Being Bindy

Publishers Weekly

In this intermittently poignant and humorous book, Australian author Brugman (Finding Grace) introduces a feisty heroine whose life is in anxiety-inducing flux. Bindy's longtime best friend Janey drops her for a mean-spirited, clothes- and boy-crazy classmate, with whom she teams up to humiliate the narrator in front of the entire school. When Janey does deign to come to Bindy's house, she prefers hanging out with Bindy's older brother, Kyle. Bindy's good-natured father, with whom she and Kyle live, begins courting Janey's big-hearted mother, making Bindy fear that she might eventually have to share a bedroom with her ex-pal. Meanwhile, James, a fellow eighth-grader, endearingly and clumsily jockeys to become more than friends. One of the book's many strengths lies in the parallels it draws between the adult and adolescent dating rituals. When James attempts to kiss Bindy, she protests that she doesn't know him well enough to determine whether they even have anything in common-never mind to kiss him. To her earnest would-be suitor, that isn't a problem: "If we're kissing, then we don't have to talk." Bindy's self-absorbed mother, who didn't even bother to tell her children that their grandmother died, has a live-in beau. Their mother's emotional disconnect leads to the novel's most heartbreaking scenes, including one in which Bindy's mother snaps, "What do you want from me?" and Bindy blurts, "I want you to love me." Both the adult and teenage characters come across as fully formed, with both faults and strengths. Ages 12-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

Australian teens Janey and Bindy used to be best friends, but Year 8 (eighth grade in American terms) is proving to be torture for Bindy. Janey is suddenly more interested in boys, clothes, and friendship with the trendy Hannah. Bindy gives in to Janey's initial attempts at a makeover for her, but it fits uneasily and she breaks away, straining their already stressed friendship. To make matters worse, both of Bindy's divorced parents seem to have "rewritten their life-scripts as though the other had never existed." Brugman is relentless in piling disaster upon her hapless young heroine, until Bindy is not only neglected by Janey but stuck with yoga class, her own uncooperative body, and the attentions of the decidedly undesirable James. Fortunately for the reader, the wry, funny first-person narrative manages to keep the pages turning while raising issues that will hit home for many teens. The complications of contemporary family life are presented unsentimentally and without the pretence of a simple happy ending. Among the adult characters, Bindy's father is particularly likeable. Even her mother, who at first seems unfeeling, proves to have depths to her character. So, to her own surprise, does Bindy, as she grows into herself. It is a pleasure to find that the Australian setting and context has been left intact in this American edition. 2006, Delacorte/Random House, and Ages 12 up.
—Uma Krishnaswami

VOYA

Bindy and her best friend, Janey, have been best friends forever, but now they are growing up, and Janey's interest in skimpy tops, short skirts, sex, and heavy makeup is quickening, while Bindy still enjoys television cartoons and fantasy games. Janey makes a stab at bringing Bindy into her world, but Bindy is not there yet. She does not fit in with Janey's new friends and is grossed out by Janey's behavior as well as confused, hurt, and angered by it. The girls fall out, and Janey, eager to look good with the in-crowd, stands by while Bindy is teased and later bullied. As the girls' friendship sours, the friendship between their divorced, single parents grows, and when Bindy and Janey discover Mom and Dad in bed, they fear marriage is imminent and they'll be forced to live together. They unite but only to break up their parents. When that fails, Bindy considers leaving her warm supportive home with her easygoing father to take up residence with her cold, career-oriented controlling mother. There is some stereotyping and a lot of plotting going on in this quick and easily read novel, but Bindy's situation will resonate profoundly with many teens. The agony of feeling young when close friends are feeling older is near universal. Brugman's portrait of Bindy, although lightened with humor, is achingly real. This book, for girls in the youngest range of the teen age, will make a worthwhile addition to any middle school collection. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8). 2006, Random House, 208p., and PLB Ages 11 to 14.
—Mary E. Heslin

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-Australian eighth-grader Belinda is in for a very rough time. First, her best friend, Janey, dumps her for a supposedly cool, more mature girl. Janey's new crowd dresses provocatively, smokes pot, and is downright mean. As if the situation weren't difficult enough, Bindy's father begins to date Janey's mother, and, from this point on, things only get nastier between the two ex-friends. In addition, Bindy's relationship with her own mother is strained. Brugman's novel is filled with moments of grief, embarrassment, and humiliation. These experiences mirror those of anyone who has ever felt left out, been bullied, or had to cope with the difficulties of a new family life. But Bindy does have supporters, including her father, her brother, and two new friends. It is these people, and her own realizations about who she is and where she belongs, that allow for her growth and amazing, if not somewhat slightly unrealistic, benevolence at the end of the book. Through straightforward, easily accessible writing, Brugman perfectly captures early teen life and the harsh politics that accompany it.-Tracy Karbel, Glenside Public Library District, Glendale Heights, IL Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Bindy's life is infinitely more complicated when her best friend, Jane, drags her into a group of trendy girls ready for teen experimentation-which Bindy definitely is not. Using a lighter touch than in Walking Naked (2004), Brugman explores the old theme of the dissolution of a friendship with some new twists, skillfully blending in subplots about the two girls' families and friends. But the best thing about this is the characters described in Bindy's straightforward voice. The real pain in her life-the betrayal and meanness of classmates and the difficult time she has getting on with her mother-is balanced by caring new friends, her firm, loving father and spacey but supportive brother Kyle. In the end, Bindy rescues herself with courage and resilience and a vibrant sense of humor. The story resolves a little too easily, which will not disturb its tween and teen audience one bit. Readers who enjoyed titles as different as Adele Griffin's Amandine (2001) and Lynn Ray Perkins's All Alone in the Universe (1999) will find a lot to like in Brugman's latest. (Fiction. 12-14)