Judy Blume Forever - General Discussion

[DanaK]

Amazon documentary on the young adult fiction writer. Premieres April 21

News article and trailer https://variety.com/2023/film/news/judy-blume-forever-trailer-1235545847/

[cpcathy]

I’m so in. I learned how to write from reading Judy Blume.

[Kemper]

I was a librarian in an elementary school when Judy Blume first became popular. We always knew when she had a new book out because some of the parents would come in and demand we not carry her books and not allow their kids to check them out. Of course this made the books even more enticing to the students. My daughter loved loved those books.  And her daughters (now grown) read and loved them. Judy Blume is a fierce, brave, brilliant soul.

[topanga]

I'm so excited for this. Judy Blume was a fixture of my childhood. 

She's the first author whose books I remember devouring as a kid. And there were always good discussions at school about her novels. 

[Eureka]

On 3/25/2023 at 12:49 PM, topanga said:

I'm so excited for this. Judy Blume was a fixture of my childhood. 

She's the first author whose books I remember devouring as a kid. And there were always good discussions at school about her novels. 

Same!

[Snow Apple]

Back before the internet, we didn't know a new book was coming. We just stumbled upon it in stores. I was one of the first to read Superfudge. I did a book report in front my my class and they about died of laughter. I did not intend the report to be funny. That's the power of Judy Blume's scenes. They are funny even described by a shy serious kid.

Can't wait to watch this.

Edited April 15, 2023 by Snow Apple

[Bastet]

Holy shit, this is good.  I just meant to add it to my Watch List, knowing I didn't have time to properly watch until getting into bed tonight, but wound up playing it, and even though I was in and out of the room and will have to watch in its entirety later, I was enthralled by the parts I did see. 

While my favorite childhood book was by another author -- Louise Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy -- Blume was my favorite author back then, in that she had the most books from one author I loved.  But I'd never learned much about her as a person, so this was interesting.  Learning about her life reminds me of how I felt reading about Margaret -- there are some key differences, but there are also some fundamental similarities, so no wonder we connect. 

I loved the excerpts of kids writing to her, and especially hearing from two of the women who essentially became pen pals.  Can you imagine Judy Blume showing up to see you graduate college?!

I also loved hearing from the librarian who knew this was a game changer, and kids would flock to her books, and the commentary from authors banned today for speaking the same truths Blume was banned for in her time.

I look forward to digesting this properly, and encourage everyone who's ever loved even just one Judy Blume book to check it out.

[GHScorpiosRule]

16 hours ago, Bastet said:

Holy shit, this is good.  I just meant to add it to my Watch List, knowing I didn't have time to properly watch until getting into bed tonight, but wound up playing it, and even though I was in and out of the room and will have to watch in its entirety later, I was enthralled by the parts I did see. 

While my favorite childhood book was by another author -- Louise Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy -- Blume was my favorite author back then, in that she had the most books from one author I loved.  But I'd never learned much about her as a person, so this was interesting.  Learning about her life reminds me of how I felt reading about Margaret -- there are some key differences, but there are also some fundamental similarities, so no wonder we connect. 

I loved the excerpts of kids writing to her, and especially hearing from two of the women who essentially became pen pals.  Can you imagine Judy Blume showing up to see you graduate college?!

I also loved hearing from the librarian who knew this was a game changer, and kids would flock to her books, and the commentary from authors banned today for speaking the same truths Blume was banned for in her time.

I look forward to digesting this properly, and encourage everyone who's ever loved even just one Judy Blume book to check it out.

Perfectly stated! I just watched this and almost immediately was brought to tears. I read most of her books growing up -in secret-because aside from my Mum being frank and open about menstruation, NOTHING else was ever discussed.

Now, as an adult, I’m TOTALLY buying all of the books. Judy is SUCH an inspiration and I feel so fortunate to have been able this read her books-from the library-before the censor gestapo took over completely. Actually, I’m shocked I was able to read most of her banned books as I got them from the Book Mobile that would come to our neighborhood every week.

If ONLY I had known back then I could have written to her! 

[Eureka]

I loved it. She was my childhood. I feel the same way I did when I watched the Mr. Rogers documentary. I want to reread all her books (I have a box set with several like Margaret, Then Again and Deenie) and go to her bookstore in Key West. I could immediately remember which cover I had for all the books when I was a kid.

[shipmate]

Something I learned in the Judy Blume documentary… when I think of the book "Deenie" I think about a girl with scoliosis, who needed a back brace and cut all of her hair off. Everything else in that book went way over my head and now I think I need to go reread it.

[bilgistic]

I finally watched this today, and I loved it. Judy Blume is everything. I read all of her YA novels when I was in school.

I got my period when I was in fifth grade and it was a nightmare from minute one, so I couldn't imagine why Margaret would actually want to have it.

A friend of my mother had older teenage daughters who gave me a box of clothing and books. One of the books was Then Again, Maybe I Won't. My mother read the back cover and immediately decided I wouldn't be reading it. Of course, the very next day, I went to the school library and checked it out. It hadn't yet been banned at our school. This would've been mid-1980s, and it's how I learned about boys.

Forever taught me about consensual sex. Thank heavens for Judy Blume.