When Mr. Miglione's invention of electrical cartridges wins him an executive job in Queens, the family moves from Jersey City (where they "stood an line for the bathroom") to an impressive house on Long Island. Thirteen-year-old Tony is increasingly distressed and resentful as his mother becomes a social-climbing phoney, his father tries to solve all problems by buying expensive gifts, and grandmother is displaced from the kitchen by the dictatorial new maid. Tony's mother encourages his friendship with Joel Hoober next door, but Tony is more interested in beautiful Lisa Hoober, the subject of his first wet dream, whom he watches undressing from his bedroom window. About the same time Tony takes to carrying his old raincoat everywhere, to use as a screen in case he has an erection in public -- an event that does finally occur at the blackboard in math class, when a book provides the necessary cover. More serious is Tony's conflict over Joel Hoober's secret shoplifting, which gives Tony nervous stomach cramps that bring him eventually to a psychiatrist. Mrs. Blume's treatment of the boy's big and little problems is refreshingly light and undemanding, and the fact that they are not magically resolved adds to their likelihood and recognition.
