Judy Blume. Appropriate?

[2cats2many]

So my Y7 DD has come home with a Judy Blume book from the school library. I never read them when I was a teen, but flicking through it, it talks about people getting laid and definitely has sexual themes.

I don't know how I feel about it? She's borrowed it because her also Y7 friend said it was good.

Would you be OK with this? I don't know how to feel about it

Total trip down memory lane for peeps on here 😁

She's read a few Judy Blume's. She said she didn't realise what this one was about. I said it was fine if she wanted to read it but to ask if she had questions. Her response was to blush bright red and shut her bedroom door.

So there we are.

In year 7 I was reading Lace, Flowers in the Attic and Forever Amber. Never read Forever but loved Are You There God, it’s me Margaret?

Oh wow! When I saw the heading, before I saw which book you were talking about, I immediately thought of the willy called Ralph I remember reading it in primary and our local librarian (family friend) was not impressed when she read it afterwards and realised the content. The other one I remember is Are you there God, it's me Margaret and had reference to periods. Thanks for that blast from the past.

Ahh, Ralph

I read it as a preteen.

With a torch.

Under my duvet.

It was the talk of the playground.

Forever?! That's a blast from the past! No, it's not suitable for a Y7 child, but that's exactly when a very well thumbed copy did the rounds in my class! That was my sex ed, right there!

‘Are you there God...’

“I must, I must, improve my bust’.

Are you there god it's me Margaret
Is starter level Blume, but Forever? I was 12/13 when i read it, could not get over how lame that relationship was. Think 50s rebellion written by Laura Ashley.
It was nothing like the stuff on soaps I saw on TV, the gasps of older women made me think it was ruder than it was.

I read it in yr7 and I would let my DC do the same. Why don't you read it first then decide?

What was the book with the medical condition? Her spine I think?

lilmishap - that one is Deanie or similar, iirr. No sex in that one though, just kissing and maybe some touching (upper half only) I think.

Yr7 so she's 11/12? That's fine. Good age for Judy Blume, think I read them around that age too.

I still remember that book going round the whole class - sure it was y7. Many years ago though.

Oh I read Forever at about 11 and it did me no harm whatsoever. It’s really mild.

It wasn’t half as explicit as Wifey, which I’d already found on the grownup bookshelves and carefully scanned for seriously dirty bits (of which there were loads).

I went on to be entirely sensible about sex as a teenager, fwiw.

Definitely fine for Y7 IMO, I read it in Y6 but was 11. It's very mild and like others say, pretty factual rather than sexy. I think it's actually a good read for kids that age.

I read much worse at that age to be honest and it didn't affect me in any way.

I remember reading Flowers in the Attic in Y7. It's not massively detailed sex-wise but it is quite disturbing themes, again it had no affect really. I was hooked on Virginia Andrews books after that and have read every one.

Totally appropriate for any age that can understand it. All about relationships, love, & yes sex but within a loving, consensual relationship! My mum tore it up when I was 12 and I read it in secret at my friends house. It provided a much better grounding for me than Riders & the Story of O which I also purloined elsewhere.

LynetteScavo I very much doubt Forever is eye opening for many 13 YOs but yes would be for 11 yos. Not inappropriately so though IMO.

Definitely Y10s are busier reading much racier stuff than Judy Blume. But then again all kids vary with what they understand etc. My parents never really censored books from when I was 13 onwards. My mum passed on all her Danielle Steel, Jackie Collins and Jilly Cooper books to me once she had read them. Riders was a particular favourite when I was 14

The main character in Forever has blue jeans with embroidered toadstools on them.

I have been looking for jeans like that for 28 years.

Year 10! I was definitely onto Jilly Cooper by then. Forever did the well thumbed rounds around yr 6 of my catholic primary. I wouldn’t have an issue at all.

Persona it was the character's younger sister who embroidered the toadstools on the jeans if I remember correctly. I always thought they sounded pretty cool too!

I read in on year 8, yes has adult themes but suitable for 12+

I picked up a copy in a charity shop a while ago, was quite entertaining.

I first read it as a young teen and remember finding Michael quite boring even then.