Forever by Judy Blume

Blume, Judy. Forever... New York: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division, 1975. Print. ISBN 0-689-84973-7. Hardback. $17.99 USD.

Awards/Honors:

- Margaret A. Edwards Awards

- Best Book of the Year Award (runner up 1975)

Annotation:
 Teenage sexuality is taking over the lives of Katherine and her boyfriend, Michael. Dealing with the everyday changes of young adulthood is a challenge they were not prepared for. 

Book Review:

“I love you, Michael Wagner.” 
“Forever?” he asked. 
“Forever,” I said. 

When you combine 17-year-old Katherine Danziger, a hopeless romantic and a firm believer of true love, with Michael Wagner, the redheaded boy from one town over, you create a love story that has readers believing that love really does last forever. This Classic fictional story starts off with two main characters, Katherine and Michael, meeting at a party and taking their time falling in love. Spending each possible weekend throughout their senior year of High School, Katherine makes Michael patiently wait for her to be mentally prepared for them to experience sexual intercourse. Learning to deal with her first boyfriend, her first love, and being separated for the first time the summer before college, Katherine learns about herself, her body, and how to deal with all of these new emotions. This story of young love is filled with happiness, sadness, jealousy, and many first experiences. The question that lingers in Katherine’s head is, does true love really last forever or will the first love of her life be a memory that will stay with her for as long as she can remember?

I believe that Forever… is a classic that should be found on the shelves of every library. Due to the authors’ sexual descriptions and intimate settings, this book has been challenged on many occasions. It has been argued to stay out of the hands of students under the age of 15 but I believe that ages 12 and up are perfectly suitable for this material. Not only does Blume teach safe sex, she describes multiple types of contraceptives and walks you through a Planned Parenthood visit with a gynecological exams. Blume opens the minds of readers who are to shy to speak to their parents about sex. She lets the readers know that waiting for the right time to start having sex is okay. Blume briefly writes about other issues such as homosexuality, suicide, and teen pregnancy. I would recommend this book to those young ones who are curious about sex and believe that keeping this book in the YA section of the library is necessary.

 

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