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A review by thegazillionthreader
Forever . . . by Judy Blume
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
My thoughts… (mainly for myself to look back on)
I had been wanting to read this for a very long time ever since it was mentioned in another book I read as a tween or teen, I can’t remember what book though. But anyway, years and years have gone by and now here I finally read it as an adult. I have changed so much since I was a teen. Teenaged me would’ve been SHOCKED and immediately put the book back 😂
It is definitely more explicit than I expected for a YA book, especially considering the time it was written and published. Kudos to Judy Blume for taking that leap during that time. Even now I think the book is very mature for a YA, but then again, maybe YA is not where it’s meant to be genre wise. I mean it is a coming of age story but those are kinda their own thing I think.
It was a super fast read. It can take me weeks to months to finish a book, but this only took me a few days. It’s a little less than 300 pages.
I can appreciate and understand the message the author was trying to convey. Some things in the book though, due to the time written, are of course maybe a bit dated/not aged well. It would be interesting to see how the author would write a story just like this but for now.
SPOILERS BELOW
I was surprised by two big things that happened with two of the side characters; Sybil’s pregnancy and Artie’s attempted suicide. The latter was the most shocking.
Sometimes the writing made it seem like the characters were younger than they were, but it could also just be a time thing as well.
I did not like Michael. I felt he was too pushy and that’s just not a good message. If a girl says no she wants to wait, you leave it at that and stop trying to convince her. He was getting on my nerves.
The parents annoyed me at times too, trying to encourage Katherine to spend some time away from Michael and how they made her go to the tennis camp. I suppose I can understand their concerns but at the same time, it’s ok to have a steady boyfriend at a young age, they need to calm down. I mean like I said I wasn’t always a huge fan of Michael but it still annoyed me.
I didn’t dislike Katherine all that much, although at the end she all of a sudden decides she’s not so sure about a forever with Michael. Which happens, she’s young, her parents were probably right, she needs to experience more and date more, all that. But still… it happened so fast and it was kinda sad. And she basically did cheat on Michael.
But it kinda seemed Michael and Katherine’s relationship was just based on sex so…
But like I said, that seems to be the point, the message being conveyed about young, immature, first loves/relationships.
I had been wanting to read this for a very long time ever since it was mentioned in another book I read as a tween or teen, I can’t remember what book though. But anyway, years and years have gone by and now here I finally read it as an adult. I have changed so much since I was a teen. Teenaged me would’ve been SHOCKED and immediately put the book back 😂
It is definitely more explicit than I expected for a YA book, especially considering the time it was written and published. Kudos to Judy Blume for taking that leap during that time. Even now I think the book is very mature for a YA, but then again, maybe YA is not where it’s meant to be genre wise. I mean it is a coming of age story but those are kinda their own thing I think.
It was a super fast read. It can take me weeks to months to finish a book, but this only took me a few days. It’s a little less than 300 pages.
I can appreciate and understand the message the author was trying to convey. Some things in the book though, due to the time written, are of course maybe a bit dated/not aged well. It would be interesting to see how the author would write a story just like this but for now.
SPOILERS BELOW
I was surprised by two big things that happened with two of the side characters; Sybil’s pregnancy and Artie’s attempted suicide. The latter was the most shocking.
Sometimes the writing made it seem like the characters were younger than they were, but it could also just be a time thing as well.
I did not like Michael. I felt he was too pushy and that’s just not a good message. If a girl says no she wants to wait, you leave it at that and stop trying to convince her. He was getting on my nerves.
The parents annoyed me at times too, trying to encourage Katherine to spend some time away from Michael and how they made her go to the tennis camp. I suppose I can understand their concerns but at the same time, it’s ok to have a steady boyfriend at a young age, they need to calm down. I mean like I said I wasn’t always a huge fan of Michael but it still annoyed me.
I didn’t dislike Katherine all that much, although at the end she all of a sudden decides she’s not so sure about a forever with Michael. Which happens, she’s young, her parents were probably right, she needs to experience more and date more, all that. But still… it happened so fast and it was kinda sad. And she basically did cheat on Michael.
But it kinda seemed Michael and Katherine’s relationship was just based on sex so…
But like I said, that seems to be the point, the message being conveyed about young, immature, first loves/relationships.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide attempt