It was with a great amount of pleasure that I read an article this morning and found that Judy Blume's Forever is being reissued as an e-book (Simon & Schuster). Like her earlier book, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret this book was for many girls of my generation, a revelation and an education.
The article mentioned the fact that that Blume wrote the story after a request from her daughter for a book where nice teens can have sex and don't have to die as a result. Yes yes yes! Books like this are vital. I honestly believe that. Just as I honestly believe that had it not been for Forever, I might just have freaked out when encountering a boy’s bits at close range for the first time. Instead, I was able to stay calm. Not that I come from a prudish home, or didn't have those lessons at school, but despite being a curious girl, I wasn't one to ask about sex stuff, and I hated those lessons. To be able to gain the information, in a form that was designed for me, that I could come to at my own pace, was a God-send. I seem to remember the only other choice at the time was Jilly Cooper’s Riders, and I am just not the horsey type...
And yes, Forever was doing the clandestine rounds in the classroom, with the relevant scenes earmarked and sniggered over, but the fact remained, that once read, we came away with more clues regarding what all that mysterious stuff was about, and without feeling guilty or scared about it. And for that, my generation of girls, (and probably as a result, my children) have the amazing Judy Blume to thank.
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