Tuesday of the Other June by Norma Fox Mazer is about a girl named June who loves her name but at school she is bullied because of it. June's grandmother was named May, her mother, April, and so she was named June. June and her mother live alone and are poor but June's mother still teaches her to be nice to others. There is another June at school that Bullies her based on the reason that she dislikes June as having the same name as her. June gets bullied frequently and starts disliking school. She was taught to be kind and doesn’t want to worry her mother so she doesn’t go talk to her about it. After she learns that she will be moving with her mother to a new place, she is overjoyed to be able to stop the tormenting but it turns out she is in the same swimming class as her so she turns to disliking swimming. Finally, she stands up for herself and is able to stop June. This book talks about bullying, family influence, and change.
Bullies often target those they perceive as more vulnerable or unable to effectively defend themselves, usually stemming from some sort of hate. This hate can come from countless factors that relate to the victim. June, the main character of the book loves her name but when she goes to school she meets another girl with the same name and so this girl bullies her for this reason. The bully disliked the other girl because she had the same name as herself even though from the girl's point of view she didn't do anything wrong. The bully June called her names and so the main character starts disliking school and every subject she has with June. This is a specific way of attacking June by calling her names so that the bully can feel like she is the only one that can have the name June. Bullies are horrible people who dislike others for mysterious reasons and so attack them in different ways.
Family environment plays a significant role in shaping how their children interact with the world. Families start affecting their children from the start when they are just a baby, this impact grows as the children get older. June, the main character, was taught from a young age to be kind and that “we have enough troubles getting by, we surely don't need a single one more” which is asking her to not bring trouble to the household. This influence carried on as she went to school and started growing up. In school, another girl also named June starts bullying her but because she wants to be kind and doesn’t want to give her mother any trouble, she reluctantly bears the torment. The influence was strong enough that she didn’t want to stand up for herself even though she should have. This shows just how strong family influence can be to others. Family is a big part of a kid's life and develops children’s view about how they react with others and face difficult problems.
People are always learning and changing as they get older. What happens to us helps shape who we become. Sometimes good experiences happen that help us grow in good ways. But challenges can change us too. June is being bullied by the other girl also named June at her school. She doesn’t do anything about it because she doesn’t want her mother to worry. This logic seemed valid at the time because she could bear the tormenting and constant name calling. At the end though, she had enough and was pushed past her limits so she stood up for herself and was able to stop the bully. She stayed the same for a while thinking it was okay but eventually she realized it was too much for her so she stood up for herself which was the right thing to do. Change often occurs gradually over extended periods as people adapt to difficult circumstances, until eventually the situation grows too stressful to keep silent.
The book Tuesday of the other June by Norma Fox Mazer is an inspiring book about a bullied girl that helps us realize the themes of bullying, influence, and change. Bullying is a severe act that includes constantly harassing someone for the purpose of hurting them mentally, physically, or even socially and victims of this are usually too scared or have a reason to not stand up for themselves. Family influence has a big impact on others, especially their children because this influence starts at a young age, it grows over time. Change happens as people adapt to new environments but there can be other reasons behind this like bullying and others. The character in the book went through lots of bullying and under pressure from her family but at the center of it all, she taught us about how people can stand up against bullies.
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