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Forever by Judy Blume
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Forever (original 1975; edition 2001)

by Judy Blume (Author)

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3,3121343,914 (3.48)62
Two high school seniors believe their love to be so strong that it will last forever.
Member:MHanover10
Title:Forever
Authors:Judy Blume (Author)
Info:Macmillan Children's Books (2001), Edition: Unabridged, 208 pages
Collections:Your library, Currently reading, Wishlist, To read, Read but unowned, Favorites
Rating:****
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Forever . . . by Judy Blume (1975)

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» See also 62 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 134 (next | show all)
This is not the type of book I would choose to read, but I have heard so much about it, I finally decided to see what it was like. To me, it seemed like a guide to sex at a reading level for ages 11-14. It does imply that a person should consider birth control and venereal disease before having sex. It also suggests you shouldn’t let someone pressure you into sex. A minor character who became pregnant chose to give her baby up for adoption, keeping her pregnancy secret for as long as she could in order to avoid being pressured into abortion. ( )
  MyFathersDragon | Feb 12, 2024 |
Well, one thing you can say about this book is that when someone reviews it, they can sure reveal a lot about themselves. For example, one reviewer said that this book is pornographic. Another said it's totally predictable. Another said it's pretty tame compared to what real teens do today. Some people react by putting their fingers in their ears and crying "Abstinence! Abstinence!" Others will tell you that Judy Blume helped them understand how to have sex responsibly. You know an author has really struck a chord when she inspires such strong and varied reactions.

So here's my reaction to this book: It's not pornographic, but it's graphic. Pornography, by definition, is intended to stimulate. The detailed sex scenes in this book are, I think, not intended to be stimulating--they're necessary for the book to work. How can you write a book about a girl's first sexual relationship without writing about the sex? It's not gratuitous, it's honest. And graphic.

I didn't think the story was predictable, either. In the middle of the story, I thought the point was that teenagers can fall in love and it can be real and strong. But by the end of the book, Blume had actually pulled the rug out from underneath her heroine Kath. We see that teenagers rarely know themselves well enough to make big promises like "I'll love you forever."

The book is certainly dated, but Blume's right when she says in the preface to the newer editions that feelings don't really change. I think a lot of girls today struggle with the same decisions Kath struggles with. No one wants to be a tease or a prude. No one wants to rush into something they're not ready for. Man, it's freaking difficult to be a teenager. Your body is ready for things your heart isn't. Everyone has an opinion about what you should or shouldn't do. Reading this book made me glad to be an adult.

So I would definitely recommend this book to teenagers who are thinking about having sex, or already having it. It certainly wouldn't do any harm, and could just possibly help them make up their minds about their own tough decisions. ( )
  LibrarianDest | Jan 3, 2024 |
i am so impressed with this, honestly. in 1975 to write a book that is so open about so many things that no one was talking about, brava! i so appreciate how she's talking about sex -especially the first time having it, birth control, abortion, female pleasure, adoption, and more. she also (i'm loving this lately in books) has a very close family with good relationships between the kids and parents and between the siblings. there is trust and honesty as well as conflict and it is realistic and works.

i was reading this at the same time as i was reading a book about other high school seniors, all of whom were having sex all over the place. i think both depictions are true and important. i'm sure it's still true that there are high schoolers not super familiar with sex and this is a really sweet look at how it might feel to discover it for the first time. i wasn't 100% sure how i was supposed to read michael; he cared about katherine and i think he really was okay waiting but also he pressured her into it, but in a less overt way. i didn't love that but it's probably really realistic.

i thought she did a really excellent job here, and the narrator was also great. (3.5 stars)

from feb 2008: 2 stars ( )
  overlycriticalelisa | Aug 25, 2023 |
Well I think this is another book that I'll have to give to my niece and nephews when they become teenagers. ( )
  blueskygreentrees | Jul 30, 2023 |
I read this book after picking it up at the library for Banned Book Week, and because it was one of the current selections of the Banned Books group on Goodreads.

I'm clearly not the target audience. This book was quick, simple, and quite predictable. It's also realistic and honest about the up and downs of first loves, as well as some of the trials of simply being a teenager about to leave childhood behind (I'm not so far removed from that age that I forgot what it was like). The book is good for it's honesty and not sugarcoating the awkwardness of the characters' experiences, and frank descriptions of awkward first sexual experiences, which was the reason this book was banned.

