I Must, I Must, I Must Reread These Books!

Earlier this month, I was introduced to a great book, Everything I Learned About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume. It was a collection of essays written by woman that were influenced by Judy Blume's anthology.

I grew up reading Judy Blume books.  Books like: Superfudge, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, Blubber, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, Sheila the Great, Freckle Juice, The Pain and the Great One, Tiger Eyes...Forever...speckle my youth like the freckles received during trips to our cottage up north.

The first essay, "Then. Now. Forever..." written by Megan McCafferty immediately struck a note with me.  Forever was one of Judy's books I'll NEVER forget. But just like McCafferty, I too never actually read the book from cover to cover. I just read the "juicy" parts. So, now at 35 I checked three books out of the library last Tuesday: Forever, Deenie, and Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself.  The last two were books I never read as a pre-teen or teen.  However, they were referenced in the essays so I decided to pick them up as well.

Upon starting Forever, I was reminded of the way I felt as a preteen flipping through the pages trying to find the "dirty" parts.  What I was surprised at was the way I identified with Katherine's friend, Erica.  Obviously at 35, my age is closer to that of Kath's mom.  I was really grateful at the way Kath's mom encouraged Kath to make her own choices, but that ultimately forced Kath into a situation that ended her relationship with Michael: summer camp.  As parents we want our children to become the BEST person they can be, even if that means meddling just a bit.

However, Erica was totally me in high school.  I was the "virgin" girl that heard all about the "other" girls that were going to parties, getting laid, and doing drugs (i.e. smoking and drinking).  But the bigger connection was that I too hoped to "change" a homosexual.  Erica was so sure Artie would show her more attention the more time they spent together.  Poor Erica.  I too went through this more than once.  In fact, I "dated" and had "relationships" with boys/men that later either came out or disappeared to never be heard of again.  I assume they were embarrassed at the time they lied to themselves, or to me...maybe I'm wrong about that, but I surely don't blame them now.

Did I have a first "love"?  Yes.  Dave will always be my first "true" love.  And like Kath and Michael in Forever, our relationship ended a few times in ridiculous, dramatic ways.  Definitely due to our ages, hormones, and maturity.  No regrets from either of us, which is nice to say many years later.  I imagine Kath and Michael met up again at a class reunion with their prospective spouses and enjoyed talking about old times and silly things that they did together.

I really don't know if I had read Forever cover to cover at 12 if I would have truly understood what Judy was trying to share with young women.  However, in retrospect it was EXACTLY the way relationships are during teen years.  Forever means SO much!  Since only 17 years have been experienced, forever seems like a possibility to achieve then.  Of course multiply that by two and look back at that time...that's where I'm at now.  The love then was pure, innocent, and real.  That is what Judy was trying to say.  At least that is what I think.

I am enjoying the time I spending with Judy's characters.  Some are VERY far beyond what I experienced as a young girl and some are so close it's scary.  But all in all I realize that a trip down memory lane is really a precious gift that Judy has given me.  So I encourage all my readers to do the same: read some of the books you once loved.  You might be surprised at how timeless the tales can be.