The Cat Ate My Gymsuit

by Paula Danziger

Ann M Martin (Introduction)

Like many kids, Marcy Lewis has problems and she tends to hide behind them. She is bored by school, her father tyrannizes both Marcy and her mother, she despairs of ever being thin, she is certain she'll never have a date and that a horrible case of acne will break out any minute. Then along comes Ms. Finney, an English teacher willing to try anything in the classroom--light shows, student plays, far-out books, videotape productions, group dynamic sessions. Above all, she is accessible and human. Marcy has never met anyone like her, and suddenly life in and out of school begins to have a purpose. When Ms. Finney is suspended because of her controversial teaching methods and her refusal to pledge allegience to the flag, the whole school is thrown into an uproar. Now out of her protective shell, Marcy helps to organize a protest, and she too is suspended. With her mother firmly on her side, her father violently opposed, Marcy must decide whether her fight for Ms. Finney and the values she stands for is worth the price she must pay at home and in school.

With a mixture of biting humour and insight based on personal experience, the author puts reders in touch with their own feelings and the difficulties of trying to survive in an adult world.
--back cover

• ISBN10: 0142406546
• ISBN13: 9780142406540
• Publish Date: 1 April 2006 (first published 15 September 1974)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
• Imprint: Penguin USA
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 147
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

Paula Danzinger was another staple author of my early adolescence.  She doesn't hold a candle to Judy Blume for emotional or moral/ethical depth, but she still wrote a number of compellingly readable titles filled with humor and a realistic amount of angst.   Marcy is in ninth grade and she's shy, has no self-esteem - although lots of pragmatism -  and a pretty lousy home life.  The first three lines of the book run:   "I hate my father. I hate school. I hate being fat."   Her father is verbally abusive and not at all subtle about it.   She hates school because she's bored.  She's intelligent and not at all challenged, until Ms. Finney comes along and teaches English in a whole new way.   She's fat and she's opting to completely fail gym because there's no way she's changing and showing in front of the other girls.  She has a running list of hilarious excuses for why she doesn't dress out for gym each day (hence the title of the book).     These three themes are woven into a story that's basically about peace, love and understanding.  It is so a book of its time (early 70's), but it's also funny and empowering.  Through Ms. Finney's teaching Marcy makes new friends and they all learn the importance of standing up for what they believe in.     At 119 pages, this book is short.  As a result, it tackles these themes only shallowly and a lot of people aren't going to like the whole fat angle.  But for me, it had nostalgia going for it and I liked that Danzinger didn't have Marcy going on diets or crazy exercise plans; Marcy just starts opting out of the junk food and ice cream.  At the end of the book (which doesn't end all that satisfactorily btw), Marcy's still "fat" but the reader is left with the idea that she's making positive changes regardless of whether she'll get a smaller waist or not.