Judy Blume

[bobblybear]

Don't know if this is the right section (maybe the ebook section is more appropriate?), but I've just noticed Judy Blume's books are out for the Kindle.

 

They are reasonably priced as well, from £0.59 to £2.99.

 

I loved her books when I was in my early teens, and I haven't read any since then (aside from Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret which I read last year).

 

Just bought Forever, Tiger Eyes, Deenie, and Blubber. It will be strange reading them as an adult when I last read them about 25 years ago.

 

Anyone else read her books?

[Anna Begins]

When I was young, one of the first books I remember really really getting into was Staring Sally J Freedman as Herself.  I must have read that book 5 times  And it was a long one for my age, around age 9 or 10, at 385 pages  (Funny, the one I am reading right now is shorter  ).  I never read Are you there God? It's me Margaret, but I have it on my Kindle as samples for TBR along with Blubber and Forever.  Did you enjoy Are you there God?

[Athena]

I haven't read any books by Judy Blume, do you have any you recommend I start with, BB (to add to my wishlist)? I looked on Wikipedia and it seems she has written a lot of books!

[chesilbeach]

Just been to http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/b/judy-blume and was surprised in so many ways!!!!

 

I think I've only read three of her books, and I don't remember there being more than that in the library when I read them, so I was shocked to see how many there are on the list.  But then, I realised that Judy is 76 years old!  Blimey, that was a shock.  Also, amazed to see the Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret was published in 1970, and Forever came out in 1975.  I read them, I'm guessing, in about 1982, and yet I would have assumed both were contemporary to the time I read them.  All that, and she's still writing and publishing books!! 

[bobblybear]

Oh wow, I had no idea she was 76 years old! I've just looked through her books on Amazon, and there are loads! I can only remember 4 or 5 of them, so I'm quite surprised to see how many she has written.

 

Athena, her books are very much about coming-of-age for young girls, and dealing with things like boys, puberty, getting your first period, etc. They are such good reads, and they were talked about a lot at my school. The ones I would recommend are Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and Tiger Eyes and Deenie. They are the ones I remember most. They are short easy reads, and can probably be read quite easily in a day.

 

Anna, I really enjoyed Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret both when I read it as a teenager and when I read it last year. The only difference was that it seemed so much shorter than I recalled.

[Athena]

Athena, her books are very much about coming-of-age for young girls, and dealing with things like boys, puberty, getting your first period, etc. They are such good reads, and they were talked about a lot at my school. The ones I would recommend are Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and Tiger Eyes and Deenie. They are the ones I remember most. They are short easy reads, and can probably be read quite easily in a day.

Thanks BB, I'll keep that in mind .

[bobblybear]

So far I've read Tiger Eyes and Deenie, and they were both pretty much as I remembered (although I preferred Tiger Eyes). I'm just surprised by how short they were. When I started them on my Kindle, it said that I had less than 2 hours remaining in each book.

 

Anyway, I'm glad I bought them again, and they aren't really as dated as I thought they would be.

Edited September 28, 2014 by bobblybear

[Kell]

OMGs! I read loads of her books when I was a kid. I might have to get a few of them for my Kindle and re-read them as an adult. Favourites were Iggie's House; Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret; and Starring Sally J Freeman As Herself.

 

I remember a battered copy of Forever dong the rounds when I was in my mid-teens, because it featured a sex scene. I laughed and laughed at everyone's reactions, because I had already read it a few years before - my own Mum bought it for me! I think she approved of the portrayal of Cath and Mike being in love before making love - it's definitely a positive view of being ready before you commit yourself to a physical relationship, and I think all young people need to know about that kind of thing, and to learn to respect their own bodies as well as each others.

 

I was also really touched by Deenie, and Blubber, both of which I thought were great at showing how kids try desperately to fit in.

[bobblybear]

I just finished Forever last night. I don't ever remember reading it in full when I was younger....I probably only read the racy parts when it went around at school. I was quite surprised at how liberal and open-minded Katherine's parents were. I was expecting them to be very strict, but actually they were open and realistic.

 

Blubber is the next one I am going to read. I haven't read any others (except for Superfudge - that was read to us by our teacher), which is strange. I can only think that I couldn't get hold of any copies at my local library, because I definitely would have read them if I'd seen them around.