Then Again Maybe I Won Sparknotes

I thought money was the answer — till I got it.

Then Again, Maybe I Won't is a immature developed novel past Judy Blume, first published in 1971.

Tony Miglione is an Italian-American teenager whose family moves to an upper-grade neighborhood after his father becomes wealthy from an invention. Themes involve course disharmonize, peer force per unit area, and the trials of male person puberty. (In the latter respect, it is intentionally something of a gender-inverted complement to Blume'south preceding novel, Are Yous At that place God? It's Me, Margaret..)

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This novel contains examples of:

• Abhorrent Admirer: Tony'southward skinny and childish looking classmate, Kathryn "Corky" Thomas, has a crush on him and isn't at all shy about letting him know. Initially he wishes she would just exit him lone, but by the end of the novel he decides she'southward not so annoying after all and even begins to dream near her.
• Appropriated Appelation: The Hoobers' maid has a Spanish name that Mrs. Hoober finds difficult to pronounce, so Mrs. Hoober dubbed her Millicent. She also gets into the habit of calling Tony's mother "Carol" (her real name is Carmella), which Tony'south mother doesn't listen, but which infuriates her son.
• Badass Disuse: In-universe, Tony thinks his brother Ralph came downward with a severe case of information technology. Ralph used to desire to be a mathematician and was nicknamed "The Magician," but subsequently his family unit gets rich, he gives up on math to follow his father in the reckoner software business (which he doesn't peculiarly relish) and gains weight. He as well loses his shut relationship and connection with Tony.
• Bitch in Sheep's Habiliment: Joel is good at acting like an upright respectable polite male child, just he's actually a delinquent.
  • Mrs. Hoober who appears to be a respectable and friendly upper-class housewife but as the book goes on she clearly has Mrs. Miglione wrapped around her finger, reveals that she is pretty narrow-minded (enough to not bother learning her new friend'southward or maid's names and merely nicknames them), and puts upwardly a charade where her family unit is perfect and are merely sending Joel to military academy considering of the academic standing rather than the fact that her son is out of command.
• Baroque Taste in Nutrient: Tony Miglione certainly thinks that his new friend Joel has bizarre taste in food; as he says, "He likes some foreign sandwiches." His favorite is salami, tomato and mayonnaise, and his second favorite is onion slices on buttered whole wheat bread.
• Cool Big Bro: Tony's late brother Vinnie (who died in Vietnam), describing him every bit very unpretentious and is an anchor for Tony to not forget where he came from and what actually matters (he figures Vinnie would express mirth at the Migliones' new lifestyle).
• Crusty Caretaker / Servile Snarker: The Miglione's alive-in housekeeper Maxine has elements of both. In fact, more often than not, it's she who bosses them around. Yet she displays Jerk with a Heart of Golden tendencies at times, such as when she fixes Tony his favorite chicken dinner later he has a especially rough day.
• A Date with Rosie Palms: The volume's handling of the subject has made it a favorite target of censors. Or perhaps information technology's because of Tony's nocturnal activities.
• Dead Guy Junior: Tony'due south baby niece is named Vincenza in honor of his eldest brother, Vinnie, who died in the Vietnam State of war. They call her Vicki for short.
• Downer Ending: Other than Joel finally being caught stealing and sent to military machine schoolhouse, none of Tony's bug are solved by the end of the volume. He's receiving therapy for his anxiety attacks at least.
• Dysfunctional Family unit: The Hoober Family unit. Male parent and Female parent are frequently absent from habitation, sending their kids to camp in the summer and spending time at the state club when they aren't working (Mr. Hoober) or shopping (Mrs. Hoober). Mr. Hoober is unsaid to exist controlling and with a hot atmosphere, which every bit a result his children are either irresponsible and reckless (Lisa) or manipulative, shop-lifters (Joel). Mrs. Hoober doesn't do enough to correct her children's behavior either, focused on maintaining a perfect epitome and in the terminate Joel is sent to armed forces academy to bargain with his beliefs.
• Foreign Cuss Word: The Hoober family unit'due south live-in housekeeper, Millicent, speaks only express English language and taught Joel and Lisa how to swear in Spanish. When the Migliones' first alive-in maid, Gerta, turns out to be from South America and speaks no English, Tony wonders if she'll teach him to curse in Spanish. She doesn't get the chance, as she doesn't piece of work out and is chop-chop allow go.
• The Hermit: Tony's grandmother locks herself in her bedroom after her daughter replaces her with Maxine as the family's chef. She refuses to come up out for almost anything — even for church building or family gatherings — and lets no one in merely Tony, who seems to exist the but one who understands, or even cares, how she feels.
• Keeping Upward with the Joneses: In Tony's mother's example, it's Keeping Up with the Hoobers, and it becomes an obsession for her. Whatever the Hoobers have, the Migliones must have every bit well, whether it'south a live-in housekeeper or pianoforte lessons for Tony; hurt feelings or inconvenience for her loved ones (peculiarly her own mother, when she gives in to Maxine'due south demands to be in charge of the kitchen instead of the "old lady") are just collateral impairment. When Joel goes off to military school, Mrs. Miglione even considers packing Tony off to military schoolhouse for a infinitesimal. It gets to the point where Tony wonders whether if Joel were in juvenile detention, his parents would ask him if he wanted to be in juvenile detention also.
• Kids Raiding the Wine Cabinet: Tony, his rich side by side door friend Joel and his old friend from the inner metropolis, Frankie, are hanging out in Joel's basement when Joel jimmies into his father's liquor chiffonier. The three boys go drunk.
