Forever...

Blume’s texts are empowering stories written to mirror the experiences of young adults and, therefore, often contain content that calls into question whether young adults should be reading about experiences that could have a real impact on their lives. Since its original publication, Forever… has faced censorship challenges for its overtly sex-positive content and explicit sexual scenes.

In 2002, one school, the Elgin Area School District U-46, decided to reverse its ban on having Forever… on its library shelves. In response to the school’s decision to reverse its ban, the executive director for the National Coalition Against Censorship, Joan Bertin, stated, “Many middle school students possess the intellectual capacity and maturity to read and understand books such as ‘Forever…’” (Bertin). This quote aligns with the idea that young people are not always given the credit they are due regarding their capacity to tackle tough material.

Blume addressed the controversies surrounding her books at the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts in 2014: “A lot of people worry much too much about what their children are reading [...]. A lot of people will want to control everything in their children’s lives, or everything in other people’s children’s lives” (Furness, Hannah. “Judy Blume: Parents Worry Too Much About What Children Read.” The Telegraph, 2014). Blume argues that, instead of limiting what young adults read, adults should trust young people to make decisions that are right for them. Blume argues that young adults will “self-censor,” meaning they will monitor what they read themselves, and if the text does not resonate or makes them uncomfortable, they will simply put it down, no worse off for having experienced that brief moment of discomfort.

Blume’s statement and her novels testify to the idea that young adults are not fragile creatures unable to endure the slightest hardship. Like Forever…’s protagonist, Katherine, young adults can experience challenges such as heartbreak or the end of a sexual relationship without completely falling apart. Blume’s texts argue that it is perhaps important for young people to experience these things as they grow up and enter the adult world, better prepared to treat themselves and others with respect and dignity.