Still, I'll grant that the book isn't targeted at my demographic, so I could only merely "like it" (3 stars). I read it was curiosity as well a duty to stand against censorship, otherwise I probably would have never read it. Overall, it's not bad and I don't regret taking the time to read it, but it's not really a great book either. But it is truthful and honest, and that's a plus for me. ( )
  sheldonnylander | Apr 5, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 134 (next | show all)
Katherine and Michael's romance progresses rapidly from kissing to sexual intercourse after Katherine gets the Pill-- but will their love last forever?
added by kthomp25 | editBooklist
 

» Add other authors (2 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Blume, Judyprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
van Leent-Sieburgh, E.A.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Dedication
FOR RANDY as promised...with love
First words
Sybil Davison has a genius I.Q. and has been laid by at least six different guys.
Quotations
He and Mom started reminiscing about their college days. I didn't tell them that with Michael and me it's different. That it's not just some fifties fad, like going steady. That with us it is love--real, true honest-to-god love.
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Two high school seniors believe their love to be so strong that it will last forever.

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Challenged
157 —
at the Midvalley Junior-Senior High School in Scranton, Pa. (1982) because it contains "four-letter words and talked about masturbation, birth control, and disobedience to parents"; challenged at the Park Hill, Mo. South Junior High School library (1982) where it was housed on restricted shelves because the book promotes "the stranglehold of humanism on life in America"; challenged at the Orlando, Fla. schools (1982); the Akron, Ohio School District libraries (1983); challenged at the Howard- Suamico, Wis. High School (1983) because "it demoralizes marital sex." Challenged and eventually moved from the Holdrege, Nebr. Public Library young adult section to the adult section (1984) because the "book is pornographic and does not promote the sanctity of life, family life." Challenged at the Cedar Rapids, Iowa Public Library (1984) because it is "pornography and explores areas God didn't intend to explore outside of marriage." Placed on a restricted shelf at Patrick County, Va. School Board (1986). Challenged at the Campbell County, Wyo. school libraries (1986) because it is "pornographic" and would encourage young readers "to experiment with sexual encounters." Challenged at the Moreno Valley, Calif. Unified School District libraries (1987) because it "contains profanity, sexual situations, and themes that allegedly encourage disrespectful behavior." Challenged at the Marshwood Junior High School classroom library in Eliot, Maine (1987) because the "book does not paint a responsible role of parents"; its "cast of sex-minded teenagers is not typical of high schoolers today"; and the "pornographic sexual exploits (in the book) are unsuitable for junior high school role models." West Hernando,
Fla. Middle School principal (1988) recommended that Blume's novel be removed from school library shelves because it is "inappropriate." Placed on reserve at the Herrin, III. Junior High School library (1992) and can be checked out only with a parent's written permission because the novel is "sexually provocative reading." Removed from the Frost Junior High School library in Schaumburg, III. (1993) because "it's basically a sexual 'how-to-do' book for junior high students. It glamorizes [sex] and puts ideas in their heads." Placed on the "parental permission shelf" at the Rib Lake, Wis. high school libraries (1993) after Superintendent Ray Parks filed a "request for reconsideration" because he found the book "sexually explicit." It was subsequently confiscated by the high school principal. A federal jury in Madison, Wis. awarded $394,560 to a former Rib Lake High School guidance counselor after finding that his contract was not renewed in retaliation for speaking out against the district's material selection policy. The counselor criticized the decision of the Rib Lake High School principal to restrict student access to the novel. Removed from Mediapolis, Iowa School District libraries (1994) because it "does not promote abstinence and monogamous relationships [and] lacks any aesthetic, literary, or social value." Returned to the shelves a month later but accessible only to high school students. Removed from the Fort Clarke Middle School library in Gainesville, Fla. (1995) after a science teacher objected to its sexually explicit content and a reference to marijuana. Restricted to a reserve section of the Delta High School Library in Muncie, Ind. (1995). Parents must give their permission in writing before their children can check out the book. Challenged at the Wilton, Iowa School District for junior and senior high school students (1996) because of its sexual content. Banned from middle school libraries in the Elgin, III. School District U46 (1997) because of sex scenes. The decision was upheld in June 1999 after an hour of emotional school board discussion. After a four-year absence, the book was returned (2002) to the shelves of the district's middle school libraries. Challenged in the Fayetteville, Ark. Middle and Junior High School libraries (2005). The complainant also submitted a list of more than fifty books, citing the books as too sexually explicit and promoting homosexuality.
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