• Language Bulwark: Some of the Migliones' outset hires as maids can't speak English, only speaking Spanish or French (ane is from Haiti, where French is one of the official languages). It takes them a while to find 1 (Maxine) who does speak English, and Tony'southward father in the meantime suggests they discover one who speaks Italian.
• Alone Rich Kid: Applies to Tony regarding his relationship with his family unit, from whom he becomes increasingly alienated as the story progresses. To Joel as well, as his acting out is partially considering he has trouble getting actual attending from his parents.
• Maid: The Migliones go through 5 (all of whom are either incompetent, can't speak English, are disliked by Tony's grandmother, or all iii) earlier settling on Maxine, who insists on taking over the cooking chores from Grandma (who is so upset nigh this that she takes to her room). The Hoobers have ane also, but in the exact opposite of Tony's household, Joel more or less has her under his thumb.
• Naughty Birdwatching: Tony discovers the girl adjacent door likes to undress in front end of the window. Then he asks for some binoculars for Christmas for "bird watching" from his parents.
• Nervous Wreck: Tony ofttimes gets severe tum pains, which seem to exist triggered by Joel's antics. At one point his pains become so severe that he actually collapses and is rushed to the infirmary.
• But Known past Their Nickname: The Hoobers' alive-in housekeeper is Hispanic, and since Mrs. Hoober couldn't pronounce her existent proper name, she redubbed her Millicent, and the name stuck. By the same token, Mrs. Hoober calls Tony's mother "Carol," since information technology's easier to pronounce than her real name, Carmella. Tony becomes very upset with his mother for letting Mrs. Hoober do this.
• Parents as People: Tony's father is a slave to his new job and not peculiarly happy, his mother has turned into a social climbing phony, his much older blood brother has turned into a center aged milquetoast and he and his wife don't go along well. His grandmother is depressed and rarely leaves her bedroom. His maid isn't anywhere near as nasty as he thinks she is, but he can't become effectually the fact that she replaced his grandmother.
• Precocious Crush: Tony comes downward with one on Joel's older sister Lisa.
• Prone to Tears: The Migliones' outset maid, Gerta, not only can't speak English language and isn't very proficient at her job, but is oversensitive and cries at the smallest things. She doesn't concluding.
• Raging Stiffie: Tony is going through puberty, and often gets erections at embarrassing times, such equally in schoolhouse.
• Real Women Take Curves: Tony believes it. His earlier disgust with Corky is that he "can't stand skinny girls" and finds Lisa Hoober attractive with her dazzler and how her torso is "all curves". To a lesser extent, he disagrees with his father's assessment that Angie, Ralph's married woman, has fatty legs and Tony thinks she has overnice legs.
• "The Reason Y'all Suck" Oral communication: Tony, Joel, and Joel's rich friends get chewed out by a waitress at the diner they get milkshakes from over the way they hide her tip. Tony's the only i who takes information technology to heart.
• Smoking Is Not Cool:
  • Tony'due south older male relatives all smoke cigars, specially his dad. His brother Ralph even offers him one after baby Vicki'southward nascency, which causes his female parent to become ballistic — not that Tony would have smoked information technology anyway, since Tony hates cigars.
  • Tony'due south trounce, Lisa, smokes cigarettes, and Tony tries to become her to quit past telling her about his grandmother, who had pharynx cancer and had her larynx removed — embellishing the story by mentioning that his grandmother smoked "similar a fiend," although in truth she never smoked at all. It seems to work, as Lisa is then disgusted at the idea of losing her larynx that she swears off cigarettes correct then and at that place, and Tony is pleased to think that he'due south responsible for her quitting smoking.
• The Speechless: Tony's grandmother had her vox box removed due to throat cancer (although she never smoked) and equally a result can communicate merely by writing notes in Italian, which Tony's female parent must translate for the rest of the family. Nonetheless, she does seem to be able to sympathize English language, fifty-fifty if she can't communicate in English herself.
• Sweater Girl: Tony buys Lisa a sweater for Christmas and uses his binoculars to watch her try information technology on.
• The Talk: Tony's dad tries to requite him a talk, saying he doesn't really know how to go virtually it, as he never brought the matter up with his two older sons. Tony assures him that he's learned all about it from school and friends, but his dad gives him a book after, only in case.
• Tender Tears: Angie, Tony'due south sweet-hearted sister-in-law who tears up over the news of her pregnancy and having to give upwards her job, her postpartum struggles, and her splintering marriage.
• To Be Lawful or Proficient: Played with — Tony knows that the lawful thing to do about his friend Joel'southward kleptomaniac habits is to tell on him, only he feels like either telling on him or not telling on him aren't good. It bothers him so much that he begins having anxiety attacks.Eventually Joel gets defenseless stealing in front of Tony and Tony tin can't bring himself to help Joel lie his way out of trouble.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Tony, his rich next door friend Joel and his old friend from the inner city, Frankie, are hanging out in Joel's basement when Joel jimmies into his male parent'due south liquor cabinet. The three boys go drunk. It was the first time Tony and Frankie had washed this, but Joel had been drinking enough that he knew well the differences between the various kinds of alcohol.
• Vomit Indiscretion Shot: During their drinking rampage, Tony Joel and Franky realize they're going to be ill and determine to become outside to throw up on the bushes considering "it's like fertilizer."
• You No Take Candle: The Hoobers' live-in housekeeper, Millicent (not her real name, which is something Spanish which Mrs. Hoober can't pronounce), speaks broken English in exactly this way.

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Source: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/ThenAgainMaybeIWont

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