Forever

Title: Forever
Author: Judy Blume
ISBN: 0671695304

Plot Summary: Katherine, a teenage girl, meets and falls in love with Michael, who is slightly older and more experienced. She has her first sexual experiences with him, as well as her first serious relationship, but when they are separated for the summer, she starts having feelings for Theo, an older tennis pro at her summer job. What impact will this have on Katherine and Michael's relationship - and will it really last forever?



Critical Evaluation: This book was first published over 30 years ago, which shows as much in the sexual attitudes - and potential sexual consequences - as it does in the language and vocabulary. In terms of plot, not much actually "happens" in the book: two people meet, fall in love, have sex with each other, then grow apart and eventually break up. Judy Blume does not spare the reader the details of Katherine and Michael's sexual encounters, recording the awkwardness and missteps as well as their pleasure. Ultimately, this book is as interesting as a Seventies period piece as it is as a slice-of-life depiction of a teenager's first serious romance.
Reader's Annotation: Katherine is younger and less experienced than Michael, but their relationship develops into what both of them think is a lasting love. Whether or not their romance will last forever is tested when life puts physical distance between them.

About the Author: Judy Blume was born Judy Sussman in 1938 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. As a child, Judy moved with her mother and brother to Miami Beach to help her brother recover from a kidney infection, while her father stayed in New Jersey to keep up his dental practice. After marrying John Blume, with whom she had two children, she graduated from New York University with a bachelor's degree in Education. Blume started writing children's fiction when her own children were in preschool, eventually advancing to young adult literature and then adult fiction. Blume divorced her first husband in 1975, and currently lives in Key West and New York city with her third husband, George Cooper, by whom she has a stepdaughter and grandson.

Genre: Fiction: Romance

Curriculum Ties: Sex Education

Booktalking Ideas:

Hook: Katherine goes to the doctor to get birth control pills.
Approach: Scene-based.
Ideas for Booktalk: Katherine thinks it is her responsibility not to get pregnant. She has never had an STD; Michael has, but says he has been cured. As she assumes the two of them are mutually exclusive, this is a sign to her that they can now forego condoms. Indication of Katherine's sexual agency, as well as her seriousness about the relationship. How would this scene have played out differently today? Issues of insurance not covering birth control for women, AIDS and HIV, more dire consequences of infidelity.

Hook: Katherine and Michael's sexual relationship escalates, but then cools off as she develops feelings for Theo.
Approach: Plot and character-based.
Ideas for Booktalk: Michael works on Katherine gradually: from kissing to touching to eventual sexual intercourse, which eventually provides Katherine with sexual satisfaction. Physical distance gives her the chance to explore other options. Would she have fallen for someone else if Theo hadn't been around, or was his presence in her life guaranteed to ruin her relationship with Michael? She doesn't cheat on him, but he can tell her feelings aren't there for him anymore, and his jealousy spells the end of their relationship. Katherine seems quite ready to move on afterwards, excited about the prospect of getting together with Theo. Are we given any indication of whether or not her relationship with him will be serious or casual? Differing attitudes towards sex then and now?


Reading Level/Interest Age: High School

Challenge Issues: Sexual content, offensive language.
Characters in this book use mild profanity and slang with each other, and engage in frequent sexual innuendo. Katherine and Michael are serious about each other, but have sex without any expectation that they will necessarily get married. Other characters in the book have casual sex without serious social or physical repercussions, although occasionally others cast aspersions on their self-esteem. With all that said, Blume does depict the emotional and romantic fallout of having a serious sexual relationship that comes to an end, as well as having her characters seriously consider the consequences of their actions before engaging in them. The language and innuendo are perhaps indicative of the era in which the book was originally written, although relatively tame by today's standards. Were a teenage child of mine, or one I knew, to read this book, I would want to make a point of discussing with them how the sexual climate in this country has changed in the past thirty years, and what that means in terms of the consequences of a sexual relationship. Given the book's potential to foster dialogue about teenage sex, I feel it is essential for it to remain in the Young Adult section.


Why I Chose This Book: Other Judy Blume books deal with issues children and adolescents deal with when growing up, such as sibling rivalry, bullying, physical disability, puberty, and the beginning of the physical and sexual changes inherent in adolescence. Forever is different in that it shows the consummation of a character's first sexual relationship, thereby building a bridge between childhood and early adolescence, and what lies ahead in adulthood. For many Judy Blume fans, myself included, this was the first "dirty" book of hers they read. In rereading the book, I noticed its more dated aspects, as well as the cracks inherent from the start in Katherine and Michael's "perfect" relationship. However, the fact that the book allows Katherine to have her experiences and learn from them as well, without passing judgment on her, indicates to me that the book is still relevant today.