I Read Forever, But Just For the Articles
Somebody somewhere has a sense of humor. Recently Playboy Magazine decided that making lists of books sounded like fun. So they decided to come up with The 25 Sexiest Novels Ever Written. Fine fine. Whatever. Obviously Lolita was an odd choice for the list but by and large it made sense.
Oh.
Wait.
What's that coming in at number 23? Yep. It's Forever by Judy Blume. I guess I should be grateful that at least one professional source considers Forever to be real literature. So, you know, kudos. On the other hand, sexiest novel ever? It's fun, sure. But I would love to know who made the final decision on this one. Then again, the 1984 January issue of Playboy had a list of The Dirty Thirty books most often banned from schools and libraries. Maybe that was where they got the idea? I tell you, between Sawyer reading Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret on Lost and Forever making it into Playboy, Blume's getting a heckuva lot of press these days!
posted by fusenumber8 @ 12:22 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Whoa! Where did you find that cover?
There was an interesting article in PW in the September 5, 2005 edition, titled "Why YA and Why Not". Basically it discusses the "the increasingly blurry line between titles designated as YA and those put on adult lists".
Included in the article is a description of how Judy Blume's book, Forever, was orginally marketed as an adult book. Primarily to buffer the author and publisher from the anticipated backlash. It IS quite descriptive. How did you find the writing Fuselet? I thought it was informative and psychologically true but beyond that....well...nevertheless, it was, and is, an important and needed book.
KT
Isn't that a great cover? It's German (more on German children's books later today) and I wish I could find a larger shot of it. Obviously they aren't afraid of showing teens in varying stages of undress.
I agree that Forever certainly does have some rather amazing graphic scenes. But the real Forever fan in my household is my husband. For years he and his friends never got a chance to read it because their high school didn't have a copy. Then, in college, he and his buddies were staying with a friend over Spring vacation. They were in their friend's room and saw a copy of Forever sitting on the shelf. Delighted to no end, three college boys spent the night sitting in a circle reading passages aloud. My husband still likes to quote the last page or so of the book from memory. When I told him about the cover he, of course, asked if Ralph was pictured. Fortunately, he/it is not.
I'm rambling. In short, I love the book. It is, as you say, a necessary purchase for any high school/public library. But sexiest novel ever? I'm still baffled.
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