Today’s review is in honor of Banned Book Week, led by Sheila, at Book Journey:
Michael and Katherine met at a New Year’s Eve party during their senior year in high school. It wasn’t “love at first sight,” but very slowly they started to connect and began dating.
Like many books about young love, Forever was a story that showed the reader what the obsessive nature of first love looked like. The two of them progressed to the actual sex like most young people, gradually, with a lot of “making out” on the way to actual sex. While the sex scenes, when they happened, were explicit, they were tasteful; they actually unfolded awkwardly, as they would normally for young and inexperienced people. There was nothing crude or vulgar about the scenes, and it was easy to tell that the two of them were “in love.”
But, like most young romances, there would be obstacles to overcome. Would the tests of their love be too much? Would a brief separation during their first summer cement their bond, or be the tipping point for them?
Katherine’s parents handled the relationship between the two very well, mostly advising them about the challenges they would be facing; like most young people, however, they were even more determined to be together.
Michael and Katherine were realistic characters that I couldn’t help but root for, even though I knew that the odds would be against them. The story took me back to my own younger days and the feelings that seemed to define me back then. I believe that young people can relate to the story and learn about some of the issues they will face in their own relationships. 4.0 stars.
***Forever was banned from certain schools due to the sexual content, with some stating that the book lacked “aesthetic, literary, or social value.” The book, in most cases, was reinstated by the school boards.
***
AN INTERIOR JOURNEY 
I wasn’t aware of this book before you mentioned it earlier. And then when I came across it in Diane Chamberlain’s Pretending to Dance, I felt like it was a little familiar with that little bit of synchronicity.
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Yes, wasn’t that something how Molly mentioned the book in Pretending to Dance? When I saw the title on the Banned Books list, I thought “how great!” Yes, synchronicity. Thanks for stopping by, Kathryn.
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Isn’t it funny how often the synchronicity happens in reading? I find it all the time and yet am always surprised. I can remember another young love book that I read when I was a teen, but have no idea if it ever appeared on a ‘banned’ list. Probably. It was Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones. I loved that book when I was young. I should go look for it again.
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So true! And I remember that book, too, Kay…thanks for stopping by, and maybe we’ll both have to look that one up.
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It’s so weird the way school libraries have so many issues with books…or is it parents? Or some parents?
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Yes, I think it is a parent or parents, and then the librarians feel they have to do something. Surprisingly, I think one parent can make a lot of noise and cause a lot of furor.
Thanks for stopping by, Patty, and except for the sex, which wasn’t vulgar at all, this seemed like a harmless, yet informative read.
An interesting sidenote: Kathryn mentioned it above, too, that the character in Pretending to Dance referenced Forever as a book she enjoyed.
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I have not read this one!
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Thanks for stopping by, Nise…Until now, I’d only read Blume’s adult books. I enjoyed this one.
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I was such a Blume fan growing up! I have not read all of her adult fiction, but made it through all the YA and Middle grade! Great thoughts here Laurel!
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Thanks, Sheila; I didn’t discover Blume until I read her adult books later on. I liked this book, so I plan to read some of her others.
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I remember passing my copy of Forever around my group of friends when we were teenagers, I’ve still got the book now and actually re-read it in the summer. It was interesting to re-visit it as an adult, but I still found it to be a great read. I adore Judy Blume’s books though, she’s such a great writer. It saddens me that this was a banned book because it’s still such a great, empowering book for teenage girls.
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I didn’t read Blume when I was young…I don’t think YA was a thing, then. It looks like this book first came out in the 80s…long after my teen years. LOL.
I remember the scandalous choice in my day was Peyton Place, and then it became a TV series in the 1960s.
Thanks for stopping by, Hayley.
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