It’s one of the most consistently banned books in America, considered controversial since its publication over 50 years ago. It was sex-positive long before that term ever existed and still speaks to readers all these years later. It’s Forever...by Judy Blume.
On the latest episode of the Zero to Well-Read podcast, Rebecca and Jeff revisit this classic young adult novel about first love, losing your virginity, and the thrills and fears of growing up. They discuss what made it radical in 1975 and why it’s still being banned and challenged today, what’s timeless and what hasn’t aged so well, and why every teenager should read a book like this.
In this companion piece to the episode, I’m sharing some of my favorite podcast episodes and interviews about Forever… and Blume’s career, links to the Netflix adaptation and recent Blume documentary, and links to discussions about both. We’ll also do a bit of trivia, some pull-quote shenanigans, suggestions for recommended reading, and more.
Subscribe to Zero to Well-Read podcast on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or join the Zero to Well-Read Patreon for early, ad-free listening and bonus content. This week’s bonus show (what we call Office Hours) is a conversation with Book Riot editor Kelly Jensen on the legacy of Forever… and it’s history as one of the most banned books in the U.S.
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Two Truths and a Lie
Let’s play a game, shall we? See if you can suss out the fib from the facts. Answer at the end.
- Judy Blume and her husband run an indie bookstore in Key West, Florida.
- As of this writing, Forever… is banned in most public schools in Utah.
- Blume’s 2015 adult historical fiction novel In the Unlikely Event is based on a real-life event: a three-plane crash in Blume’s New Jersey hometown.
Out of Context Show Quotes
In what’s probably my favorite section of this newsletter, I pull quotes from the episode that made me laugh out loud, that made me think, and that I hope will make you want to listen to the episode. Jeff and Rebecca could be discussing a 2005 Toyota Corolla owner’s manual, and there would be at least a handful of quotes I’d be dying to share. But the material at hand this week made the quotes extra bountiful.
- “He’s been having sex with every tree in North Carolina—anything he can get his mitts on.”
- “This sad, shriveled three pieces of orange is all you have left to offer your partner!”
- “Somebody’s short, which you must have identified with!”
- “She’s basically Betty Draper with an English degree and a pen.”
- “Most of our stray thoughts have to do with Rebecca dealing with the passage of time in her own life.”
- “If we get Juliet a summer job on the Amalfi coast, she’s gonna forget all about this Romeo fella!”
- “Umm I will say the loudest no comment that’s ever been said by anyone ever to that.”
Regarding that last quote: Please go listen to the episode and think of me when you get to this part, frenetically praying to every entity in the sky that I wasn’t about to find out more about my work dad than I ever needed to know.
actual footage of meNobody Has to Die
One of the reasons Blume cites for wanting to write a book like Forever… is her own daughter’s frustration with the books she was reading. Finding that sexually active girls in these books were always met with punishment (#RelatableContent), she asked Blume for a book “where two nice kids do it and nobody has to die.”
I read the book decades later in the early aughts, and its message still felt radical. Sure, we’d made progress since the ’70s, but it still felt like the coach from Mean Girls was in charge of all the programming. What progress we’d made then, and have made since, doesn’t feel possible without the Judy Blume classic. I’m so glad her daughter asked the question; it changed the game, well, forever.
2,000 Letters a Month
Judy Blume had a hard time writing for most of the 80s—books, that is. She actually wrote a ton in that period, but most of that time was spent responding to her readers.
Fans wrote to Blume in droves. At one point, she was receiving over 2,000 letters a month, missives in which readers shared secrets, asked for advice, and thanked the author for writing books that spoke to their demographic honestly. Cartons of those letters live in the Yale Archive, a few of which were read aloud by Blume (and in some cases, by the letter writers) in the 2023 documentary film, Judy Blume Forever. All of that is touching, but also represents a difficult chapter in the author’s life.
Blume had just written this book that cracked a lot of hearts wide open, and she felt a profound sense of responsibility to all the young readers who now flocked to her. While she didn’t respond to every kid—and how could she?—she felt a ton of guilt at not being able to offer help to every reader who reached out. She eventually turned to a mental health professional to sort out those feelings and get a little distance, and has accepted that it isn’t her job to save everyone. She can instead be a trusted adult friend, a safe person for young readers of many generations whose work helped them feel seen, heard, and respected.
