“Forever. . . A Novel” by Judy Blume

My writing partner, Joe, was up in San Francisco last weekend and we spent four days working on a new project. We have written 10 produced fairy tale plays and have been writing together for more than 15 years. The way we write together has never changed: I sit and type on the computer while Joe walks around, talking out loud as we brainstorm. I have a primary book bench in my apartment where I have towers of books. However, I also have a standing glass case of books that are locked with a key. “Why are these books in here and not on the bench?” Joe said over the weekend during one of our writing sessions. I said “because those are the books that are the special ones.” He said, “I thought so.” Locked in this glass case for safe keeping is this book: “Forever” by Judy Blume. Published in 1975, the original hard copy book cost $6.95, and I still have its original dust jacket. I was only 12 years old in 1975, surely far too young to read a book about a girl having sex with a boy for the first time. But that was the point of daring to read “Forever,” wasn’t it? My mom boldly said I could read it and even bought it for me, while other mothers would not let their daughters read it. It appears on the American Library Association’s list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000. I consider myself one of the lucky ones because I remember how thrilling it was to open the pages of this book and read something that was forbidden to some. In this technological age of gadgets large and small, it is almost magical to think that a bound book with an unmade bed on the cover caused such a stir in 1975. Whenever I walk by the glass case and see “Forever” peeking out, I still feel 12 inside all over again. To purchase this book on Amazon click here.