treats kids like human beings.Now that she's found a teacher who sees Marcy as more than a name on an attendance sheet, Marcy realizes her live couuld mean something.
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Read in June, 2006
I didn't like it. The book was about all the right things, but I really don't like her writing style. It sort of came off mechanical. I never felt like I was there, ALWAYS felt like I was reading. I think she's one of those authors who tries too hard to make sure kids can understand her stuff. And when I was a kid I always hated when adults tried to dumb things down for me when I'd rather go "up" to their level . . . and furthermore, often DID so.
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This book will always have a special place in my heart. I was twelve when I read it and completely identified with the main character and her struggles. I also loved the teacher in the story, who helped inspire me to be a teacher (at least for a little while). I still recommend this book to preteens and teens who feel they just don't fit in.
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i re-read this recently and was disappointed that it was not at all the budding feminist tome that i remembered it being. in the end, she is happy because she begins to conform to what the world wants her to be: she loses weight, she gets a boyfriend. it's not a fat-girls-are-ok book. it's a you'll-be-happier-if-you're-"normal" book. i had to stick my star rating somewhere in between my 10-year-old's perception of it and my 26-year-old's.
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Read in January, 1981
Loved this author as a kid. Lots to learn. I can't remember if this is the book where the main character has a journal and gives every day a grade. I thought that was such a cool idea at the time. I have another image of a girl reading the New York Times every Sunday, sprawling it out all over the place and pouring over it. Great image. I can't remember if this is the book or which one that was.
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Read in August, 2008
This book is the story of a thirteen year old girl who is overweight and unpopular, and who comes from an unhappy family. She finds strength in her decision to stand up for the rights of her teacher who has been fired because she will not say the pledge. This book was written more than 30 years ago, but it is still applicable to the issues today.
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Read in January, 1994
This book is great. It is about a girl who really lacks self esteem, has a bad home life, and is overweight. She gets realy involved when her teacher, whom she respects, is fired for refusing to say the pledge. Stading up for her beliefs leads to a lot more happening in her life.
I read this book a bunch in middle school.
I read this book a bunch in middle school.
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Read in November, 2007
Not sure why, but I was walking around the library and a sudden urge seized me. It said, "Find Danziger. Find The Cat Ate My Gymsuit!" I did and read it during my lunch break at work. I had completely forgotten the plot, the characters, the outcome. I still enjoyed it, but I don't think I'll have that urge again.
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This is one of my favorite books from pre-teenhood. I loved this book so much.
I'm sure it's pretty dated - after all, that was the 70s, and even when I read it, purple pantsuits weren't the height of fashion. But I think the themes would still ring true.
I was saddened to read of the author's passing.
I'm sure it's pretty dated - after all, that was the 70s, and even when I read it, purple pantsuits weren't the height of fashion. But I think the themes would still ring true.
I was saddened to read of the author's passing.
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Read in April, 1984
recommends it for:
tweeners!
Especially girls who are smart and having a hard time with the chubs. I remember feeling like the main character was really smart--a neat quality for an author to give a pre-teen protagonist. I have no idea if this book held up over 20 years, but the cover looks fairly current, so maybe it did!
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
young adults, middle school students
Crushes, freedom of speech, censorship -- these are all issues that The Cat Ate My Gymsuit raises, in a way that even today's students can connect with. The copy I have is probably an original from the 1970s, but this is a surprisingly good book for middle school students even today.
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This book made me look forward to the day I would have a teacher that would see my special, unique gifts, become my mentor, and join me in standing up for censorship. That never happened. Just another example of books simultaneously uplifting and ruining my life, again and again.
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This was one of my favorite books when I was a kid, and reading it again after 15 years proved it's staying power. It's still one of my all time favorite books. It was so inspiring to me when I was young to stand up for what I believe in, and it hasn't lost that magic.
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Read in October, 2008
Someone suggested I read this after I told her how much I liked Wednesday Wars. The fact that it was about an English teacher made be curious enough to follow up on the suggestion. Unfortunately, The Cat Ate My Gymsuit doesn't come close to Wednesday Wars.
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