Module 2 - Challenged

Bibliographic Citation

Blume, J. (1975). Forever. New York, NY: Simon Spotlight Entertainment. ISBN 9781416953913. 192 p.

Summary

Forever tells the story of Katherine Danziger, a senior in high school and her growing relationship with Michael, a fellow senior. They immediately fall for each other, and their relationship blossoms through a series of dates, trips, and long phone calls. Katherine loses her virginity to Michael and they vow to be together forever. But with going away to college looming and summer jobs in different states, can Katherine and Michael’s relationship really last forever?

Analysis

Blume’s straight forward writing makes this book an easy read. The descriptive sex scenes, which comprise about 1/3 of the book, depict a tender teenage first sexual relationship. These scenes are the culprit in getting this book challenged frequently. While the book doesn’t come off as preachy, sex is definitely presented as something to take seriously. Sybil, a friend of Katherine’s, is very promiscuous and ends up pregnant, Katherine insists on using birth control, and Michael discusses a previous bout with an STD. The relationship between Katherine’s friend Erica and Michael’s friend Artie is extremely interesting and left me wanting to know more about these two characters. While some of the dialogue is a bit awkward, I enjoyed reading this book and reminiscing about my own teenage days. The book was written and set in the 70’s, but the sometimes funny 70’s references won’t deter today’s teens from reading it. Although the storyline is pretty predictable, I think this book is a good addition for a high school library, and teen girls will definitely identify with Katherine even if her character lacks in being fully developed. I feel Blume purposely wrote Katherine’s character this way to keep the reader’s focus on the relationship rather than the individual characters. Overall, Forever is a first love story that teens (girls especially) would enjoy.