Teenage sex anyone? (Forever - Judy Blume)

Member Name: Castelbranco

Product:	Forever - Judy Blume
Date:	10/05/09 (350 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well written

Disadvantages: Somehow out of date

Forever is considered to most famous and known book of Judy Blume and I guess also the book which caused the most controversy and debate.

It was published in 1975 and it is currently in the list of the 100 books banned by the American Library Association.

The plot is relatively simple. Katherine is in high school an dis 17 years old. She feels the desire to finally loose her virginity, but at the same time she does not want to do it for the sake of it.

The novel is focused around Katherine, from the beginning, when she goes to a party and she meets Michael, and she kisses him. Michael will prove to be different from the previous boyfriend of Katherine, Tom, who clearly told her he only wanted to have sex with her and this is why he was dating her.

When Katherine invites Michael to her home, she locks in a room with him, but she is not prepared yet for full sex and she will ask to stop.

I am not going to give all the plot, but I think this will give you a good idea of what to expect.

The main topic of the book is teen sex and I found that the style adapts very well to the way teen think and talk about sex, at least in a certain social environment (Michael's parents own a house in Vermont, for example, surely this is not a book set in some grim council estate in UK)


The topics of love, sex, contraceptions are also covered on repeated occasions.
Blume's style is matter of fact, non judgemantal at all, and I liked this, in the end we have always been teen before being adults and did we like being judged then?


The 70ies were an age of sexual openess in America, in that respect the book is rooted in that time. Although I read there is a new edition which came out in 2005 (mine is a reprint dated 1986!) and although in recent interviews Blume accepted that the issues of Aids have somehow changed the reality, I found that the ethernal topics of love and the passage from teenager to adult, will never change and in this sense the book remains of actuality.

However, the change in society since 1975 has been dramatic and reading the book I felt that to a minor extent the book is out of date.

Probably not a book I would recommend before 20-30 others I will review, but surely one I read with pleasure and to the end (I tend NOT to finish 2 books out of 3 I start!)

Summary: A book I liked, but not amongst my favourites