A couple of weeks ago, I had gone to the Borders that was closing in Boston's Back Bay to buy some books for cheap. I wound up spending $65 (and charging it on my credit card, since I'm kinda cash-strapped at that moment), but on the receipt it says I saved $16.00. So I guess that counts for something.
One of the books I bought was one I'd been dying to read for some time, just for kicks: Judy Blume's "Forever," a novel about first love and the first time ... and nobody dies. (SPOLIER ALERT: somebody does try to kill himself, and a girl gets pregnant, but neither of these characters are the lovers at the heart of the story) Perhaps my expectations were too high for a YA novel, but I was ... disappointed. (Full disclosure: I read "Are You there God? It's Me, Margaret" at an age-appropriate time, and I didn't really enjoy it, though I liked the Fudge books)The narrator and protagonist, Katherine, was supposed to be 17, but her overly simplistic and erratic narration resembled more like a 13-year-old's journal. The focus on her relationship with Michael was too narrow, like Judy Blume had decided to write a story about teenagers having responsible sex and didn't think that much more about plot and characterization. As if nobody cared about anything else other than sex and relationships...other interests, like skiing and tennis, were mentioned, but only served as plot devices.
Of course, this book is probably meant for 13 (possibly 14) year-olds, or perhaps my vocabulary is too sophisticated for the average YA reader, but I don't think a 16 year-old (when parents would like to think is a more realistic age to be interested in actually having sex) would be all that challenged by the writing. The characters were also cartoonish, exhibiting cliched, predictable, and unbelievably mish-mashed traits. (Examples: Katherine is the responsible, role-model "everygirl", her bff is yang to her yin, a character is a "genius" and is also fat and promiscuous, Katharine's mom can eat as much as she wants and not "get fat" ...le sigh) This just touches the surface of what bugged me about this book. Was I expecting too much to think that the characters would be more complex and the writing/story structure...better?
Yet, the depiction of the actual sex was very realistic, not glossing over the uncomfortable parts (albeit using euphemistic language and other techniques to avoid explicitly graphic content...though the reader definitely knows what she's talking about). Katharine's first time more closely resembled my own than anything else that I'd seen or read in popular culture. Of course, I still giggled at the use of the words "penis" and "vagina" like a 10-year-old in health class. But I'm just immature like that. If I knew a 13-year-old who was interested in learning more about sex, I might give her this book, if she wanted a fictional story. But then again, I don't want to insult her intelligence.
I do admire Judy Blume for the then-taboo subject matter she tackled in her fiction, and giving the younger demographic memorable characters that today's generation of young readers still read. But as an immature, hyper-literate adult, I perhaps came across "Forever" too late to determine whether it's really any good for this generation. I give it three out of five stars, for effort and pluck.
Awww, I loved that book... Granted, I haven't read it since I was about twelve, however, I do remember it being my first foray into sex and love. You're right that it's juvenile and cliche and even maybe poorly written. But, I think it's one of those classic YA novels that a million girls think back on fondly. I remember there being a romantic on-the-floor sex scene that really opened my eyes and shocked me. It's a good book for girls who until reading Forever had to make due with the Wakefield twins, and it begins the evolution to adult fiction.
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