You can hear Blume describe this experience in her own words in the Fresh Air episode covered under Extra Credit.
A Couple of Quotables
- “Sybil Davison has a genius IQ and has been laid by at least six different guys.”
- That’s one helluva opening line.
- She said “and.” And. Not “or.” AND! A round of applause for Judy Blume.
- “I didn’t tell them that with Michael and me, it’s different. That it’s not just some 50s fad like going steady. That with us it’s love, real, true, honest-to-God love.”
- Oh, to be a teen in love! I also never want to go through that again, whew.
Adaptation + Documentary Corner
I have two additions for your watchlist today: a wonderful adaptation and an equally wonderful documentary about the book and Blume herself.
Forever (2025)
- Forever was adapted into an eight-episode series for Netflix in 2025, directed by Mara Brock Akil and starring Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. It is set in modern-day in L.A. with Black characters and is shot so beautifully, and is true to the spirit of the book if not to the letter of it (here’s a breakdown of how the film and novel differ).
- It has an impressive 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a ton of five-star reviews; I like this one from LatinaMedia.Com co-founder Cristina Escobar at RogertEbert.com.
- There’s a second season on the horizon – here’s what we know so far.
- Love a podcast deep dive into film/TV? I have two recs for you.
- This episode of Wondery’s Lemme Say This podcast feels like you’ve been dropped right into a group chat, hosted by “chronically online best friends” Hunter Harris and Peyton Dix.
- On this episode of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, Aisha Harris is joined by B.A. Parker from the Code Switch podcast and NPR producer Corey Antonio Rose for a fun discussion about the series: what it gets right and wrong, the standout style choices, and the parts of the series that feel a little too real.
- Stream Season 1 on Netflix here.
Judy Blume Forever (2023)
- This is a fantastic documentary on the life and legacy of Judy Blume, featuring appearances from readers, writers, and other creatives who were inspired by the trailblazer’s work. Those include Tayari Jones, Jason Reynolds, Molly Ringwald, Alex Gino, Jaqueline Woodson, and Samantha Bee.
- It is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
Extra Credit
Readalikes and Such
- Twenty-Four Seconds from Now by Jason Reynolds – A contemporary YA story inspired by Forever that deals with young people in a sexual relationship—how they navigate the relationship and being teenagers, their parents, etc
- Just about any other Judy Blume book – If you like the frankness of Forever… and Blume’s approach to adolescence and all of its trappings, she applies that same approach in all of her books.
Supplemental Reading (and Watching/Listening)
- If you haven’t read the book or listened to this week’s episode, this TIME profile is a great primer on what Forever… is about and why it is (still) such a big deal.
- In 2023, Blume sat down with Terry Gross, the Peabody Award-winning host of NPR’s Fresh Air, for a really frank discussion not just about Blume’s career and massive cultural impact, but one that leans into the personal, revealing the highs and lows of Blume’s experience as a wife, a mother, a divorcee, a business owner, and all the life lived in between. She’s really candid about the struggles behind the success, what she got right and wrong, and how deeply she cares for the teens her work speaks to and for. This is, I think, my favorite link in today’s roundup.
- Back in 2024, Book Riot editor Kelly Jensen shared a retrospective on the cover of this Judy Blume classic. Cover art is a special interest of hers, and for good reason; there’s an entire machine behind cover design, and the evolution of this book’s cover in particular is fascinating.
- Here is where I insert my semi-frequent “don’t let anyone tell you not to judge a book by its cover” rant. I get the sentiment, but we all do it, we all know we do it, and that’s why so much goes into it. Okay bye.
- Speaking of Kelly, here’s a link to her interview with Jason Reynolds from last year. They spoke about Reynolds’ career, writing the inner lives of teenage boys, and the impact of Judy Blume on his work and YA at large, and about his own book, 24 Seconds From Now (as mentioned above)
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**Answer: Forever… is banned at all Utah public schools. All of ’em.
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